The Bum's BCS Best Bets Bowl GOY, News, Notes !

[StarDust Bum]

I'll be using this thread for all the bowl games. Plus whatever news and notes i can find......
Bowl GOY Record Last Two Years 2 - 0

So Come by now and then and check out whats on the news and notes and Picks.....Good Luck !

Oh by the way i think it SUCKS that Temple Owls were Left out of a bowl game and you have other teams who are worst and playing in a bowl game........Just not right......something is totally wrong there....a 8-4 Team left out and a bunch of 6 -6 teams are in.......

[StarDust Bum]

BCS Betting Odds: TCU season ends rosy

The undefeated TCU Horned Frogs may have just missed out on a national title bid, but they’re still smelling like roses as they prepare for their Rose Bowl matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers. The contest kicks off the BCS lineup with ESPN broadcasting from Pasadena at 2 p.m. PT on Jan. 1.

Bookmaker.com has the No. 3 Horned Frogs as three-point ‘chalk’ with the total still to be released. Oregon and Auburn both won on Saturday to play for the national title (see betting notes below).

TCU (12-0 straight-up, 7-5 against the spread) gets to play in this traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 game despite coming from the small conference MWC. A new rule forced the Rose Bowl to take a non-BCS team that automatically qualified for the BCS if a Big Ten or Pac-10 team (in this case Oregon) played for the national title.

The Horned Frogs have prior experience in BCS games, losing to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl last year, 17-10 as seven-point favorites. That contest swung on a fake punt by Boise State.

No. 5 Wisconsin (11-1 SU, 7-5 ATS) has won its last seven games SU and last six ATS. The offense is averaging a whopping 67 PPG the last three games and 43.3 PPG on the season. That’s tied with TCU for fourth in the country.

The Badgers are making their first BCS appearance since 2000. They went 3-0 SU (2-1 ATS) in the 1994, 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowls under former coach Barry Alvarez.

Here’s a look at the rest of the BCS bowl games:

Connecticut (plus 17 ½) vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Jan. 1, 5:30 p.m. PT - Glendale, AZ

Big East champion Connecticut (8-4 SU, 8-4 ATS) is considered the weak link of the BCS qualifiers. It’s hard to argue with four losses and being over a 17-point ‘dog. However, the Huskies are 5-0 SU and ATS in their last five games and have a flair for the dramatic with three of those wins by three points or less. The latest was Saturday’s 19-16 win at South Florida as 2 ½-point ‘dogs.

Oklahoma (11-2 SU, 7-6 ATS) won the Big 12 title game with a 23-20 win over rival Nebraska as 4 ½-point favorites. That dropped the Sooners’ ATS record to 7-6, the worst among BCS bowl teams. They’re 0-5 SU and ATS in their last five BCS bowls, including a 24-14 loss as 4 ½-point ‘dogs to Florida in the 2009 national title game.

No. 13 Virginia Tech (plus three) vs. No. 4 Stanford
Discover Orange Bowl
Jan. 3, 5:30 p.m. PT - Miami

Virginia Tech (11-2 SU, 10-3 ATS) has made a sterling comeback since opening losses to Boise State and Division I-AA James Madison. The Hokies have won 11 straight games (10-1 ATS). They ‘covered’ the 4 ½-points in their 44-33 ACC title game win over Florida State. The 77 total points scored went ‘over’ the 51-point total. The ‘under’ was 5-0 in Virginia Tech’s prior five games.

Stanford (11-1 SU, 7-4-1 ATS) is also extremely hot with its only loss coming at Oregon (52-31) back on Oct. 2. The Cardinal have won seven games in a row and are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five. Quarterback Andrew Luck will be the top pick in the NFL draft if he declares.

No. 8 Arkansas (plus three) vs. No. 6 Ohio State
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Jan. 4, 5:30 p.m. PT - New Orleans

Arkansas (10-2 SU, 9-3 ATS) is 6-0 SU and ATS in its last six games. The Razorbacks got the nod in this bowl over LSU thanks to a 31-23 home win over the Tigers as 3 ½-point ‘chalk’ on Nov. 27. That game went ‘under’ the 56 ½-point total after the ‘over’ went 6-0 in Arkansas’ prior six games.

Ohio State (11-1 SU, 9-2-1 ATS) finished in a three-way Big Ten tie with Wisconsin and Michigan State, but the Badgers got the Rose Bowl bid with the highest BCS ranking. The Buckeyes beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl last year, 26-17 as 4 ½-point ‘dogs. That snapped a three-game losing streak (1-2 ATS) in BCS bowls.

No. 2 Oregon (plus three) vs. No. 1 Auburn
Tostitos BCS National Championship Game
Jan. 10, 5:30 p.m. PT - Glendale, AZ

Oregon (12-0 SU, 7-4-1 ATS) is the nation’s top scoring team (49.3 PPG). The Ducks averaged 54.7 PPG in a 6-2-1 ATS start. The offense has dipped to 33.3 PPG in their last three (1-2 ATS). The slim ‘cover’ was Saturday’s 37-20 win at rival Oregon State as 16-point favorites.

Auburn is the only 13-0 SU team after a 56-17 win over South Carolina in the SEC title game. The Tigers ‘cover’ as four-point favorites makes them 6-1 ATS in their last seven and 9-4 ATS on the season. The ‘over’ is 6-2 in their last eight.

Quarterback Cam Newton, the heavy Heisman favorite, will be eligible for this game barring new evidence in his ‘pay-for-play’ scandal.

[StarDust Bum]

BCS Bowl betting lineup takes shape

Auburn's smashing 56-17 win against South Carolina as four-point favorites in the SEC championship game Saturday at the Georgia Dome puts a lot of things into play.

It keeps alive anyone who wagered on the Tigers at 100/1 to win the national championship. It probably means a Heisman Trophy for Cam Newton, who was 6/1 to win the award at the beginning of November after being part of the ‘field' before the season.

It also means the SEC could have a fourth straight national champion as Auburn will meet Oregon in the BCS title game on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

The Ducks moved their record to 12-0 with a 37-20 road victory against Oregon State barely covering as 16 ½-point favorites.

There was speculation before Saturday's action that Oregon would open a favorite against Auburn if both teams won. The oddsmakers at Pinnaclesports.com disagreed. They opened Auburn 2 ½-point favorites with an ‘over/under' of 75.

No doubt Auburn's dominance against South Carolina had something to do with this. The Tigers' 56 points was the most ever in an SEC title game. Newton accounted for six touchdowns in the victory.

Auburn is 13-0, but detractors point out the Tigers have been very fortunate winning by three at Mississippi State as one-point favorites, getting past Clemson by a field goal in overtime as 7 ½-point home favorites, defeating Kentucky by three as 5 ½-point road favorites and nipping Alabama by one point as 4 ½-point road ‘dogs after trailing by 24 points.

Newton has spearheaded an amazingly resilient Tigers squad that has trailed during eight of their 13 games. Auburn overcame double-digit deficits three times. The Tigers are 9-4 ATS.

The 75 is the highest total on an Auburn and Oregon game this season. The Ducks have had three games with totals above 70: 72 ½ against Portland State, 70 ½ versus Washington State and 72 against Southern Cal. The ‘under' cashed in two of those three with the Ducks-Trojans matchup going ‘over.'

Auburn's highest previous ‘over/under' was 73 ½ against Tennessee-Chattanooga, which went ‘over' when the Tigers won, 62-24. Auburn's next highest total was 66 versus Georgia. That also went ‘over' with the Tigers winning, 49-31.

Newton should be a shoo-in for the Heisman Trophy since the NCAA cleared him of any wrongdoing in a pay-for-play recruiting scandal involving his father. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior quarterback has accounted for a phenomenal 49 touchdowns this season, while leading the SEC in rushing.

Oregon hadn't been an underdog all season. The Ducks are 7-4-1 ATS. They were 3-3 ATS in their road games, including 2-3 in Pac-10 road contests.

Virginia Tech is headed to the Orange Bowl after beating Florida State, 44-33, as 4 ½-point favorites in the ACC championship game in Charlotte. After losing to Boise State and James Madison to begin the season, the Hokies have won 11 in a row while going 10-1 ATS.

Oklahoma earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl beating Nebraska, 23-30, as 4 ½-point favorites in the Big 12 title game at Arlington, Texas. The Sooners had covered in their three previous games.

Bowl action begins Dec. 18 with the New Mexico Bowl, Humanitarian Bowl and New Orleans Bowl.

Before that is the annual Navy-Army matchup this Saturday in the final regular-season game. This will be the 109th meeting between the two service academies. The site is Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Navy has won the past eight meetings. The Midshipmen beat Army, 17-3, last season but failed to cover as 14 ½-point favorites. The combined 20 points went ‘under' the 41-point total.

The last four games in the series have gone ‘under.' Bookmakers had yet to release a line as of Sunday morning.

[rocko]

GOOOD STUFFF GOOD STUFFFF THANkK U VERY MUCH MY BROTHER
GLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
GETER DONE PEACE

[3ebRocks]

I'll be using this thread for all the bowl games. Plus whatever news and notes i can find......
Bowl GOY Record Last Two Years 2 - 0

So Come by now and then and check out whats on the news and notes and Picks.....Good Luck !

Oh by the way i think it SUCKS that Temple Owls were Left out of a bowl game and you have other teams who are worst and playing in a bowl game........Just not right......something is totally wrong there....a 8-4 Team left out and a bunch of 6 -6 teams are in.......

Great info, thanks!

As far as Temple goes, I totally agree with you that it sucks for them. They have been down for so long and have a very decent 8-4 season and are left out. That really sucks. I think they went to bowls the last two years, but before that it had been 20 or 30 years and they were dreadful for most of them. They should have been rewarded for an 8-4 season.

But as we all know, its all about money. And those 6-6 teams that got picked ahead of them will bring more people to stadiums. Its as black and white and cut and dried as that. Even in the midst of their solid season, nobody went to their games and I mean nobody. They need a stadium on campus. Not the 75000 seat Linc that looks empty even if they do manage to draw 20000. Temple basketball draws well because McGonigle Hall is right there on Broad Street and the fans dont have to mess with probably the worst section of Philly which happens to surround the campus. Just IMO of course.

[StarDust Bum]

BCS odds unaffected by Cam Newton controversy

The specter of the Cam Newton recruiting scandal may still be hanging over college football’s national title game, but it’s having little effect on the odds for the January 10 contest from Glendale, Arizona.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) sent out an opening line of the SEC Auburn Tigers minus 1 ½ over the Pac-10 Oregon Ducks. The spread quickly moved to Auburn minus three at most Vegas and offshore sports books.

Newton has been marred in a ‘pay-for-play’ controversy. His father Cecil tried to sell his services to Mississippi State before landing at Auburn. The NCAA ruled that neither Cam Newton nor Auburn were culpable and he’s eligible to play in the championship game barring new evidence.

Oregon may be a touchdown favorite or more if Newton is ruled ineligible, so the oddsmakers seem confident he’ll play.

Newton is a finalist (and the favorite) for Saturday’s Heisman Trophy. He’ll be joined in New York by Oregon’s LaMichael James, Stanford's Andrew Luck and Boise State’s Kellen Moore. A few writers have taken Newton off their ballot due to the controversy, but he should still walk away with the hardware.

One item that can’t be debated is Newton’s play on the field. He’s first in the nation in passing efficiency (188.2) and the 15th leading rusher (108.4 YPG). He had 335 passing yards, four touchdowns and no picks in the 56-17 SEC title game win over South Carolina. He added 73 rushing yards and two more TDs.

The No. 1 Tigers (13-0 straight-up, 9-4 against the spread) easily ‘covered’ the modest four-point spread against South Carolina and are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games. The offense is scoring 42.7 PPG this year, with the defense allowing 24.5 PPG. The ‘over’ is 6-2 in the last eight games and 8-5 on the season.

Newton’s help on offense comes from freshman running back Michael Dyer (950 yards) and wideout Darvin Adams, who exploded for 217 receiving yards last week. The defense ranks just 54th in the country at 362.2 YPG, but came up big in the stunning 28-27 win at Alabama after trailing 24-0. Holding South Carolina to 17 points last week was also impressive.

No. 2 Oregon (12-0 SU, 7-4-1 ATS) leads the nation in scoring at 49.3 PPG. Sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas came out of nowhere after Jeremiah Masoli was sent packing. Thomas has thrown for 2,518 yards (209.8 YPG vs. Newton’s 199.2) and is the team’s third-leading rusher (488 yards).

James is the only non-quarterback Heisman finalist for a reason. He’s rushed for 1,682 yards even after being suspended for the first game. Opposing defenders have to cheat up on the play-action-pass to James, which gives Thomas plenty of room to throw over the middle.

The Ducks are 1-2 ATS in their last three games after starting 6-2-1 ATS. They almost lost at California, 15-13, as 18 ½-point favorites on Nov. 13 but rebounded with wins over Arizona (48-29) and Oregon (37-20) as 20 ½ and 16-point ‘chalk’ respectively. The offense is not clicking as much as the first nine games, when it averaged 54.7 PPG.

Oregon’s defense is ranked 14th in points (18.4 PPG) and 25th in total yards (331.6 YPG) At least some of the improvement over Auburn is due to an easier schedule. The Ducks have only played two ranked teams (No. 24 USC and No. 21 Arizona).

Auburn has played five ranked teams, with four of them ranked No. 12 or better. The national champion has come from the SEC (Florida, LSU, Florida, Alabama) the last four years.

This is both schools first trip to the national title game and the first meeting against each other.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly and Auburn’s Gene Chizik are both in their second year. Oregon got upset by Ohio State in the Rose Bowl last year, 26-17 as 4 ½-point favorites. Auburn beat Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, 38-35 as nine-point ‘chalk.’

The ‘under’ is 7-1 in Auburn’s last eight bowl games and 4-1 in Oregon’s last five bowls.

Kickoff from University of Phoenix Stadium is at 5:30 pm (PT).

[StarDust Bum]

BCS Betting Preview: Why Oregon beats Auburn

A slight apology to Texas Christian University, but the NCAA got it right this season.

Oregon-Auburn is a natural matchup for the BCS National Championship Game. The question now becomes which unbeaten team is the right one to back?

The college football betting line is Auburn minus three with an ‘over/under’ of 74.

That makes Oregon very attractive as an underdog. Several hotels in Las Vegas actually opened the Ducks as the favorite.

Early money has been on Auburn. Expect the public to back the Tigers, too, as the Jan. 10 game draws closer. Auburn captured the Southeastern Conference beating South Carolina in impressive fashion, 56-17, as four-point favorites in the league championship game. That is going to stay with bettors.

So is the image of Cam Newton, the most dominant player in the country, and the fact that SEC schools have won the last four national championships.

There’s no rush to wager on Oregon right now. Speculation is the line will go up rather than down. The Gold Sheet newsletter, whose power rankings are universally respected, has Auburn one-point better than Oregon.

It’s easy to conclude the value is with Oregon at plus three. A money line wager probably is the way to go to with a big total and small spread.

Can the Ducks win, though?

The SEC is the strongest conference in the country again and this was a mediocre year in the Pac-10 Conference.

Oregon’s offense, however, is even more potent than Auburn’s plus the Ducks are better defensively. No team averaged more yards per game than Oregon at 542.1. The Ducks also led the nation in scoring averaging 49.3 points a game and were No. 3 in rushing at 309.9 yards on the ground per game.

LaMichael James led the nation in rushing with 1,682 yards and rushing touchdowns with 21. He had nine 100-yard rushing games averaging 6.1 yards a carry. Kenjon Barner rushed for 537 yards while averaging an even-higher 6.6 yards per rush attempt. Quarterback Darron Thomas ran for 492 yards and averaged 5.8 yards a run.

Auburn has a stingy run defense allowing 104 yards a game on the ground, which is ninth-best in the country. However, the Tigers ranked 105th in pass defense surrendering 250.5 yards per game through the air.

Thomas isn’t Newton, but he is a good two-way threat. Thomas has completed 60.6 percent of his throws for 2,500 yards with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28-to-seven. That’s as many touchdown passes as Newton has and one less interception despite throwing 74 more times.

The Ducks’ defense is stronger than Auburn’s ranking 27th in total defense giving up 327.8 yards a game. The Tigers rate 52nd in total defense allowing 354.5 yards per contest and are 54th in scoring defense giving up 24.5 points a game.

No player is more valuable to his team than Newton. The Ducks will be primed to stop him. They rank 19th in run defense holding foes to 113.8 yards on the ground.

Oregon also has a ball-hawking secondary that has helped the Ducks achieve a plus 13 takeaway/giveaway ratio. The Ducks have been strong in the Red Zone holding foes to less than 50 percent in Red Zone touchdowns.

The venue is another plus for Oregon. The matchup is being held at the University of Phoenix Stadium a distance of 938 miles from Oregon’s campus. Auburn is coming from Alabama, which is almost twice as far.

The Ducks tasted a big-time bowl game last season when they lost 26-17 to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. That defeat has been a motivator for the Ducks and a learning factor.

Experience is a great teacher. The Ducks will be ready this year. Both teams have explosive offensive talent, but look for Oregon to be the one that finishes on top.

[StarDust Bum]

BCS Betting Preview: Why Auburn beats Oregon

The final BCS rankings are in and there is little doubt the system got things right this season as the top two schools in the country, Auburn and Oregon, are set to play one another on January 10 in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.

Before the season began these two teams were not the most likely candidates to climb to the top two spots in the country. Auburn (13-0) opened as the fourth favorite to win the SEC West behind Alabama, LSU and Arkansas, and opened as high as 50/1 to win a national title. Oregon (12-0) was the odds-on-favorite to win the Pac-10 but opened at 20/1 to win the BCS.

Nonetheless, these two teams passed every test they faced and deserve to be in this game. The big question now is which team wins?

Most of the sports books have opened the Tigers as a three-point favorite with an ‘over/under’ line set at 74. Auburn minus three points is an early Christmas gift as this line should go nowhere but up over the next few weeks because based on statistics, strength of schedule and past trends it clearly has a significant edge in this game.

This matchup features the two most explosive offenses in college football that have primarily made their living running the ball. Auburn ended the season ranked sixth in the nation averaging 287.2 rushing yards per game while Oregon was even better, coming in fourth with 303.5 yards per game.

Much of the Tigers’ success can be attributed to having an extremely versatile quarterback in Cameron Newton, who threw for 2,589 yards and ran for a team-high 1,409 yards which also happened to be 10th best in country.

The Ducks counter with running back LaMichael James, who was ranked first in the nation in rushing with 1,682 yards. Diversity is the spice of life, so give the advantage in this category to Newton.

These are also two of the most prolific scoring teams in the country with Auburn averaging 42.7 points per game and Oregon averaging 49.3, so the key to this game will most likely be which team’s defense does the best job at slowing things down. Much has been made about the Tigers’ 52nd ranked defense that has given up an average of 354.5 total yards versus a Ducks defense that is ranked 27th overall, giving up an average of 327.8 total yards. One major fact to keep in mind is that Auburn’s run defense ended the season ranked ninth in the country, allowing 104 yards per game verse Oregon’s 19th ranked run defense that gave up 113.8 yards per game.

Auburn’s biggest advantage coming into this game is strength of schedule. Everyone already knows that the SEC is a much stronger conference than the Pac-10, but each team’s schedule clearly bears this out. The Tigers have already beaten three top-10 schools compared to Oregon’s one win over a top-10 team. While the Ducks’ are hanging their hat on their 52-31 win over Stanford, the Tigers have victories over Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina (twice) on their resume.

Oregon’s biggest scare this season was a 15-13 win over unranked Cal as an 18 ½-point road favorite, while the Tigers had to battle back from a 24-0 deficit to beat the then-No. 11 Crimson Tide, 28-27, as a 4 ½-point road underdog. Do not underestimate the value of being battle tested in big games as Auburn has already proven it can overcome major adversity while the jury is still out on Oregon.

From a trends standpoint Auburn is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games as a favorite and 6-1 ATS in its last seven games overall. Oregon is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games against a team with a winning record and 3-3-1 ATS in its last six games overall.

All told, I am not saying that Oregon cannot win this game, I am simply saying they won’t.

[StarDust Bum]

BCS Sugar Bowl Free Pick: Ohio State vs Arkansas

Despite the college football bowl season becoming diluted over the years with close to three dozen postseason contests nowadays, standard-bearers like the Sugar Bowl remain among the sport's greatest traditions. This year's matchup at the Louisiana Superdome certainly continues that with two schools that have appeared in 79 previous bowl contests combined.

Of course, there's one tradition the Ohio State Buckeyes would love to end when they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks January 4 in New Orleans. The Buckeyes head into the fracas with an ugly 0-9 record against SEC schools in the postseason, including two festering losses in recent BCS Championships.

Oddsmakers like Ohio State's chances of stopping the streak. The Buckeyes are 3½-point favorites over the Hogs at DSI with a little more than three weeks to go before kickoff. Game totals range from 57-58, with DSI currently in the middle at 57½.

Jim Tressel's Buckeyes had designs on a third BCS title matchup in five seasons when the 2010 campaign started, and who knows how things may have played out without their 31-18 loss on Oct. 16 at Wisconsin. A victory then, and Ohio State (11-1 straight up) might very well be meeting another SEC team for the hardware by taking Oregon's spot against Auburn.

As it is, OSU will be making a record ninth appearance in a BCS Bowl, and sixth straight.

The Buckeyes didn't let that lone defeat get to them, closing the season with five solid wins, four in runaway fashion. Ohio State backers thoroughly enjoyed the ride, cashing nine of 12 tickets with one push. The loss at the Badgers came with the Buckeyes four-point favorites; their other spread defeat was a 24-13 win at Illinois as 15½-point chalk.

Arkansas is playing in its very first BCS Bowl with 30 years passing since the Razorbacks made their last appearance in the Sugar Bowl. Like the Buckeyes, Bobby Petrino's squad closed strong with six-straight wins that included a dramatic 31-23 victory over then-No. 5 LSU in the regular season finale. Up 21-20 just barely into the fourth quarter, Petrino elected to go for it on 4th-&-3 from the Tigers 39-yard line, and Ryan Mallett made it the right decision with a touchdown strike to wideout and punt return specialist Joe Adams.

The Razorbacks (10-2 straight up) were 3½-point favorites versus LSU, giving them not only their sixth consecutive victory on the gridiron but also their sixth straight at the window where Arkansas ended 9-3 against the spread.

As is so often the case, the quarterbacks are the focus the pregame hype with Mallett for Arkansas and Terrelle Pryor for Ohio State each putting up fantastic numbers. Both were expected to do just that with Pryor (plus 500) and Mallett (plus 1000) ranking second and third in Heisman Trophy futures odds behind 2009 winner Mark Ingram of Alabama.

The two obviously both possess talent, they're both in the 6-foot-6, 235-pound range, and both are juniors. However, they couldn't be more different.

Mallett is more of a prototypical QB in the drop-back, pocket passer sense. Pryor's a scrambler and gifted runner, his 639 yards on the ground this season giving him over 2,000 for his career.

Each offense ranks among the best units in the nation, Ohio State 11th in scoring at 39.4 points per game and Arkansas 16th at 37.3. Each school has also proven it can shut the other teams down with great defensive play. The Buckeyes ranked second in total defense (250.5 yards per game) and fourth in pass defense (156.2); the Razorbacks came home 34th in total yards allowed (339.7), 16th through the air (182.33).

Both schools also perform well on special teams. Freshman Zach Hocker was perfect on 55 extra point kicks for the Hogs, hitting on 13-of-16 field goal tries, 5-for-7 from 40-51 yards. . Buckeyes booter Devin Barclay, a senior, was among the leading scorers among kickers on the season, converting all 58 PAT's and 19-of-22 field goals (3-for-4 from 40-48 yards).

So, what gives?

There's an old adage among bettors that one should never bet against a streak, in this case Ohio State's nine-game bowl skid against the SEC. I largely subscribe to that rule, but won't in this game. I like the Buckeyes by 6-7 at game's end as well as the 'under.' Final: Ohio State, 30-23.

[StarDust Bum]

Orange Bowl Free Pick: Stanford vs Virginia Tech

Never before in Orange Bowl history has an Atlantic Coast Conference team met a Pacific-10 opponent.

That changes when fifth-ranked Stanford takes on No. 12 Virginia Tech on Jan. 3 at 5:30 PT at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Stanford is minus three with the ‘over/under’ at 58 ½.

Virginia Tech persevered its way to this major bowl game by winning its last 11 games. Stanford is the glamour team, though, in this matchup. The Cardinal have a popular head coaching candidate in Jim Harbaugh and junior quarterback Andrew Luck could be the No. 1 overall pick if he forgoes his senior season.

No disrespect to long-time and respected Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and Tyrod Taylor, the ACC player of the year, but it’s hard not to like Stanford at this pointspread.

Sparked by Luck, the Cardinal set a school record with 484 points in going 11-1. Their only loss was to undefeated Pac-10 champion Oregon, 52-31, as 6 ½-point road ‘dogs.

Luck threw for more than 3,000 yards, threw 28 touchdown passes – breaking the school record of 27 shared by John Elway and Steven Stenstrom – and was mobile enough to rush for 438 yards while being sacked just five times in 349 attempts.

Tyrod Taylor has drawn comparisons to Michael Vick due to his running and passing skills. The Hokies have an excellent ground attack featuring Taylor, Ryan Williams, Darren Evans and David Wilson. But the Hokies don’t have the vertical passing game Stanford has. The Hokies rank 75th in passing.

Luck may be the best pure passer in the country completing 70.2 percent of his throws. The Cardinal averages 40.3 points a game, eighth-highest in the nation.

Stanford also has an underrated defense. The Cardinal ranks in the top 25 in several categories, including scoring defense (11th allowing 17.7 points per game), total defense (24th), interceptions (17th) and rushing defense (24th).

Virginia Tech is the only team to win 10 games each of the past seven seasons. This is the Hokies’ 18th straight bowl appearance under Beamer. Virginia Tech is 8-9 in bowls during this time. This will be its fourth Orange Bowl.

Stanford is traveling cross-country. That could hurt its fan support. But the Cardinal will be excited to play in this big of a bowl. In just four years under Harbaugh, the Cardinal has gone from 1-11 to 11-1. They made their first bowl game last season since 2001 losing 31-27 to Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl as 10-point underdogs.

The Pac-10 turned out to be a very strong conference at the top with Oregon and Stanford. The ACC, by contrast, has been down for a while.

Virginia Tech caught a break in its 44-33 ACC title game victory against Florida State when the Seminoles star quarterback Christian Ponder was held out because of an elbow injury.

The Hokies expected to contend for the national championship. Those hopes were dashed early when they lost to Boise State in their opener, 33-30, on a touchdown pass with 1:09 left and then lost four days later at home to I-AA team James Madison.

It’s a tremendous credit to the Hokies to come back from those losses and capture their third ACC title in four years. But the Cardinal figures to be the more motivated squad as bowl games are something fairly new for them.

Virginia Tech is 14-5 ATS the past 19 times it has been an underdog. The Hokies also are 39-17 ATS versus foes with a winning mark.

The Hokies also have won and covered in their last two bowl games beating Tennessee 37-14 as five-point favorites last season in the Chick-fil-A Bowl and defeating Cincinnati, 20-7, as 2 ½-point underdogs two years ago in the Orange Bowl.

But I’m sold on Luck and Stanford.

[StarDust Bum]

BCS Fiesta Bowl Free Pick: Oklahoma vs UConn

The January 1 Fiesta Bowl matchup between the BCS No.7 Oklahoma Sooners and unranked Connecticut Huskies is by far the biggest spread of the BCS bowls, but which team is the better value?

This is the first meeting ever between these schools. Kickoff from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona will be 5:30 p.m. (PT) and broadcast on ESPN.

Bookmaker.com has the Sooners as 17-point favorites with a total of 55 points. They’re tied with Boise State (minus 17 over Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl) as the biggest favorite of the 35 bowls. None of the other four BCS bowls have a spread more than 3 ½-points.

The Sooners (11-2 straight-up, 7-6 against the spread) made it to the Fiesta Bowl thanks to a 23-20 win over Nebraska in the Big 12 title game. Oklahoma trailed 17-0, but rallied behind 342 passing yards from sophomore quarterback Landry Jones. It also helped that Nebraska self-destructed with four turnovers. Oklahoma did fail to ‘cover’ as 4 ½-point favorites.

Jones led the nation’s fourth ranked passing attack (336.8 YPG) and will be going up against a Connecticut pass defense ranked 42nd (206.4 YPG) despite not facing a lot of high powered passing attacks. Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles (1,452 yards) is one of the best receivers in the country and running back DeMarco Murray (1,121 yards) keeps the offense balanced.

The Sooners scored 48.3 PPG in their final three regular season games, wins and covers over Texas Tech (45-7), Baylor (53-24) and Oklahoma State (47-41). The last two proved they could win away from home after starting the season 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS in true road games.

One issue Oklahoma is dealing with is a coaching change. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was named head coach at Indiana and will stay with Oklahoma through the Fiesta Bowl as tight ends and fullbacks coach. Bob Stoops has named two offensive coordinators, Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell, but Heupel will call the plays.

The Sooners also have a monkey on their back when it comes to BCS games. They were in five BCS bowls between the 2003-2008 seasons and went 0-5 SU and ATS. Three of those losses were for the national championship.

The other two defeats came in the Fiesta Bowl. In January 2007, Boise State shocked the Sooners 43-42 in overtime as seven-point underdogs. The next year, West Virginia beat them 48-28 as eight-point ‘dogs.

Last season, Okalahoma went 8-5 SU after Jones took over for an injured Sam Bradford early in the season. The Sooners did beat Stanford (31-27) in the Sun Bowl, but failed to ‘cover’ as 10-point ‘chalk.’

Connecticut is the Big East champion with a modest 8-4 SU record (also 8-4 ATS). That’s made for a lot of critics, who question whether the conference is worthy of an automatic BCS bid.

Coach Randy Edsall’s team has been nothing if not resilient the last two years. Last season it started 4-5 SU, only to win its final four games. That included a 20-7 upset win over South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl as 3 ½-point ‘dogs.

The Huskies started 3-4 SU this year (3-4 ATS), with losses to Temple (30-16) and Rutgers (27-24), two teams that didn’t even make a bowl. However, Connecticut ended with one of its patented runs, going 5-0 SU and ATS. Four of those were as underdogs of six points or less.

Senior quarterback Zach Frazer regained his starting job (after being demoted to third string) right before the five-game winning streak. He threw for just 119.4 YPG in those contests, with the team scoring just 25.2 PPG, However, he knows how to pull out close games.

It also helps to have running back Jordan Todman, the second-leading rusher in the country (143.1 YPG).

The question is whether Connecticut can have success running the ball and keep the powerful Okalahoma offense on the sidelines. The Sooners have had some trouble stopping the run (151.8 YPG, 62nd nationally), but will stack the line of scrimmage and force Frazer to beat them.

That’s not very likely and I see Oklahoma taking out all its previous BCS frustrations with a 20-plus point win.

[st bobby]

I'll be using this thread for all the bowl games. Plus whatever news and notes i can find......
Bowl GOY Record Last Two Years 2 - 0

So Come by now and then and check out whats on the news and notes and Picks.....Good Luck !

Oh by the way i think it SUCKS that Temple Owls were Left out of a bowl game and you have other teams who are worst and playing in a bowl game........Just not right......something is totally wrong there....a 8-4 Team left out and a bunch of 6 -6 teams are in.......

please highlite your bowl game of year i cant find it

[StarDust Bum]

Northern Illinois goes for 11th win of season


HUMANITARIAN BOWL
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES (10-3)
vs. FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (8-4)

Bronco Stadium – Boise, ID
Kickoff: Saturday, Dec. 18, 5:30 p.m. EDT
Line: Northern Illinois -1, Total: 59

Northern Illinois will try to win a school-record 11th game of the season when it meets Fresno State on the blue turf in Boise, ID without its head coach. Jerry Kill led NIU to a 10-3 record and a Humanitarian Bowl bid, but he accepted the head coaching job at Minnesota. Kill’s successor, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren, will stay with the Badgers through their Rose Bowl appearance in January, and linebackers coach Tom Matukewicz will be the interim coach against Fresno State, which has won five of its past seven games. The two losses were to WAC powerhouses Boise State and Nevada.

Northern Illinois had a nine-game win streak working before it got upset by Miami-Ohio in the MAC Championship. After scoring 65.0 PPG with 387 rushing YPG in the three games prior to the MAC final, NIU only scored 21 and rushed for only 92 yards on 32 carries. Miami-Ohio was 24th in rushing defense entering that game, and the Huskies should be able to run on a 66th-ranked Fresno rush defense that allowed 318 rushing yards to Illinois in its last game. MAC Player of the Year Chad Spann leads his conference in rushing (99.5 YPG) and has 20 touchdowns on the season. QB Chandler Harnish has 64 rushing YPG to go along with 186 passing YPG, 20 TD and five interceptions. His 2,991 total yards set a school record and helped lead the Huskies to 37.9 PPG, good for 13th in the nation.

The Bulldogs might have a tougher time rushing the football with leading ground gainer Robbie Rouse (110 rush YPG) less than 100 percent due to a rib injury. Fresno senior QB Ryan Colburn threw for 304 yards and 3 TD against Illinois, his fourth game this year of 3+ TD passes. The Bulldogs rank tied for sixth in the nation in sacks (3.1 per game) with their dynamic pass-rush duo of WAC Defensive Player of the Year Chris Carter (11 sacks) and Logan Harrell (10.5 sacks). Fresno State will be missing three players who violated team rules -- LB Kyle Knox (2nd on team with 74 tackles), WR Matt Lindsey (14 rec., 208 yds) and LB Daniel Salinas, who has not played this season.

Northern Illinois is 2-3 all-time in bowl games and is playing in its third straight bowl, dropping the past two by scores of 17-10 and 27-3. Fresno State has scored 103 total points over its three consecutive bowl appearances, but is only 1-2 (SU & ATS) in those games. The win was at this Humanitarian Bowl in 2007 when Fresno knocked off Georgia Tech, 40-28.

The schools have split four all-time meetings, with the Bulldogs winning a 55-7 laugher in the most recent game in 1991. The FoxSheets give two reasons to pick Northern Illinois to win.

N ILLINOIS is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) after 2 consecutive games where they committed 1 or less turnovers this season. The average score was N ILLINOIS 47.3, OPPONENT 19.8 - (Rating = 2*).

FRESNO ST is 3-13 ATS (18.8%, -11.3 Units) after having won 2 out of their last 3 games over the last 3 seasons. The average score was FRESNO ST 31.2, OPPONENT 34.7 - (Rating = 2*).

The past three matchups on Boise’s blue turf have all gone OVER the total, but this highly-rated FoxSheets trend expects the Under to occur:

Play Under - Any team against the total (UTEP, BYU) - in a bowl game, in a non-conference game between two teams from second-tier Division I conferences. (42-14 since 1992.) (75%, +26.6 units. Rating = 3*).

[StarDust Bum]

NCAA Odds: BYU, UTEP open college bowl season


Ready or not, the bowl season kicks off Saturday with the University of Texas-El Paso taking on Brigham Young University at 11 a.m. PT in the New Mexico Bowl.

The oddsmaking firm of Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened BYU minus 9 ½. The Cougars currently are up to 11 ½ with the ‘over/under’ at 50.

BYU has history and a hot finish going for it. UTEP has motivation and crowd support with the game being played in Albuquerque about a 3 ½-hour drive from El Paso.

As of mid-week, BYU had only sold 1,000 tickets. The Cougars also play UCLA in basketball on Saturday afternoon, which figures to impact fan participation for the football game.

The Miners and Cougars are each 6-6, but how they reached their mediocre records is a contrast.

The Cougars opened with a 23-17 victory against Washington. They then proceeded to lose four in a row before winning five of their last seven to earn a sixth consecutive bowl appearance. BYU covered six of its last seven.

The Miners went the opposite way winning five of their first six before going 1-5.

BYU and UTEP last played in 1998 when both were in the Western Athletic Conference. The Cougars lead the all-time series 28-7-1 having won 25 of the previous 27 meetings.

BYU is becoming an independent next season after finishing fifth in the Mountain West Conference. UTEP tied for the fifth-best mark in Conference USA.

UTEP last won a bowl game in 1967 when it defeated Mississippi, 14-7, in the Sun Bowl. The Miners’ last bowl appearance was in the GMAC Bowl in 2005 when they fell to Toledo, 45-13.

The Miners probably aren’t going to treat this matchup as the ho-hum bowl it is. A big key is the health of their quarterback, Trevor Vittatoe. The senior holds the school record for passing yards with 12,194 and touchdowns with 94.

Hobbled by a sprained ankle and with his offensive line banged-up, Vittatoe averaged just 155.6 yards passing and threw eight interceptions during the Miners’ last six games. The four-year starter isn’t back to 100 percent but his ankle has improved. The Miners last played on Nov. 20 when they lost 31-28 to Tulsa as 17 ½-point road ‘dogs.

BYU ranks 21st in pass defense holding foes to 187.8 yards passing. The Cougars have held opponents to 10.3 points during their last four games after surrendering an average of 27 points in the first eight games.

The ‘under’ covered in nine of the Cougars’ 12 games. They averaged less than 16 points in their first five games before turning more explosive as quarterback Jake Heaps became more comfortable under center, averaging 37 points during their last five games.

Heaps will become the first freshman to start a bowl game for BYU. He has a 9:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his last four games averaging 228 yards through the air during this span.

BYU last played on Nov. 27 when it was edged, 17-16, by Utah. The Cougars, 7 ½-point road ‘dogs to the Utes, had their four-game winning streak snapped when Mitch Payne’s 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked with four seconds remaining.

UTEP is dangerous on special teams thanks to speedy returner Marlon McClure. The Miners rank in the top 11 in kick and punt returns. The Miners also have committed just 18 turnovers, which is tied for 33rd best in the nation.

Since 2000, bowl underdogs of seven points or more are 67-37 (64 percent).

The weather forecast is for partly cloudy with temperatures in the 40s and only two mph winds.

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday, December 18Game Score Status Pick Amount

Texas El Paso - 2:00 PM ET Brigham Young -11 500
Brigham Young - Over 51 500

Northern Illinois - 5:30 PM ET Fresno State +1.5 500 ( POD )
Fresno State - Over 58 500

Ohio - 9:00 PM ET Ohio +2 500
Troy - Over 58 500