Mike Rose
Kansas
-3.0 / 3 units
3* KANSAS (–3) VS. HOUSTON ACTION 8:00 ET
2* KANSAS/HOUSTON UNDER 50 ACTION 8:00 ET
Sports Reporters best bet
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23
FORT WORTH BOWL
Amon Carter Stadium — Fort Worth, TX
BEST BET
HOUSTON over KANSAS by 10
Dick Weiss
Kansas
Ben Lee Eckstein
Houston
Doc's bowl games
Houston (tonight)
4* Oregon.............thurs dec 29
4* Georgia.............mon jan 2nd
4* iowa.................mon jan 2nd
4* Under USC.........wed jan 4th
5* Auburn...............tues dec 29th
5* under NC St........sat dec 31
GOY..Minny .............FRIDAY 12/30
DR BOB Bowl Package
Fort Worth Bowl (December 23) LEAN to Kansas Kansas (-3) 28 Houston 21
Hawaii Bowl (December 24) Strong Opinion (1*) Central Florida 33 Nevada (-2) 28
Motor City Bowl (December 26) LEAN to Akron Memphis (-5 ½) 27 Akron 23
Champs Sports Bowl Dec 27 no line on Clemson-Col, but I'll probably lean with Colorado at +3 or more and with Clemson at less than that.
INSIGHT BOWL Tuesday, December 27 (3*) ***Rutgers 32 ARIZONA STATE (-11) 33
MPC Computers Bowl December 28 Lean with Boston College
Mastercard Alamo Bowl Dec 28 Lean with Nebraska
EMERALD BOWL Thursday, December 29 Utah 21 Georgia Tech (-8 ½) 26
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Dec 29 slight Lean with Oklahoma at +3 or more
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Dec 30 probably Lean with Minnesota at -4 or less
Vitalis Sun Bowl Dec 30 Lean with UCLA at -4 or less
Independence Bowl Dec 30 tossup in Missouri-S Carolina game at line of 4
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Dec 30 no line on Miami-LSU, but I'll probably favor Miami by at least 7
Meineke Car Care Bowl Dec 31 South Florida might be a strong opinion
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Dec 31 Possible Strong Opinion on Fresno State
EVI.net Houston Bowl Dec 31 Lean with Iowa State +3 or more
AT&T Cotton bowl Jan 2 probable strong opinion on Alabama as dog.
OUTBACK BOWL Monday, January 2 (4*) ****Iowa 33 Florida (-2 ½) 20
Toyota Gator Bowl Jan 2 Lean with Louisville
Capital One Bowl Jan 2 Lean with Wisconsin
FIESTA BOWL Monday, January 2 (4*) ****Ohio State (-4) 35 Notre Dame 17
SUGAR BOWL Monday, January 2 (2*) **West Virginia 24 Georgia (-7 ½) 23
ORANGE BOWL Tuesday, January 3 (2*) **Penn State (-7 ½) 30 Florida State 13
ROSE BOWL January 4 Lean with Texas
Marc Lawrence
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Friday, December 23rd
BUTLER over Indiana by 10
Big game at Conseco Fieldhouse for the Braves as they take on
'Big Brother' from Bloomington. Butler is 44-3 SU and 19-7 ATS
at home against non-conference opponents, including 15-2 ATS
when not favored by more than 12. The Hoosiers lost at Indiana
State earlier this season. They can lose this.
Northern Iowa over Dayton by 11
Battle of middle-class Midwesterners in Sin City finds the winner
emerging as a likely March Madness entrant. The Panthers return
five starters from last year's 21-win team and could use this game
as a stepping stone to the tourney. Dayton isn't the same away
from home (4-10 ATS away vs. .625 > non cons) and the Flyers
aren't as good as Northern Iowa. The better team wins.
Friday - December 23
LA Lakers - 20-8-1 ATS vs Magic
Cleveland - Cavs 8-4 ATS w/rest vs Pacers
Portland - Blazers 7-1 ATS when < .525 at Wolves
Notre Dame - Irish 2-13-1 ATS home vs non con
Houston - Cougars 6-1 ATS L7 home vs non-con
Tom Scot
READ CAREFULLY
In this section and the ensuing Bowl sections, we will try to
make you aware of any and all pertinent facts surrounding the
games. In each game, we will either lean toward a side, point
directly at a side or choose no side at all. In any case, the
opinions expressed here are the general consensus of the four
Steam Sheet handicappers. Although none of the four will use
the other side of a game that we have chosen, the ratings of the
four handicappers may differ according to each man's personal
opinion of the game. In other words, DON'T CALL our
offices asking why we had this game rated as a two star play
in the Steam Sheet when it's a four star play on the Late Phone
Service. The Bowl games are a schedule just like any other
schedule over the course of the season. Try to remember that.
This week, we will cover bowl games through Friday,
FRIDAY - DECEMBER 23RD - 8:00 PM - ESPN
FORT WORTH BOWL - Fort Worth, TX
2* HOUSTON over Kansas by 7 23 ~ 17
We won't take anything away from the gutty Jayhawks and
their impressive finish but every one of the six wins that got
them to this bowl was played in Kansas. Away from the
Sunflower State, KU was 0-4 SU, 1-3 ATS and was outscored
159-47 in those games. True, this ain't Texas or even Oklahoma
but Houston can score. The Cougars scored at least 20
in every game this season and, since 1980, they stand at 48-
27 ATS as underdogs when they score more than 14. Within
those 75 games, Houston is 18-4 ATS against non-conference
foes, 13-3 ATS with rest and 13-3 ATS against opponents who
are off BB SUATS wins. It's not that we're enamored with
Houston. We like QB Greg Kolb and we respect coach Art
Briles but the Cougars are nothing special. It's just that
Kansas shouldn't be favored over anybody away from home.