Billy Coleman
5* Raptors Under
4* Nets Over
3* Okla City
4* UConn
3* James Madison
NSA
20* Clemson -5.5
20* Miami-Fl -3
20* Central Florida +7
20* Florida St +3
20* Washington St +3.5
10* Louisville -2
10* South Florida/Clemson Over 40
10* Notre Dame/Miami Under 47.5
10* Central Florida/Georgia Under 54
10* Florida St/South Carolina Under 55
Steven Budin
25 Dime South Carolina
JB Sports
3* Indiana Pacers
3* Charlotte Bobcats
1* Philadelphia 76ers
James Patrick Sports
3* Thunder
Scott Delaney
80 Dime Florida State
Marcus Lattimore, meet Brandon Jenkins.
Lattimore is South Carolina's prized frosh running back who rushed for 1,198 yards and a school-record 19 touchdowns this past season. But now he's going to take on Florida State's big, bad defensive end, who recorded 13 sacks to help the 'Noles lead the nation with 46. And while sacks have nothing to do with running backs, Jenkins has everything to do with the 26th-best rushing defense that allowed an average of just 127.9 yards per game.
Ol' Ball Coach is going to have his hands full with this defense, which was balanced across the board and much of the reason the Seminoles went 9-4 this season.
And quite frankly, I believe this is a bigger game - would be a bigger win - for Florida State, despite both teams aiming for their 10th win of the season.
Coach Jimbo Fisher took over for ousted coach Bobby Bowden, and had to prove himself immediately. Mission accomplieshed, as the 'Noles snatched the ACC Atlantic Division title away from Clemson with a 16-13 victory in Tallahassee, incidentally on the same night South Carolina won the SEC East crown in Gainesville, against Steve Spurrier's former team, the Florida Gators.
The 'Noles pounded that same Gators team, 31-7, one week before losing to Virginia Tech, 44-33, in the ACC title game. A division title, a loss in the championship game... it leaves just one goal left.
I like what I am seeing out of sophomore quarterback EJ Manuel, who is 4-2 as a starter, including last year's Gator Bowl win - an outgoing gift for Bowden - over West Virginia. Now I like him to deliver a similar gift to Fisher.
I'm not sure what has gotten into Spurrier the last two bowl seasons, but he lost to Iowa, 31-10 two years ago, then fell to upstart Connecticut, 20-7, last year. Either he's misreading opponents, or simply losing his touch at long-term preparing for bowl foes.
Look for the Gamecocks to fold defensively and struggle to establish consistency on offense.
I like the dog and want you getting that extra half point.
Lenny Del Genio
Central Florida +6.5
We're not even convinced that Georgia is the better team here! UGA has seen its win total decline in three straight years under HC Richt and consider that if not for a win over FCS Idaho State, the Dawgs would not even be bowling. They went just 2-6 ATS vs. bowl teams during the regular season and against running QB's from Auburn and Ga Tech gave up 83 points and 726 yards (and 10 TDs) in its last two games. Give the nod to UCF in the trenches in this matchup as the Knights are 15th in the country with 192.5 rushing yds per game. UCF frosh QB Godfrey ranks 8th in FBS with a 165.3 passer rating and directs an offense averaging 33.8 PPG, which is 24th best in the nation. Godfrey accounted for 2500 total yds from scrimmage and had 22 TDs. Central Florida is the C-USA champion and has an avg MOV of greater than 15 PPG. They will be the more motivated group here as their seniors have yet to win a bowl game. Their defense yielded just 38 points in its final three games. The team is 18-6 ATS for HC O'Leary the last two seasons, including a near perfect 11-1 ATS if they went Under in their last game. Central Florida is our CFB Oddsmaker Mismatch.
Underdog
College Bowl Of Year
Central Florida
Bob Balfe
Georgia Bulldogs -6.5
Florida State +3
Matt Fargo
Central Florida
South Carolina
King Creole
2* Florida St. / South Carolina Over 54.5
OU line opened 54 points for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl . At last look, it was starting to creep upward. So get your play in ASAP. The fast track at the Georgia Dome is IDEAL for our high-scoring outcome between two very good passing offenses.... and two teams that avrage more than 32 ppg each.
FLORIDA STATE Bowl Games have been VERY high-scoring as of late. The Seminoles have gone 5-1 O/U in their last 6 Bowl Games. Average points scored by the Fla St offense is 33.4 ppg. Historically, whenever the Seminoles are catching points... the OVER has come in at a high percentage. Florida State is 17-5-1 O/U in their we roles as an underdog. Also 5-1 O/U after allowing 40+ pts in a game... 5-1 O/U after passing for 280 yards... and 8-2 O/U on neutral sites. The Seminole went down swinging in the ACC Championship game, losing 44-33 to Virginia Tech (OVER by 26 points!).
SOUTH CAROLINA is ALSO on a high-scoring uptick as of late in their post-season games. The Gamecocks are 4-1 O/U in their last 5 Bowl games... Also 6-2 O/U in their last 8 roles as a favorite... 9-3 O/U after allowing 450+ total yards in their last game... and 8-2 O/U off a SU loss of 20 > points. They're playing off a BIG 56-17 loss in the SEC Championship game against Auburn. The OVER cashed by 12 points in that game.
Carolina comes into the game with a trio of offensive studs. Quarterback Stephen Garcia has had his ups and downs, but remains one of the better passers in a tough SEC. His favorite target, Alshon Jeffery, is one of the most dangerous receivers in college football. And freshman tailback Marcus Lattimore could be the best rookie runner in the country. It’s very likely that SC will find some success through the air. The Seminoles ranked 63rd against the pass this year, and Garcia has the weapons to go down field. The 'Cocks averaged 240 passing YPG on the year, and their 8.8 yards-per-pass was #3 in the SEC this year.
On the flip side, South Carolina’s primary weakness is pass defense. The Cocks allowed 254 passing YPG on the year, which was #107 in the entire country (out of 119 teams!). The question is, will Florida State be able to take advantage? Christian Ponder is the type of passer who can hurt a defense in multiple ways. His TD to INT ratio was 20 to 8 on the year. He didn't play much in the last 4 games (including the ACC Championship). Ponder is now BACK from surgery and has been whistling the ball in practice. The fifth-year senior will face a South Carolina defense that has been VERY prone to strafing. The Gamecocks were last in the SEC in passing yards allowed.
Helmut
Michigan State Under 137
UCLA Over 151.5
Indiana Under 137.5
Sports Unlimited
4* Florida St
Kyle Hunter
C Florida +6.5
Co of Charleston +11
No Colorado -3.5
Cincinnati -7.5
Marc Lawrence
South Carolina -3
Two teams strong enough to reach their respective conference Championship games - but not talented enough to avoid being deep-fried by the competition - square off in the Georgia Dome. Kudos to FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher, who threaded his way through the minefield of Bobby Bowden's forced retirement to revive the Florida State program. The Seminoles' nine regular-season wins were the most since 2003 and the record included wins against rivals Miami and Florida for the first time in the same season since 1999. South Carolina returns to the scene of the crime this evening as they were blasted by Auburn, 56-17, at this venue less than a month ago - so you can rest assured that coach Steve Spurrier and his Gamecocks will want to bury every memory of that dismal performance with a solid effort here. A former player and coach at Florida, Spurrier is more versed on the Seminoles than any opponent he's ever faced. He's also 11-4 ATS off a loss versus ACC opposition, plus he'll be looking to make amends for last year's no-show in the PapaJohns.com Bowl where the Cocks lost 20-7 to UConn as 4-point chalk. Like Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, Jimbo Fisher shows up as a first-year bowl coach: those guys are just 10-26-1 ATS since 1990 when playing off a loss or win of three or less points, including 0-8 ATS as dogs of more than two points if they allowed 24 or more points in tis last game versus an opponent off a loss or win of 10 or less points. South Carolina's stud RB RB Marcus Lattimore has not scored a touchdown or rushed for 100 yards in his last two outings so look for a breakout game from the true freshman. And remember, too, that the Gamecocks produced their two biggest wins, upsetting then-No. 1 Alabama and winning at Florida, following losses. Lay the points as the Cocks make amends for last year's upset bowl loss to Connecticut. We recommend a 3-unit play on South Carolina.