Bowl Games Bet Preview Dec. 29 and Dec. 30
by Brians Graves of You Win Now
Dec. 29th Meineke Car Care Bowl--UConn vs. Wake Forest
This is one of the best lower tier bowl matchups of the year and should be tight throughout. The Huskies defense has carried them through what has a been a surprisingly good year. They will be coming in angry after being embarrassed by West Virginia with a chance to win the Big East. I like the Huskies running game against Wake Forest but if you want to beat the Demon Deacons, through the air is your best bet. Riley Skinner is the kind of kid who always makes plays at big points so he'll have Wake in this one all the way. This is another game that I will have available on the site early on Dec. 29th so check back with me for another winner!
Dec. 29th Liberty Bowl--Central Florida vs. Mississippi St.
The Bulldogs pulled a rabbit out of their hat to gain this bowl berth by coming back from a 14-0 fourth quarter deficit against their archrival Ole Miss in their final game. This will be the Bulldog run defense against Kevin Smith who needs about 180 yards to break Barry Sanders single season rushing record. Of course Barry played 3 less games, but Smith is for real and he always gains positive yards because of his hard running style. If the UCF QB Isreal plays well then this will be a decent game, if he doesn't I actually like Mississippi St. to pull a minor upset. This is a game that I believe would be a solid money line play!
Dec. 29th Alamo Bowl--Penn St. vs. Texas A&M
The Aggies will have a big edge here in the crowd and this will be Gary Darnell's first game as coach of the Aggies. Penn St. has been a bit of a disappointment this year, but their losses are to quality teams like Ohio St. Michigan and Illinois. This line in my mind is a bit too high as Morelli seems to make mistakes in important spots and the Aggies are pretty good at creating turnovers. If Goodson and McGee are able to make plays on the edge then I like the Aggies in a another mild upset. This is one of those games where special teams could determine the winner and I'll go with the Aggies 24-20!
Dec. 30th Independence Bowl--Colorado vs. Alabama
A couple of big name programs hoping to rise back to prominence with fairly new coaches. Saban has had success in his bowl appearances of late but the Tide is limping into this bowl matchup. The Buffaloes finished the season moving the ball up and down the field on Nebraska so they will come in with more momentum. Coach Hawkins son Cody has had a decent first year at QB, but I think he'll struggle against Saban's defense with a month to prepare. The Buffaloes didn't fare very well against quality competition this year losing to Arizona St, Kansas, Missouri and Florida St. Bama at least has a couple of quality wins over Arkansas and Tennessee and a near miss against LSU. I'll take the Tide to win this game 31-20! |
