Chris Jordan
3,000♦ PENN STATE
Brian Gabrielle
Northwestern at Auburn
Play: Auburn -8.5
Auburn is the choice in this contest, as it should be able to put up points aat will gainst a Northwestern defense which is allowing over 23 points per game on more than 344 total yards per game.
The Tigers are generating 33 points per game on over 432 total yards per game. They do it with a balanced attack that generates over 200 ypg both on the ground and through the air.
Auburn 33, Northwestern 22
Tony Stoffo
College Bowl Game of the Year
Play: West Virginia -2.5
With this being Bobby Bowden's last game as the head coach of the Seminoles the public is all over Florida State here feeling all of his players and coaches will want to send him out a winner. This emotion will last maybe a quarter and than perhaps the worst defense of all the bowls teams will come crashing down as the Mountaineers roll to the lopsided win here today. The Mountaineers have won four consecutive bowls and # 5 is on tap here as West Virginia dominates in all aspects of the game here today.Seminoles are 1-5 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. Seminoles are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Bryan Leonard
Play: Louisiana State +1
We are having a hard time seeing the Nittany Lions as the favorite here. They didn't beat a single ranked team all season and their two toughest games, against Iowa and Ohio State at home none the less were losses by a combined 28 points. While Coach Paterno has strong career bowl game marks his teams have dropped 5 of their last 8 post season appearances.When it comes to SEC & Big 10 games as of late the southern outfit has shown a much superior edge in speed, and we simply don't think the midwest contingent has made enough progress.Coach Miles is a perfect 4-0 straight up and ATS in bowl action and the former Michigan man would love nothing better than getting the best of a Big 10 squad. LSU is a perfect 22-0 straight up and 14-6 ATS against non-conference competition since Miles entered the Bayou. With the SEC being 9-3 ATS in the roll of bowl dogs we will step out with a sizable play on the underdog Tigers.
Jimmy Boyd
3* New Year's Day Bailout
Cincinnati at Florida
Play: Florida -13
I think this spread is this high for a reason. When you hear Florida's players talk about Urban Meyer, they absolutely love this guy. This very well could be Meyer's last game as Florida's head coach, and while I don't think it will be, I expect the Gators to treat it that way by sending out their leader with a bang. And then there's that Tim Tebow guy who MUST end his storied career on a winning note. While Florida is disappointed that it is not playing in the BCS championship game, it won't fail to take this opportunity to show the undefeated Bearcats how overrated they are. "It's full speed ahead. We're going to do everything possible to win this game," Meyer said. The fact that Meyer is back for this game gives his team a big lift while the Bearcats suffer with Brian Kelly walking away. The key here is how good Florida is defensively, doing it against, perhaps, the best conference in the country. The Gators are only allowing 11.5 ppg and their 3rd ranked pass defense figures to test the Bearcats beyond what they have seen. This says it all to me: Florida is 9-1 ATS versus good teams outscoring their opponents by 10 or more ppg over the last 3 seasons, winning in these spots by 17.3 points on average. Take Florida.
Marc Lawrence
19-0 ATS Sugar Bowl Super System Super Pick Play!
Florida
BLACK WIDOW
6* Widow Wiseguy BCS Bowl GAME OF THE YEAR Oregon -3.5
Oregon finished 10-2 this season and won the Pac-10 title. They did it with an explosive offense that put up 37.7 points/game against opponents that surrendered just 24.6 points/game on average. Their defense was also solid, allowing 23.6 points/game against opponents that averaged 27.9 points/game. That's the sign of a really good team, and Oregon has too much offense for Ohio State to keep up with Friday. The Buckeyes have a solid defense, that cannot be denied, but they did their damage in the weak Big 10. Oregon has played very well when given some rest over the last few years. The Ducks are 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest over the last 3 seasons, scoring 52.2 points/game and allowing 22.7 points/game for an average margin of victory of nearly 30 points/game. Ohio State's bowl struggles continue Friday against a much superior team. Take Oregon and lay the points.
5* Wiseuy CFB New Year's Day "Total" BLOW OUT Northwestern/Auburn OVER 54.5
This total has been set far too low in a game between two high-powered offenses. Auburn scores 32.9 points/game and averages 432 total yards/game with a balanced attack that averages 214 rushing yards and 218 passing yards per contest. In a conference filled with great Big Ten defenses, the Wildcats managed to average 386 total yards/game with 120 rushing and 266 passing. Auburn gives up 240 passing yards/game on the road, so the Wildcats should have their way with the Tigers through the air. The OVER is 7-1 in Auburn's last 8 games as a favorite. Take the OVER 54.5 points here.
5* Wiseguy WVU/Purdue CBB Battle of Unbeatens West Virginia +4.5
Both West Virginia and Purdue enter this game without a blemish on their record. Both teams are unbeaten, and this match-up will live up to the hype. That being said, we strongly feel that the Mountaineers have the stronger team this season. Head coach Bob Huggins finally has his players in place, and it's starting to pay off for the WVU basketball program. They knew they were getting an excellent coach when they hired Huggins, and he has not disappointed. Purdue is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) after allowing 65 points or less 5 straight games over the last 2 seasons. Purdue plays solid defense, but they have not met a team as dynamic as WVU on the offensive end. The Mountaineers score 76.4 points/game this season, and those numbers get even better on the road. WVU is 5-0 in road games this season, scoring 82.4 points/game and shooting 50.4% from the field. Getting points here is a gift, because we likely won't need them. Take West Virginia and the points.
4* Florida State +3
The Seminoles will really want to win this one for coach Bobby Bowden. They know about his history with the program, and they know it would be a shame to send him out on a losing note. It's clear that FSU will be the more motivated team in this match-up, and they'll come out and win it for their coach. Florida State is 29-11 ATS (+16.9 Units) after 2 or more consecutive losses against the spread since 1992. West Virginia is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) against ACC opponents since 1992. The Mountaineers are 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) vs. mistake prone teams - 60+ penalty yards per game over the last 2 seasons. Take Florida State and the points.
John Fina
5 units on Ohio State +4.5 GOY
3 units on Northwestern +8.5
3 units on Northwestern/Auburn Under 55.5
3 units on West Virginia -2.5
3 units on Florida State/West Virginia Over 59.5
3 units on LSU/Penn State Over 43.5
Hollywood Sports
Game: LSU at Penn State
Prediction: LSU
The 10-2 Nittany Lions were considered for a BCS bowl bid but eventually had to settle for the Capital One Bowl. They may be a little disappointed to have not have received that opportunity. However, the fact remains that this Penn State club has zero wins against a top-25 team this season. They do have four wins against teams that are playing in bowl games: Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Temple. However, those teams do not really strike fear in the hearts of their opponents. Tellingly, in Penn State's two losses to Ohio State and Iowa, they were outscored by a 45-17 combined margin while managing 254 average of offense in those games. Against elite programs, Penn State may not have the players to keep up -- particularly in the respective fights at the line of scrimmage.
Enter LSU. While the Tigers struggled at times this season with injuries at running back and suspect quarterback play, LSU is loaded with talent between the hedges. They played Alabama and Florida very tough despite losing both games. They took a 15-10 lead into the 4th quarter at Alabama before the Tide scored 14 unanswered points to pull that game out. Against the Gators, the Tigers were in a 10-3 dogfight midway through the 4th quarter before Florida knocked in a field goal to win 13-3. LSU is not as good as those two teams but this team will definitely improve with the month of preparation they had for this bowl game. Coach Les Miles takes very seriously the opportunity to make significant strides with his team during this time off. He is 4-0 in bowl games at LSU with an average winning margin of just over four-touchdowns. We look for Miles to have addressed his running back problems. The top-three running backs on the depth chart were lost to injury this season. And while there was hope that Charles Scott would be able to return for this game, he is now listed as doubtful with his collarbone. But Miles has had plenty of time to make adjustments and there are options on the roster who played in these three players absence. In particular, look for kick return specialist, Trindon Holliday, to become even more involved with the month of practice time. He may very well be the fastest player in college football. QB Jordan Jefferson improved his play as the season went on. In his last five games, he threw 9 TD passes to just three interceptions. The sophomore should definitely be even better with another month of practice time with his coaches. Miles will have this team ready and will want to use this game as a bridge for next season. Said Miles about his bowl success at LSU: I don't know that there's any magic to it in any way ... I just think our guys get to the back end of the season and recognize the opportunity to play a quality opponent and win a (bowl game).
Penn State quarterback, Daryll Clark, often wilts in the pressure of big games (as he did against Ohio State and Iowa). He threw ten interceptions this season and has thrown seven interceptions in his four career losses at Penn State. LSU has an outstanding defense as they rank 12th in the nation by holding their opponents to just 16 PPG. Penn State also has a nice defense that ranks 4th in the country in scoring as they hold their opponents to just 11.8 PPG. The Nittany Lions rank 8th in the nation in defensive yardage allowed as they held their opponents to just 277.1 total YPG. But these stats were against mostly Big 10 teams and, head-to-head, the SEC remains the more challenging conference. Penn State typically plays a weak non-conference schedule which is probably a by-product of their previous days as an independent outside the Big 10. But this lack of a challenging schedule is telling. The Nittany Lions have failed to cover in their last four non-conference games while LSU has covered 15 of their last 21 games played outside of the SEC -- producing our specific 19-6 ATS combined winning angle. The rigors of SEC play seem to better prepare LSU when they then go outside the conference to compete. Lastly, Penn State managed to average 7.76 yards per play in their 42-14 win over Michigan State -- but this places them in a empirical play-against angle that has been 77% effective over the last ten seasons. Teams that average 390-440 YPG (Penn State averages 412.5) coming off a game where they totaled more than 7.25 yards per play, who now play a team that averages 280-330 YPG (LSU totals 309.8 YPG), have then gone on to fail to cover the spread in 37 of 48 situations. LSU will raise their level of play once again for this bowl game against an overrated Penn State team. 25 Star College Football Game of the Year on the LSU Tigers plus the points over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Fall Miracle
5 Units Northwestern +9
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
Ohio State
Florida
They should be
Ohio State Over
Florida
Triple Threat Sports
3* Northwestern (+) over Auburn
This is the first bowl as Head Coach for Auburn's Gene Chizik, while NU's Fitzgerald led his team to the Alamo Bowl last year, losing in OT but outgaining what was a 10-4 Missouri team. That experience edge will help, and with that in mind cannot pass up the chance to take NWU as a dog, as the Wildcats are 8-4 SU and 9-3 ATS the last two seasons when getting points.
MR EAST
FLORIDA ST. vs WEST VIRGINIA
3 UNITS: WEST VIRGINIA -2.5
There is one thing holding this one down, and it is the fact that Bobby Bowden is retiring. There is also something more interesting than that, this is still a 6-6 football team playing on New Year's day? The bottomline is the emotion will only carry this team so far, there is another team playing here as well, that is much better. Florida St. has absolutely no defense for the speed of Noel Devine, or QB Jarret Brown. The Noles are also down to a backup QB for this one who has 2 TD's and 6 INT's in just 82 attempts. I'm not overlooking the imbalance of these teams, with a team that is simply not qualified for a New Year's Day Bowl appearance. I'm going with West Virginia here.
Frank Patron
40000 Unit Bowl Lock Of The Season
Ohio State +4
ANTHONY REDD
20 Dime - Penn State
10 Dime - West Virginia