Cnotes 2019-2020 College Football Trends-News-Notes-Best Bets & Opinions !

[StarDust Bum]

227N CAROLINA -228 TEMPLE
N CAROLINA is 12-33 ATS (-24.3 Units) after scoring 31 points or more in 2 straight games since 1992.

229MICHIGAN ST -230 WAKE FOREST
MICHIGAN ST is 6-19 ATS (-14.9 Units) in road games after failing to cover the spread in 4 or 5 out of their last 6 games since 1992.

231OKLAHOMA ST -232 TEXAS A&M
TEXAS A&M is 9-26 ATS (-19.6 Units) in road games after a bye week since 1992.

233USC -234 IOWA
IOWA is 60-30 ATS (27 Units) after failing to cover the spread in 2 out of their last 3 games since 1992.

235WASHINGTON ST -236 AIR FORCE
AIR FORCE is 18-44 ATS (-30.4 Units) vs. poor passing defenses - allowing 8 or more passing yards/att. since 1992.


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Friday, December 27

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N CAROLINA (6 - 6) vs. TEMPLE (8 - 4) - 12/27/2019, 12:00:00 P
Top Trends for this game.
TEMPLE is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) in road games after playing a conference game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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MICHIGAN ST (6 - 6) vs. WAKE FOREST (8 - 4) - 12/27/2019, 3:20:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MICHIGAN ST is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MICHIGAN ST is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) in all lined games over the last 2 seasons.
MICHIGAN ST is 1-7 ATS (-6.7 Units) after playing a conference game this season.
MICHIGAN ST is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons.
MICHIGAN ST is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WAKE FOREST is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) in games played on a neutral field since 1992.
WAKE FOREST is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in December games since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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OKLAHOMA ST (8 - 4) vs. TEXAS A&M (7 - 5) - 12/27/2019, 6:45:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA ST is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.
TEXAS A&M is 23-39 ATS (-19.9 Units) after a bye week since 1992.
TEXAS A&M is 71-99 ATS (-37.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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USC (8 - 4) vs. IOWA (9 - 3) - 12/27/2019, 8:00:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
USC is 5-15 ATS (-11.5 Units) in December games since 1992.
USC is 33-56 ATS (-28.6 Units) in road games after 2 or more consecutive straight up wins since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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WASHINGTON ST (6 - 6) vs. AIR FORCE (10 - 2) - 12/27/2019, 10:15:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
AIR FORCE is 23-10 ATS (+12.0 Units) in road games when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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Dec. 27- Military Bowl, Annapolis
Temple is 21-7 ATS in last 28 games as an underdog, 5-2 TY; Owls’ coach Carey was 0-6 SU in bowls at Northern Illinois- Temple lost three of its last four bowls, losing this game 34-26 (-12) three years ago. Three of Temple’s last four games stayed under. Mack Brown went 6-6 in his return to Chapel Hill; nine of their 12 games were decided by 7 or less points, including all six losses. UNC is 2-5-1 ATS in last eight games as a favorite; they lost their last three bowls, giving up 38 ppg- their last bowl win was in 2013. Tar Heels are 6-2 when they allow 25 or fewer points, 0-4 when they allow more. Underdogs are 4-2 vs spread in last six Military Bowls that didn’t involve host school Navy; average total in this bowl last five years is 60.8.

Pinstripe Bowl, Bronx
Michigan State had a 5-game losing skid after a 4-1 start, allowing 34+ points in all five losses; they’re 5-1 when they allow 17 or less points, 0-5 when they allow more. Spartans are 5-11 ATS in last 16 games as a favorite, 3-5 TY- they scored 10 or fewer points in five of their six losses. State split their last four bowls, scoring 42-0-42-6 points; five of their last seven games went under. Wake Forest won its last three bowls, scoring 42 ppg; they lost three of last four games (giving up 38.5 ppg) after 7-1 start. Deacons are 4-7 ATS in last 11 games as an underdog, 1-1 TY. Big 14 teams won this bowl four of last five years; underdogs covered this bowl seven of last eight years, with average total of 56.2 in last six. Check the weather; NYC in December can be dicey.

Texas Bowl, Houston
Oklahoma State won four of its last five games after giving up 45 points in consecutive losses to Texas Tech/Baylor in October; Cowboys are 10-4 ATS in last 14 games as an underdog, 2-1 TY. Four of their last five games went under the total. OSU won its last three bowls, scoring 38-30-38 points; they covered four of last five bowls. Texas A&M is 7-5, losing last two games, to Georgia/LSU- they lost 50-7 to LSU. Aggies are 8-5-1 ATS in last 14 games as an underdog, 2-2 TY. A&M lost three of last four bowls, despite scoring 52-52 points in last two. Jimbo Fisher is 6-2 SU in bowls. A&M’s last three games went under. Big X teams are 5-2 SU in last seven Texas Bowls, beating SEC teams the last three years, with average total of 58.5 in last six.

Holiday Bowl, San Diego
USC won five of its last six games after a 3-3 start, scoring 31-41-52 points in last three games, which saved coach Helton’s job- freshman QB Slovis threw for 466 ypg in those games. USC allowed 26+ points in four of last five games; they’re 5-12 ATS in last 17 games as an underdog, 2-2 TY. Trojans are 3-2 in last five bowls, scoring 45+ points in the wins; they didn’t go bowling LY. Iowa won five of its last six games, giving up 17.7 ppg in winning last three; they’re 12-6 ATS in last 18 games as a favorite, 5-4 TY. Hawkeyes won their last two bowls, after losing previous five. Underdogs covered this game six of last seven games; Big 14 teams won this game last four years. Average total in last four Holiday Bowls, 45.8.

Cheez-It Bowl, Phoenix
Air Force won its last seven games since a 34-25 loss to Navy; Falcons actually threw for 327 yards at New Mexico. Flyboys are 12-18 ATS in last 30 games as a favorite, 5-4 TY. Four of their last five games went under. Falcons are in its first bowl in three years; they lost three of last five bowls, with average total of 69.8. Mike Leach is 7-7 in bowls, 2-3 at Washington State, with average total of 54. Coogs scored only 19.3 ppg in last four bowls. Wazzu was 3-0 TY, then blew a 49-17 third quarter lead, lost 67-63 at home to UCLA and their season fell apart. Coogs lost six of last nine games, scoring 41+ points in the wins; four of their last five games went over. Underdogs covered this bowl five of last seven years, with average total of 48.7 in last six.


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Friday, December 27

North Carolina @ Temple

Game 227-228
December 27, 2019 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
North Carolina
89.652
Temple
88.992
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
North Carolina
by 1
58
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
North Carolina
by 5
53 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Temple
(+5); Over

Michigan State @ Wake Forest

Game 229-230
December 27, 2019 @ 3:20 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Michigan State
85.833
Wake Forest
84.905
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Michigan State
by 1
63
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Michigan State
by 4 1/2
49
Dunkel Pick:
Wake Forest
(+4 1/2); Over

Oklahoma State @ Texas A&M

Game 231-232
December 27, 2019 @ 6:45 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Oklahoma State
91.825
Texas A&M
102.655
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Texas A&M
by 11
49
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Texas A&M
by 7
54
Dunkel Pick:
Texas A&M
(-7); Under

USC @ Iowa

Game 233-234
December 27, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
USC
97.554
Iowa
101.711
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Iowa
by 4
48
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Iowa
by 2
52
Dunkel Pick:
Iowa
(-2); Under

Air Force @ Washington St

Game 235-236
December 27, 2019 @ 10:15 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Air Force
91.157
Washington St
90.934
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington St
Even
70
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Air Force
by 3
67 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington St
(+3); Over

[StarDust Bum]

Friday, December 27

NORTH CAROLINA vs. TEMPLE (Military Bowl)... Mack Brown just 2-3-1 as chalk this year, 2-3 vs. spread away from Chapel Hill. Owls covered last 4 in 2019 in 8-4 spread season, 4-2 as dog, though Rod Carey was 0-6 SU and vs. spread in bowls with NIU.
UNC, based on Carey bowl marks.


MICHIGAN STATE vs. WAKE FOREST (Yankee Pinstripe Bowl)...MSU 3-9 vs. line TY, 8-17 vs. spread since 2018, 5-11 as chalk since 2018. Though Dantonio 6-1 vs. spread last seven bowls. Clawson 3-0 SU in bowls with Wake. Deacs 5-1 vs. line last 6 vs. non-ACC.
Wake Forest, based on team trends.


OKLAHOMA STATE vs. TEXAS A&M (Texas Bowl)...Gundy on 12-4 spread uptick since late 2018, has also won and covered last 3 and 4 of last 5 bowls. OSU also 14-4 as dog since 2015.
Oklahoma State, based on team trends.


SOUTHERN CAL vs. IOWA (Holiday Bowl)...SC no covers last 3 or 5 of last 6 bowls. Helton 1-8 vs. spread last 9 vs. non-Pac 12 foes. Ferentz has won and covered last 2 owls and is 7-4 last 11 in bowl games vs. line, and 9-3-1 vs. spread last 13 away from Iowa City.
Iowa, based on team trends.


WASHINGTON STATE vs. AIR FORCE (Cheez-it Bowl)...Leach no covers last 3 or 4 of last 5 bowl with Cougs. WSU also 4-8 vs. line last 12 vs. non-Pac 12, and just 1-6 vs. spread last 7 away from Pullman. Calhoun 13-3 vs. spread last 16 vs. non-MW foes.
Air Force, based on team trends.


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Friday's Bowl Tip Sheet
Joe Williams

Texas Bowl (ESPN, 6:45 p.m. ET)

Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

-- The Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-4 straight up, 8-3-1 against the spread) from the Big 12 Conference will square off with the Texas A&M Aggies (7-5 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) from the Southeastern Conference in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl in Houston, Tex. at NRG Stadium.

-- The Cowboys opened the season 3-0 SU/ATS, but the wins were against Oregon State, McNeese of the FCS and Tulsa. They lost a narrow 36-30 game at Texas Sept. 21 for their first loss, although they ended up with the cover. In fact, they covered their first five games of the season. They topped a very good Kansas State team 26-13 on Sept. 28, and fell against Texas Tech and Baylor in the following two weekends, mainly due to defensive lapses. They yielded 45 points in each of those games. They were better defensively during a four-game win streak against Iowa State, TCU, Kansas and West Virginia, yielding just 20.0 PPG, which is pretty outstanding for the Big 12. They were dumped 34-16 in 'Bedlam', the season-ending rivalry game against Oklahoma.

-- It's all about RB Chuba Hubbard for the Cowboys. He rushed 309 times for 1,936 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Offensively, the Cowboys were 17th in total yards overall, posting 463.9 yards per game. They're 16th in rushing yards per contest (236.3), while ending up 71st in passing yards (227.7). They scored 33.4 points per game to rank 34th offensively. For the defense, they were 86th in total yards (418.1), 113th in passing yards (267.1) and 59th in rushing yards (151.0) allowed. They yielded 27.0 points per game to check in a mediocre 63rd.

-- The Aggies dropped four games this season, but those losses were against Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and LSU. Two of those teams are in the playoffs, and all five were in the mix late into the season. What will we get from Oklahoma State?

-- Texas A&M ranked 71st in total yards (399.2), 54th in passing yards (247.1) and 77th in rushing yards (152.1) per game, while posting 30.0 points per game to rank 62nd in the nation. On defense, the Aggies were pretty strong, allowing 341.0 yards per game to rank 31st, they were 48th against the pass (211.7) and 29th against the run (129.3), which is the important stat as they try to contain Hubbard. That will be the prime matchup. They also allowed 22.7 points per game to rank 37th in the country.

-- The Aggies have made 41 previous bowl appearances dating back to 1922. That includes a 33-16 victory over Oklahoma State in the 1981 Independence Bowl. The Aggies have been exciting lately, win or lose. They blasted North Carolina State 52-13 last season in the Gator Bowl, while losing 55-52 to Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl in 2017. They have scored 21 or more points in nine straight games dating back to the 2009 Independence Bowl.

-- For the Cowboys, they have won three straight bowl appearances, including last season's 38-33 win over Missouri in the Liberty Bowl. They have won seven of the past nine bowl games overall. They last appeared in a bowl game in 2016, topping Colorado 38-8 in the Alamo Bowl. They lost the 2013 Cotton Bowl to Missouri by a 41-31 score, and the year before they topped Purdue 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. They also won the 2010 Alamo Bowl in 2010, so Texas has been very good to the Cowboys, and they generally travel well with such close proximity to Stillwater. That will be important since this time they're playing a Texas-based school.

-- Oklahoma State heads into this one 12-2 ATS in the past 14 games as an underdog, and 9-3-1 ATS in the past 13 overall. They're also 21-8 ATS in the past 29 non-conference tilts, and 9-2 ATS in the past 11 against teams with a winning overall record.

-- The Cowboys are also 4-1 ATS in the past five bowl games, and 5-1 ATS in the past six neutral-site games, while going 4-1 ATS in the past five neutral-site games as an underdog.

-- Texas A&M is 16-5-1 ATS in the past 22 as a favorite, and they're 11-1 ATS in their past 12 non-conference tilts.

-- The under is 4-1 in OK State's past five games overall, 5-0 in the past five neutral-site games and 5-0 in their past five bowl games.

-- The over is 5-2 in A&M's past seven neutral-site games, 9-3 in the past 12 non-conference tilts and 5-1 in their past six bowl outings.

-- These teams have a history, with Oklahoma State going 4-0-1 ATS in the past five meetings, with the over 6-2 in the previous eight.


Holiday Bowl (FOX Sports 1, 8:00 p.m.)

Southern California vs. Iowa

-- The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl will feature the Southern California Trojans (8-4 straight up, 6-5-1 against the spread) against the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-3 straight up, 5-7 against the spread) at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

-- Head coach Clay Helton has continued to put together wins despite a multitude of injuries and a fanbase which seemingly always wants him gone. USC beat Fresno State and Stanford to open the season, but lost to BYU 30-27 in overtime on Sept. 14. They topped a playoff-contending Utah team by a 30-23 score on Sept. 20 before an ugly loss at Washington on Sept. 28. A loss at Notre Dame on Oct. 12 had them at a crossroads at 3-3 SU/ATS. However, they rattled off wins in five of their final six games to turn things around, including road wins at Arizona State and California in November.

-- The Trojans lost QB JT Daniels (knee) to a season-ending knee injury in the opening game. Enter freshman QB Kedon Slovis, who was an unknown. All he did was emerge with 3,242 passing yards, connecting with WR Michael Pittman Jr. for 1,222 of them, as the offense rolled along despite the losses. In fact, they lost leading rusher RB Vavae Malepeai to injury for a long period, other key skill position members were also hurt, and at one point they were down to fifth-string RB Kenan Christon to serve as the workhorse. They overcame, and now they're pretty healthy heading into the Iowa game.

-- The offense posted 462.2 total yards per game to rank 18th in the nation, including fifth in the pass game at 335.9 yards. They were 113th with 126.3 rushing yards per game, again, they were devastated by injuries at that position. They ranked 36th with 33.2 points per game. Defensively they were 83rd in total yards allowed (415.3), 99th in passing yards allowde (248.9), 76th in rushing yards allowed (166.3) and 66th in points allowed (27.8).

-- Iowa was boring offensively, as they ranked just 98th in total yards (369.8), 67th in passing yards (230.3) and 97th in rushing yards (139.5) while ranking 99th in points per game (23.8). On defense, that's where Iowa had most of their success, allowing just 304.6 total yards per game to rank 12th in the nation, while checking in 11th with 184.2 passing yards per game. They were 25th against the run, too, giving up just 120.4 yards per outing while yielding only 13.2 PPG to rank fifth in the country.

-- These teams have met before in a bowl game, facing each other in the Orange Bowl back on Jan. 2, 2003, in a game which I actually attended. That day it was all USC, as they thrashed the Hawkeyes 38-17 with Pete Carroll at the helm for the Trojans. That's the only meeting in a bowl game between the institutions. USC played a Big Ten team last time they were in a bowl, falling 24-7 in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Ohio Stae on Dec. 29, 2017. Ovearll the Trojans have won eight of the past 10 against the Big Ten, however, in bowl games.

-- The Trojans are 6-2-1 ATS in the past nine against winning teams, but they're just 4-14 ATS in the past 18 as an underdog and 0-4 ATS in their past four bowl games. They're also 0-5 ATS in the past five vs. Big Ten, and 0-7 ATS in the past seven neutral-site games.

-- The Hawkeyes are 6-2 ATS in the past eight non-conference battles, while going 3-1-1 ATS in the past five games in December.

-- USC has hit the over in five in a row, while going 11-4-1 in the past 16 neutral-site games.

-- The under is 8-2-1 in the past 11 games overall for Iowa, and 6-1-1 in their past eight as a favorite. However, the over is 5-0 in their past five appearances on a Friday, 4-1 in the past five bowl games and 3-1-1 in their past five non-conference tilts.


Cheez-It Bowl (ESPN, 10:15 p.m.)

Air Force vs. Washington State

-- The Cheez-It Bowl features the Air Force Falcons (10-2 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) from the Mountain West Conference facing off against the Washington State Cougars (6-6 straight-up, 4-8 against the spread) from the Pac-12 Conference at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.

-- It was a strange season for the Cougars. It went downhilll against UCLA on Sept. 21, as they blew a giant lead and fell 67-63 in a memorable game where QB Anthony Gordon threw for nine touchdowns -- and they lost! He ended up with 5,228 passing yards overall this season, spreading it out amongst a bevy of consistent receivers. You never knew what Washington State team would show up. They were thrashed at Utah 38-13, but lost a narrow 37-35 game at Oregon on Oct. 26, blowing a game they probably should've won outright. They blasted Stanford 49-22, they edged Oregon State 54-53 on Nov. 23, showing off the pass attack again, and they were dumped 31-13 in the Apple Cup vs. Washington.

-- Air Force did what they do best this season - run. The triple-option is still working wonders for the Falcons, as they won 10 and lost just two, a 30-19 loss at Boise State on Sept. 20, and a 34-25 loss at Navy, against a fellow triple-option team. They won seven in a row to close out the season, including against bowl teams Hawai'i and Utah State.

-- USAFA ranked 51st in total yards per game (424.0), while going for 131.0 passing yards per contest to rank 124th. They were third overall with 293.0 rushing yards per game, and that's where Washington State's D needs to focus. The Falcons scored 34.3 points per game to rank 22nd. Defensively, Air Force allowed 315.8 total yards to rank 16th, while ranking 40th against the pass (208.1), 11th against the run (107.7) and 19th in points scored (19.8).

-- Washington State was ridiculous offensively, and ridiculously bad defensively, which explains why they were just .500. They were sixth overall with 516.8 total yards per game, and fifth in passing yards with 444.3 yards per game. They barely ran the ball, posting just 72.5 yards per game to rank 129th in FBS. They were 10th in points scored at 39.2 per game. Defensively...ugh. They allowed 456.8 total yards per game to rank 113th, they were 122nd against the pass (286.8), and 78th against the run (170.0). They allowed 31.4 points per game to check in 94th.

-- The Cougs are 8-7 in 15 previous bowl games, including 2-3 in the past five appearances under Mike Leach. The won last season's Alamo Bowl against Iowa State by a 28-26 score.

-- The Falcons actually have a much lengthier bowl history, but lately they have been so-so. Air Force is 6-9 SU in their past 15 bowl games, although they did win the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 30, 2016 against South Alabama in their most recent appearance. Air Force is 1-4 SU all-time against the Pac-12 in bowl games, including a 55-36 loss to Cal in the most recent battle on Dec. 29, 2015.

-- Air Force is 5-2 ATS in the past seven games overall, and 5-2 ATS in the past seven bowl games. They're 21-7 ATS in the past 28 non-conference tilts, too.

-- Washington State is 3-8 ATS in the past 11 games overall, but they're 5-2 ATS in the past seven non-conference tilts, and 15-7 ATS in the past 22 as an underdog.

-- The under is 4-1 in the past five games overall, and 4-1 in the past five as a favorite. The under is 7-2 in the past nine non-conference battles, while going 4-1 in the past five as a favorite. The over is 4-0 in their past four neutral-site games, and 4-1 in the past five bowl games.

[StarDust Bum]

Friday's Bowl Tip Sheet
December 26, 2019
By Joe Williams

Texas Bowl (ESPN, 6:45 p.m. ET)
Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Texas Bowl Betting History

-- The Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-4 straight up, 8-3-1 against the spread) from the Big 12 Conference will square off with the Texas A&M Aggies (7-5 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) from the Southeastern Conference in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl in Houston, Tex. at NRG Stadium.

-- The Cowboys opened the season 3-0 SU/ATS, but the wins were against Oregon State, McNeese of the FCS and Tulsa. They lost a narrow 36-30 game at Texas Sept. 21 for their first loss, although they ended up with the cover. In fact, they covered their first five games of the season. They topped a very good Kansas State team 26-13 on Sept. 28, and fell against Texas Tech and Baylor in the following two weekends, mainly due to defensive lapses. They yielded 45 points in each of those games. They were better defensively during a four-game win streak against Iowa State, TCU, Kansas and West Virginia, yielding just 20.0 PPG, which is pretty outstanding for the Big 12. They were dumped 34-16 in 'Bedlam', the season-ending rivalry game against Oklahoma.

-- It's all about RB Chuba Hubbard for the Cowboys. He rushed 309 times for 1,936 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Offensively, the Cowboys were 17th in total yards overall, posting 463.9 yards per game. They're 16th in rushing yards per contest (236.3), while ending up 71st in passing yards (227.7). They scored 33.4 points per game to rank 34th offensively. For the defense, they were 86th in total yards (418.1), 113th in passing yards (267.1) and 59th in rushing yards (151.0) allowed. They yielded 27.0 points per game to check in a mediocre 63rd.

-- The Aggies dropped four games this season, but those losses were against Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and LSU. Two of those teams are in the playoffs, and all five were in the mix late into the season. What will we get from Oklahoma State?

-- Texas A&M ranked 71st in total yards (399.2), 54th in passing yards (247.1) and 77th in rushing yards (152.1) per game, while posting 30.0 points per game to rank 62nd in the nation. On defense, the Aggies were pretty strong, allowing 341.0 yards per game to rank 31st, they were 48th against the pass (211.7) and 29th against the run (129.3), which is the important stat as they try to contain Hubbard. That will be the prime matchup. They also allowed 22.7 points per game to rank 37th in the country.

-- The Aggies have made 41 previous bowl appearances dating back to 1922. That includes a 33-16 victory over Oklahoma State in the 1981 Independence Bowl. The Aggies have been exciting lately, win or lose. They blasted North Carolina State 52-13 last season in the Gator Bowl, while losing 55-52 to Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl in 2017. They have scored 21 or more points in nine straight games dating back to the 2009 Independence Bowl.

-- For the Cowboys, they have won three straight bowl appearances, including last season's 38-33 win over Missouri in the Liberty Bowl. They have won seven of the past nine bowl games overall. They last appeared in a bowl game in 2016, topping Colorado 38-8 in the Alamo Bowl. They lost the 2013 Cotton Bowl to Missouri by a 41-31 score, and the year before they topped Purdue 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. They also won the 2010 Alamo Bowl in 2010, so Texas has been very good to the Cowboys, and they generally travel well with such close proximity to Stillwater. That will be important since this time they're playing a Texas-based school.

-- Oklahoma State heads into this one 12-2 ATS in the past 14 games as an underdog, and 9-3-1 ATS in the past 13 overall. They're also 21-8 ATS in the past 29 non-conference tilts, and 9-2 ATS in the past 11 against teams with a winning overall record.

-- The Cowboys are also 4-1 ATS in the past five bowl games, and 5-1 ATS in the past six neutral-site games, while going 4-1 ATS in the past five neutral-site games as an underdog.

-- Texas A&M is 16-5-1 ATS in the past 22 as a favorite, and they're 11-1 ATS in their past 12 non-conference tilts.

-- The under is 4-1 in OK State's past five games overall, 5-0 in the past five neutral-site games and 5-0 in their past five bowl games.

-- The over is 5-2 in A&M's past seven neutral-site games, 9-3 in the past 12 non-conference tilts and 5-1 in their past six bowl outings.

-- These teams have a history, with Oklahoma State going 4-0-1 ATS in the past five meetings, with the over 6-2 in the previous eight.

Holiday Bowl (FOX Sports 1, 8:00 p.m.)
Southern California vs. Iowa
Holiday Bowl Betting History

-- The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl will feature the Southern California Trojans (8-4 straight up, 6-5-1 against the spread) against the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-3 straight up, 5-7 against the spread) at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

-- Head coach Clay Helton has continued to put together wins despite a multitude of injuries and a fanbase which seemingly always wants him gone. USC beat Fresno State and Stanford to open the season, but lost to BYU 30-27 in overtime on Sept. 14. They topped a playoff-contending Utah team by a 30-23 score on Sept. 20 before an ugly loss at Washington on Sept. 28. A loss at Notre Dame on Oct. 12 had them at a crossroads at 3-3 SU/ATS. However, they rattled off wins in five of their final six games to turn things around, including road wins at Arizona State and California in November.

-- The Trojans lost QB JT Daniels (knee) to a season-ending knee injury in the opening game. Enter freshman QB Kedon Slovis, who was an unknown. All he did was emerge with 3,242 passing yards, connecting with WR Michael Pittman Jr. for 1,222 of them, as the offense rolled along despite the losses. In fact, they lost leading rusher RB Vavae Malepeai to injury for a long period, other key skill position members were also hurt, and at one point they were down to fifth-string RB Kenan Christon to serve as the workhorse. They overcame, and now they're pretty healthy heading into the Iowa game.

-- The offense posted 462.2 total yards per game to rank 18th in the nation, including fifth in the pass game at 335.9 yards. They were 113th with 126.3 rushing yards per game, again, they were devastated by injuries at that position. They ranked 36th with 33.2 points per game. Defensively they were 83rd in total yards allowed (415.3), 99th in passing yards allowde (248.9), 76th in rushing yards allowed (166.3) and 66th in points allowed (27.8).

-- Iowa was boring offensively, as they ranked just 98th in total yards (369.8), 67th in passing yards (230.3) and 97th in rushing yards (139.5) while ranking 99th in points per game (23.8). On defense, that's where Iowa had most of their success, allowing just 304.6 total yards per game to rank 12th in the nation, while checking in 11th with 184.2 passing yards per game. They were 25th against the run, too, giving up just 120.4 yards per outing while yielding only 13.2 PPG to rank fifth in the country.

-- These teams have met before in a bowl game, facing each other in the Orange Bowl back on Jan. 2, 2003, in a game which I actually attended. That day it was all USC, as they thrashed the Hawkeyes 38-17 with Pete Carroll at the helm for the Trojans. That's the only meeting in a bowl game between the institutions. USC played a Big Ten team last time they were in a bowl, falling 24-7 in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Ohio Stae on Dec. 29, 2017. Ovearll the Trojans have won eight of the past 10 against the Big Ten, however, in bowl games.

-- The Trojans are 6-2-1 ATS in the past nine against winning teams, but they're just 4-14 ATS in the past 18 as an underdog and 0-4 ATS in their past four bowl games. They're also 0-5 ATS in the past five vs. Big Ten, and 0-7 ATS in the past seven neutral-site games.

-- The Hawkeyes are 6-2 ATS in the past eight non-conference battles, while going 3-1-1 ATS in the past five games in December.

-- USC has hit the over in five in a row, while going 11-4-1 in the past 16 neutral-site games.

-- The under is 8-2-1 in the past 11 games overall for Iowa, and 6-1-1 in their past eight as a favorite. However, the over is 5-0 in their past five appearances on a Friday, 4-1 in the past five bowl games and 3-1-1 in their past five non-conference tilts.


Cheez-It Bowl (ESPN, 10:15 p.m.)
Air Force vs. Washington State
Cheez-It Bowl Betting History

-- The Cheez-It Bowl features the Air Force Falcons (10-2 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) from the Mountain West Conference facing off against the Washington State Cougars (6-6 straight-up, 4-8 against the spread) from the Pac-12 Conference at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.

-- It was a strange season for the Cougars. It went downhilll against UCLA on Sept. 21, as they blew a giant lead and fell 67-63 in a memorable game where QB Anthony Gordon threw for nine touchdowns -- and they lost! He ended up with 5,228 passing yards overall this season, spreading it out amongst a bevy of consistent receivers. You never knew what Washington State team would show up. They were thrashed at Utah 38-13, but lost a narrow 37-35 game at Oregon on Oct. 26, blowing a game they probably should've won outright. They blasted Stanford 49-22, they edged Oregon State 54-53 on Nov. 23, showing off the pass attack again, and they were dumped 31-13 in the Apple Cup vs. Washington.

-- Air Force did what they do best this season - run. The triple-option is still working wonders for the Falcons, as they won 10 and lost just two, a 30-19 loss at Boise State on Sept. 20, and a 34-25 loss at Navy, against a fellow triple-option team. They won seven in a row to close out the season, including against bowl teams Hawai'i and Utah State.

-- USAFA ranked 51st in total yards per game (424.0), while going for 131.0 passing yards per contest to rank 124th. They were third overall with 293.0 rushing yards per game, and that's where Washington State's D needs to focus. The Falcons scored 34.3 points per game to rank 22nd. Defensively, Air Force allowed 315.8 total yards to rank 16th, while ranking 40th against the pass (208.1), 11th against the run (107.7) and 19th in points scored (19.8).

-- Washington State was ridiculous offensively, and ridiculously bad defensively, which explains why they were just .500. They were sixth overall with 516.8 total yards per game, and fifth in passing yards with 444.3 yards per game. They barely ran the ball, posting just 72.5 yards per game to rank 129th in FBS. They were 10th in points scored at 39.2 per game. Defensively...ugh. They allowed 456.8 total yards per game to rank 113th, they were 122nd against the pass (286.8), and 78th against the run (170.0). They allowed 31.4 points per game to check in 94th.

-- The Cougs are 8-7 in 15 previous bowl games, including 2-3 in the past five appearances under Mike Leach. The won last season's Alamo Bowl against Iowa State by a 28-26 score.

-- The Falcons actually have a much lengthier bowl history, but lately they have been so-so. Air Force is 6-9 SU in their past 15 bowl games, although they did win the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 30, 2016 against South Alabama in their most recent appearance. Air Force is 1-4 SU all-time against the Pac-12 in bowl games, including a 55-36 loss to Cal in the most recent battle on Dec. 29, 2015.

-- Air Force is 5-2 ATS in the past seven games overall, and 5-2 ATS in the past seven bowl games. They're 21-7 ATS in the past 28 non-conference tilts, too.

-- Washington State is 3-8 ATS in the past 11 games overall, but they're 5-2 ATS in the past seven non-conference tilts, and 15-7 ATS in the past 22 as an underdog.

-- The under is 4-1 in the past five games overall, and 4-1 in the past five as a favorite. The under is 7-2 in the past nine non-conference battles, while going 4-1 in the past five as a favorite. The over is 4-0 in their past four neutral-site games, and 4-1 in the past five bowl games.

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

UNC at TEM 12:00 PM
TEM +6.0
O 55.5

MSU at WAKE 03:20 PM
WAKE +4.0
O 49.0

OKST at TAM 06:45 PM
OKST +5.0
O 55.0

USC at IOWA 08:00 PM
IOWA -2.5
U 52.5

AFA at WSU 10:15 PM
AFA -3.0
U 68.5

[Udog]

LSU vs. Oklahoma
Brian Edwards

LSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Venue: at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Time/TV: Saturday, December 28, 4:00 PM ET ESPN
Line: LSU -13.5, Over/Under 76

Before making it to Atlanta for its Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl showdown against Louisiana State in the College Football Playoff semifinals, No. 4 Oklahoma lost four key players that’ll be missed against the unbeaten and top-ranked Tigers.

First, SoonerScoop.com reported that three players were suspended on Dec. 18. At his first media event in Atlanta on Dec. 23, OU head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed the suspensions but refused to elaborate on the reasoning behind those players being ‘out’ vs LSU.

The trio of suspended players includes DE Ronnie Perkins, second-string RB Rhamondre Stevenson and backup freshman WR Trejan Bridges. Perkins, a sophomore who has played in all 13 games, has recorded 28 solo tackles, 10 assists, 7.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, six QB hurries and one forced fumble.

Stevenson has appeared in all 13 OU games. The junior RB has 515 rushing yards, six TDs and an 8.1 yards-per-carry average. Bridges is a five-star recruit who didn’t figure to play much vs. LSU anyway. The true freshman has only seven catches for 82 yards.

Making matters worse, SoonerScoop reported on Dec. 20 that starting sophomore safety Delarrin Turner-Yell suffered a broken collarbone at practice. Three days later, Riley confirmed the injury and said, “Right now our expectation is that [Turner-Yell] will not play, but we’ll how see the week goes.”

LSU (13-0 straight up, 8-5 against the spread) dominated Georgia 37-10 to win the SEC Championship Game, easily cashing tickets as a seven-point favorite. Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy a week later, completed 28-of-38 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

Justin Jefferson had seven receptions for 115 yards and one TD, while Terrace Marshall Jr. hauled in five catches for 89 yards and two TDs. Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 57 rushing yards on 15 attempts, in addition to catching seven balls for 61 receiving yards.

LSU darted out to a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, hooking up its backers on first-quarter bets as a 3.5-point ‘chalk.’

UGA’s Rodrigo Blankenship briefly stopped the bleeding with a 39-yard field goal to get the Bulldogs on the board, but Cade York extended the Tigers’ lead to 17-3 with a 41-yard FG with 2:22 left until halftime.

York added a 28-yarder early in the third quarter for a 20-3 LSU lead. Then Burrow found Marshall for a four-yard scoring strike with 2:18 left in the third. The Tigers added an eight-yard TD pass from Burrow to Jefferson to make it 34-3, and the blowout was on before the fourth quarter started.

LSU freshman CB Derek Stingley intercepted Georgia QB Jake Fromm twice and had five tackles.

Edwards-Helaire is ‘questionable’ vs. LSU due to a hamstring injury suffered at practice earlier this month, although head coach Ed Orgeron stated Friday that he “believes he’ll play.” Edwards-Helaire has rushed for 1,290 yards and 16 TDs, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He leads the SEC in all-purpose yards with 1,903.

As of early Friday, most books had LSU listed as a 13.5-point favorite with a total of 76. The Sooners were +425 on the money line. For first half-wagers, the Tigers were favored by 7.5 points.

Back on Dec. 8., the Westgate SuperBook opened LSU as a 12.5-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 76.5. The total dipped as low as 75.5 points about a week ago, before inching back up to 76. The Tigers have bounced around in the -13 to -14 range over the last several weeks.

Orgeron’s team is 5-4-1 ATS in its 10 games as a double-digit favorite this year. The Tigers have won 10 of their 13 games by margins of 14 points or more. They won 45-38 at Texas, 46-41 at Alabama and 23-20 vs. Auburn in Baton Rouge.

Although those three final scores were the closest games LSU played, Florida probably gave the Tigers their toughest test in Redstick on Oct. 12. When LSU scored each of its three first-half TDs, the Gators answered each one with a TD drive of their own.

With the game tied 21-21 at halftime, Florida took the opening kick of the second half and promptly marched down the field and took the lead. Kyle Trask hit Van Jefferson for a two-yard TD pass and a 28-21 advantage.

Edwards-Helaire scored on a five-yard TD run to get LSU back even. After getting a stop, the Tigers went back in front 35-28 on a 33-yard TD run from Tyrion Davis-Prince with 3:15 left in the third stanza.

After UF came up empty on a red-zone trip when Stingley intercepted Trask in the end zone, LSU went up 42-28 on Burrow’s 54-yard TD pass to Ja’Marr Chase. The final score was 42-28 after the Gators came up short of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from LSU’s one with less than two minutes remaining.

LSU posted other wins over bowl-bound teams, winning 55-7 vs. Georgia Southern, 36-13 at Mississippi State, 42-6 vs. Utah State and 50-17 vs. Texas A&M.

Burrow produced monster numbers that led to run-away win in the voting for the Heisman. The grad transfer from Ohio State completed 77.9 percent of his passes for 4,715 yards with a 48/6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He keeps plays alive with his elusiveness in the pocket, and he’s not hesitant to tuck it and run for first downs. Burrow was especially effective at doing that on several big plays in the second half at Alabama. He has 289 rushing yards and three TDs.

Chase has 73 receptions for 1,498 yards and 18 TDs despite missing one game injured. Jefferson has 88 catches for 1,207 yards and 14 TDs, while Marshall has 37 grabs for 545 yards and 10 TDs. Marshall missed three games with a broken bone in his foot sustained in a 66-38 win at Vanderbilt on Sept. 21.

LSU leads the nation in total offense, is second in passing yards and third in scoring with its 47.8 points-per-game average.

Oklahoma (12-1 SU, 5-8 ATS) is facing an SEC opponent in the CFP semifinals for the third straight season. After coming up short to Georgia in a 54-48 double-overtime thriller at the 2017 Rose Bowl, the Sooners lost 45-34 to Alabama at last year’s Orange Bowl. However, they covered the spread in backdoor fashion as 13.5-point underdogs.

Lincoln Riley’s team is mired in a 2-7 ATS slump, but that factoid has zero relevance since the Sooners are underdogs for the first time this season. During Riley’s three-year tenure, Oklahoma has compiled a 3-1 spread record and collected a pair of outright wins in four games as an underdog.

This is only the second time on Riley’s watch that OU has been a double-digit underdog. As previously noted, the Sooners took the money vs. ‘Bama last year.

Oklahoma won its first five games by margins of 18 points or more. The Sooners improved to 7-0 with wins vs. Texas (34-27) and vs. West Virginia (52-14). They went into Kansas State as a 23.5-point road favorite and found itself down 48-23 after the Wildcats scored on a two-yard TD run by James Gilbert with 12:54 remaining.

OU wouldn’t quit, though. Twenty-two seconds later, Jalen Hurts found CeeDee Lamb for a 70-yard scoring strike. Then with 5:36 remaining, a one-yard TD run from Hurts, in addition to a three-yard pass to Lamb for a two-point conversion, trimmed the deficit to 48-38. The Sooners made it a one-possession game when Gabe Brkic buried a 39-yard field goal with 1:45 left.

OU initially seemed to be in business when it recovered the ensuing onside kick, but replay reviews showed that a Sooner had touched the ball before it had gone 10 yards. Therefore, K-State ran out the clock and captured a 48-41 upset victory.

With one loss, Riley’s bunch remained in the hunt for a CFP berth, albeit with zero room for error. Therefore, Oklahoma fans had to deal with a lot of anxiety when four of its next five games were of the one-possession variety.

After an open date following the loss at Kansas State, OU won a 42-41 decision over Iowa State as a 14-point home favorite. Next, Riley’s team went to Waco to face undefeated Baylor as an 11-point road ‘chalk.’

The Bears raced out to a 31-10 halftime lead. Oklahoma pulled to within 31-17 on Hurts’s three-yard TD pass to Austin Stogner midway through the third quarter. With 12:58 remaining in the final stanza, Hurts found Theo Wease for a 19-yard scoring connection. Hurts’s fourth TD pass and third of the second half was a two-yard scoring strike to Brayden Willis with 5:25 left to tie the game at 31-31.

Oklahoma escaped unscathed with a 34-31 win when Brkic’s 31-yard field goal was true with 1:45 remaining.

Back in Norman the following week, Oklahoma raced out to a 21-0 lead on TCU. The Horned Frogs wouldn’t go away, though, scoring 10 unanswered point to slice the deficit to 11 by halftime. Then with 10:15 left in the third, TCU got to within 21-17. After Hurts scored on an eight-yard TD run, the Sooners were in front by 11 points.

On the verge of putting the game on ice early in the fourth, Hurts was intercepted for a 98-yard pick-six. With the Frogs trailing by just four points, OU’s defense didn’t allow them to get any closer over the final 12 minutes, holding on for a 28-24 triumph.

Many felt OU would get a tough test in Stillwater in its regular-season finale, but that didn’t happen. The Sooners controlled the second half and pulled away for a 34-16 win at Oklahoma State. They covered the rich spread, too, as 14-point road ‘chalk.’

Going into Championship Weekend earlier this month, Oklahoma needed Oregon to beat Utah and LSU to take care of UGA. Obviously, it had to take care of its own business with a rematch vs. Baylor at Jerry World in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Riley’s team took a 10-0 first-quarter lead thanks to a six-yard TD run from Kennedy Brooks and a 44-yard FG from Brkic. Baylor owned the second quarter, however, despite losing starting QB Charlie Brewer to a concussion. The Bears took a 13-10 advantage into intermission.

A pair of 24-yard FGs from Brkic and an 18-yard TD pass from Hurts to Nick Basquine put Oklahoma ahead 23-13 with 10:31 left. At this point, another QB injury had Baylor using third-string signal caller Jacob Zeno, a true freshman who had only appeared in one game previously and is being redshirted.

With 9:41 remaining, Zeno found Trestan Ebner for an 81-yard TD pass to trim the deficit to three. When John Mayers hit a 27-yard FG with 3:25 left, Baylor was back even at 23-23. The game would go to overtime.

In the first extra session, Stevenson found paydirt on a five-yard TD run. Then the Oklahoma defense got a stop to conserve a 30-23 victory and give the Sooners the No. 4 slot in the CFP.

For the season, Hurts has connected on 71.8 percent of his throws for 3,632 yards with a 32/7 TD-INT ratio. He paces the Sooners with 1,255 rushing yards and 18 TDs, averaging 5.7 YPC. Hurts was one of four finalists for the Heisman.

Hurts’s collegiate career has been legendary. He led Alabama to the CFP finals as a freshman and a sophomore, scoring the go-ahead TD on a run at crunch time vs. Clemson as a freshman, only to see Deshaun Watson throw a game-winning TD pass with two seconds remaining just moments later.

Then as a sophomore, Hurts was yanked to start the third quarter of the CFP finals against Georgia in Atlanta. He didn’t pout and played the role of the ultimate teammate as Tua Tagovailoa led the Crimson Tide to a 26-23 comeback win over UGA in overtime. As a junior in 2018, Hurts was relegated to Tagovailoa’s backup, but he continued to be a great teammate and was ready when his number was called at last year’s SEC Championship Game.

When Tagovailoa was injured late in the third quarter, Hurts was the catalyst in leading Alabama back from a 14-point deficit to beat UGA 35-28. That propelled the Tide to another CFP berth, but they lost 44-16 to Clemson in the finals. Atlanta was the venue where he lost his job in January of 2018, and it was the place of his resurrection of sorts 11 months later. Therefore, it’s only fitting that his fourth career appearance in the CFP comes against an SEC foe in a familiar city, The ATL.

For his career, Hurts has a 65.6 completion percentage, 9,260 passing yards and an 80/19 TD-INT ratio. He has 3,231 rushing yards and 41 TDs, in addition to five receptions for 40 yards and one TD.

Lamb is his favorite target, hauling in 57 receptions for 1,206 yards and 14 TDs. Chareston Rambo has 42 catches for 734 yards and five TDs.

Brooks has 976 rushing yards, five TDs and a 6.7 YPC average. He suffered a head injury vs. Baylor earlier this month, but he’s good to go vs. LSU and will have to carry the load on the ground.

The ‘under’ has cashed in four straight games for the Sooners to improve to 7-5-1 overall. This is OU’s fourth-highest total of the year and its highest since an Oct. 12 win over Texas. When Oklahoma topped the Longhorns 34-27, the 61 combined points dropped way below the 77.5-point tally. Totals have been an overall wash (2-2) when the Sooners have had totals in the 70s. In its season opener, OU had its highest total in a 49-31 win over Houston that saw the 80 combined points push to the 80-point number.

The ‘over’ is 8-5 overall for LSU, but the ‘under’ has cashed in back-to-back games. This is the highest total the Tigers have seen in 2019. The previous high was 72 points in a home game vs. Utah State, which ended up being their third-lowest combined score. LSU beat the Aggies 42-6, with the 48 combined points falling ‘under’ the 72-point tally.

Kickoff on ESPN is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET.

B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets

-- Mississippi State starting QB Garrett Shrader is ‘out’ of the Music City Bowl vs. Louisville due to an eye injury. According to multiple reports, Shrader and junior LB Willie Gay were involved in an altercation that caused the injury. Further testing on Shrader’s eye revealed damage to his orbital bone, although he isn’t expected to need surgery. Nevertheless, he’s ‘out’ against the Cardinals and senior QB Tommy Stevens will get the starting nod. The Bulldogs are favored by four points at most books. Gay, who was suspended for eight regular-season games due to an academic issue, is expected to play.

-- Justin Wilcox announced on Dec. 23 that nine California players won’t play vs. Illinois in the Redbox Bowl. Three of those players are starters and a fourth was going to start against the Fighting Illini. Fifth-year senior safety Ashtyn Davis is ‘out’ after undergoing what Wilcox dubbed as “minor surgery.” In 11 games, Davis had 33 solo tackles, 24 assists, four passes broken up, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and one tackle for loss. Starting WR Jordan Duncan has been “excused” from the team to handle personal matters, according to Wilcox. Duncan is a two-year starter who has 25 receptions for 364 yards and two TDs. Junior LB Telvin Paul (28 tackles, three sacks) and safety Trey Turner III (32 tackles and four PBU) are the other starters who are ‘out.’ Illinois is dealing with a slew of injuries, too, most notably starting QB Brandon Peters and Butkus Award semifinalist Jake Hansen. The Golden Bears are favored by six or 6.5 points at most spots.

-- The ‘under’ is on a 7-1-1 run for Kansas State in its last nine games. The Wildcats face Navy with a total of 52 points.

-- Miami, Fl. fired OC Dan Enos today. Reports of his pending dismissal surfaced hours before yesterday’s Independence Bowl in Shreveport, where La. Tech dealt out cream-cheese treatment to the Hurricanes in a 14-0 win as a seven-point underdog. The Bulldogs cashed money-line tickets in the +220 neighborhood.

-- Eastern Michigan improved to 24-5-2 ATS in its last 31 games as an underdog in last night’s gut-wrenching loss to Pitt at the Quick Lane Bowl. The Eagles lost a 34-30 decision when Pitt took its first lead of the game on a TD with 47 ticks left. Nevertheless, the Eagles easily took the cash as 12-point underdogs. They fell to 0-3 SU but 3-0 ATS in bowl games during Chris Creighton’s tenure. EMU hasn’t won a bowl game since 1987.

-- Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman has hired FSU’s Kendal Briles as the Razorbacks’ next offensive coordinator. That’s two quality coordinator hires for Pittman, who also scored former Missouri HC Barry Odom as his new DC.

-- Reports out of Gainesville indicate that Florida Gators star DE Jabari Zuniga has been practicing and will play vs. Virginia in the Orange Bowl. Since Zuniga suffered a severe ankle sprain at Kentucky in Week 3, he’s tried to make comebacks in key games at LSU vs. UGA, only to suffer setbacks each time. When healthy, Zuniga is one of the nation’s top pass rushers.

-- Florida, a 14 or 14.5-point ‘chalk’ vs. UVA, is 5-0 ATS as a double-digit favorite this year.

[Udog]

Clemson vs. Ohio State
Joe Nelson

Clemson Tigers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

Clemson and Ohio State meet in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl in a pairing of undefeated teams for the College Football Playoff semifinals. Both teams are far from home in Glendale but both programs have College Football Playoff Championships in the five years of the existence of the playoff format and this is perhaps the most highly anticipated game of the bowl season as dominant 13-0 programs face off.

Venue: At State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Time/TV: Saturday, December 28, 8:00 PM ET ESPN
Line: Clemson -2, Over/Under 63
Last Meeting: 12/31/2016 Fiesta Bowl CFP Semifinals Clemson (+1) 31, Ohio State 0

Three seasons ago these teams met in this same stadium in the 2/3 matchup of College Football Playoffs. The spread was nearly even and Clemson delivered a blowout win 31-0 with a huge production edge of 470-215. Deshaun Watson and J.T. Barrett had a pair of interceptions each but the Clemson running game had a clear edge while the Tigers were able to hit a few big plays in the air. Clemson would go on to beat Alabama in the championship game for the first of now two titles for Dabo Swinney.

Clemson also beat Ohio State in the 2013-14 Orange Bowl a year before the playoff format and Clemson enters this game on a 29-game winning streak, completing a perfect 15-0 championship season last year and this year again unblemished with only one close call back in late September in Chapel Hill with a one-point escape.

The Tigers didn’t look like a dominant team early in the season as coming off brilliant championship performance last season, quarterback Trevor Lawrence battled interceptions early in the season. The Tigers closed the season on a dominant run with Lawrence combining for 16 touchdowns and no interceptions in the final five games of the season. 1,500-yard rusher Travis Etienne has often been overlooked despite an amazing 8.2 yards per carry average this season as the Tigers scored 605 points this season for more than 46 points per game.

Clemson is the #3 seed however having played through a light ACC schedule and high-quality wins are absent from the schedule with the best results coming over 7-5 Texas A&M, 9-4 Virginia, 8-4 Wake Forest, 7-5 Louisville, and 6-6 North Carolina. The Tigers did technically beat seven bowl teams when you add Charlotte and Boston College to the mix but behind Clemson it was a clear down year for the ACC. The Tigers beat two SEC teams but Texas A&M and South Carolina both had disappointing seasons and like many ACC teams, Clemson also played a FCS foe to pad the numbers.

Swinney is 9-5 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in his bowl and playoff games but after starting 1-3 both SU and ATS, the Tigers have been on a roll in the postseason under his watch with the only ATS loss in that span being the 2017-18 Sugar Bowl vs. the eventual national champion Alabama. Clemson has actually been an underdog in nine of the past 10 postseason games with the lone exception last season’s 30-3 win over undefeated Notre Dame in the semifinals.

In contrast to Swinney’s amazing resume, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day will be a head coach for the first time in a postseason game. Day filled in for Urban Meyer for three wins early last season and is now 16-0 as a head coach for the Buckeyes for an amazing start to his career. Day has only been with the program since 2017 as an assistant with past experience in the NFL as well as with Temple and Boston College. Despite his success, his first season will ultimately be judged on this game alone with the Buckeyes back into the playoffs after narrowly missing out as Big Ten champions the past two seasons.

Controversially Ohio State was flipped from the #1 seed in the playoff rankings to the #2 seed, passed up by LSU following the respective Big Ten and SEC championship wins. LSU was more impressive vs. a higher rated foe on championship Saturday but Ohio State’s overall resume bested LSU’s in many of the counts that the selection committee values.

On championship Saturday four teams that Ohio State defeated in the regular season were playing in championship games as the Buckeyes wound up with nine wins over bowl teams. Ohio State was penalized for a poor first half vs. Wisconsin in Indianapolis as well as not getting as much credit for beating a highly regarded Wisconsin team twice compared to if they defeated two distinct similarly highly rated teams. Ultimately Ohio State has five wins over teams rated higher in the playoff rankings than Clemson’s best win over #24 Virginia, including four wins vs. the top 14.

Day was not the only new piece for the Buckeyes, led by Georgia transfer Justin Fields at quarterback. Fields left Georgia last season after not getting a great opportunity behind Jake Fromm. In his first season as a starting quarterback he delivered an incredible campaign finishing third in the Heisman voting with an amazing line of 40 touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for nearly 500 yards. J.K. Dobbins eclipsed 1,800 yards rushing and along with star defensive end Chase Young, that trio comprised half of the top six in the Heisman voting. Ohio State outscored foes 633-163 on the season with dominant numbers, though the defense allowed 17 or more points in each of the final four games following seven straight games allowing 14 or fewer points.

Ohio State has not been an underdog in the postseason since winning the initial College Football Playoff championship game 42-20 vs. Oregon in January 2015. The Buckeyes have been the Rose Bowl champion the past two seasons and this is the first playoff trip since the ugly loss in Glendale vs. Clemson.

Ohio State has been an underdog six times since the start of the 2012 season going 6-0 S/U and ATS including winning 62-39 vs. Michigan last season in the only instance getting points since the 2014-15 national championship. Clemson has rarely been in the small favorite role under Swinney going 4-5 S/U and 3-6 ATS as a favorite of 3 or fewer points, though all but one of those games was a regular season contest.

Clemson wound up 10-3 ATS this season including 10-2 ATS in FBS games, going 7-0 ATS in FBS games since October started for an incredible run, as a lot of folks fared well supporting the Tigers even at inflated prices including a 30-point spread in the ACC Championship. Ohio State wound up 9-4 ATS this season but lost ATS in three of the final four games including missing the spread in big games vs. Penn State and in the Big Ten championship after an 8-0 ATS run September to early November, with the Buckeyes also faring extremely well in first half numbers.

The victor of this game will head to New Orleans for the national championship in what could be a very hostile environment depending on the Peach Bowl outcome but either team will be a serious threat for the title as this semifinal figures to live up to the billing and hype as one of the best playoff pairings in the history of the format.

[Udog]

Saturday's Bowl Tips
Joe Williams

Camping World Bowl (ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET)

Notre Dame vs. Iowa State

-- The independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2 straight up, 8-4 against the spread) face off with the Iowa State Cyclones (7-5 straight up, 5-6-1 against the spread) from the Big 12 Conference in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

-- The FightIng Irish have a rich bowl history, but surprisingly they're 18-19 in their 37 bowl games overall, including an 18-14 loss against Florida State back on Dec. 29, 2011 in this very stadium in the then-named Champs Sports Bowl. They were also tossed aside 30-3 by Clemson is last season's Cotton Bowl in the first-round of the College Football playoffs.

-- The Cyclones of Iowa State do not have as great of a bowl record as Notre Dame. They didn't even play in their first bowl game, surprisingly, until 1971. They were 0-4 in the 70's, and they didn't break through for their first bowl victory until 2000 in the Insight.com Bowl against Pittsburgh, 37-29, behind QB Sage Rosenfels. That was one of just four wins in 14 bowl tries, including a loss last season in the Alamo Bowl against Washington State. This will be the second-ever trip to Florida during bowl season, with Iowa State losing 28-12 in the Hall of Fame Classic in 1978 against Texas A&M in Tampa.

-- Notre Dame had an extremely challenging schedule, and after 10 wins they likely were hoping to land in a more prestigious bowl with a better opponent. But this is a nice matchup for them, and with a chip on their shoulder they could be a dangerous opponent. Their only losses this season came at Georgia, 23-17 on Sept. 21, and at Michigan by a 45-14 count on Oct. 26. They have wins over bowl teams Louisville, Virginia, USC, Virginia Tech and Navy, and they enter on a five-game winning streak while covering the past four.

-- Iowa State was tripped up 27-17 at Kansas State in their rinale, and they dropped each of their past two true road games, including a 42-41 shootout loss at Oklahoma, a playoff team, on Nov. 9, in a highly entertaining game. They also suffered a setback against Oklahoma State at home, Iowa at home and on the road against Baylor. While they have five losses overall, three losses were by a total of four points, and all five setbacks were by a total of just 21 points. They'll fight right to the bitter end, and have the offensive firepower to stay in it.

-- The Fighting Irish ranked 45th in total offense with 431.3 yards per game, while posting 253.0 passing yards to check in 49th in the nation. They were also 46th in the country with 178.3 rushing yards per contest while ranking 13th with 37.1 points per contest. Defensively the Irish were stout, allowing just 325.6 total yards per outing to rank 21st, while ending up third with 163.7 passing yards per outing. If they fail anywhere, it's against the run, as they yielded 161.9 rushing yards per game, but they allowed just 18.7 points per outing to rank 14th.

-- The Cyclones ranked 20th with 459.0 total yards per game, while ranking ninth with 318.3 passing yards per outing. On the run they were just 96th, posting 140.7 yards per outing, while averaging 34.1 PPG to check in 26th. Defensively they were so-so, but in a pass-happy Big 12, their numbers were pretty good. They were 44th in total yards allowed at 362.2, while ranking 71st against the pass with 228.3 yards per game. On the ground, Iowa State allowed just 133.8 yards to rank 33rd, and they coughed up 25.3 PPG to rank 52nd.

-- Iowa State QB Brock Purdy rolled up 3,760 passing yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and he also ran for eight scores. Notre Dame's Ian Book can also sling it, posting 2,792 yards with 33 touchdowns and just six interceptions while running for 537 yards and four more touchdowns. With those two under center on both sides, we could have quite the aerial show.

-- The Fighting Irish have covered four in a row, while going 4-0 ATS in the past four as a favorite and they're 4-0 ATS in the past four non-conference tilts, too. They're also 4-1 ATS in the past five neutral-site games, with that non-cover last season in the Cotton Bowl vs. Clemson.

-- The Cyclones are 19-6-1 ATS in the past 26 as an underdog, but just 2-5 ATS in the past seven non-conference games, and 1-4-1 ATS in the past six overall. They're also 0-4 ATS in the past four neutral-site games, and 1-5 ATS in the past six appearances in the month of December.

-- It's all under, all the time, for the Cyclones lately. The under is 21-10-2 in their past 33 games overall, and 6-2-1 in the past nine non-conference tilts. The under is 7-0-1 in their past eight neutral-site games, and 6-0-1 in the past seven bowl tilts. The under is also 4-0-1 in the past five in a bowl as an underdog, while going 9-2-1 in the past 12 against winning teams.

-- The under is 5-1 in Notre Dame's past six neutral-site battles, while going 5-2 in their past seven as a favorite.


Cotton Bowl Classic (ESPN, 12:00 p.m.)

Memphis vs. Penn State

-- The Cotton Bowl Classic features a battle between the high-flying Memphis Tigers (12-1 straight up, 8-5 against the spread) from the American Athletic Conference against the Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2 straight up, 6-6 against the spread) from the Big Ten Conference at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.

-- Penn State was so-so offensively, ranking 64th with 403.7 total yards per game and 69th with 228.7 passing yards per contest. On the ground they managed 175.0 yards per outing to check in 49th, while averaging 34.3 points per game to end up 24th in the land. Defensively they were a lockdown team, ranking 23rd in total yards allowed (330.5), 78th with 232.5 passing yards allowed and just seventh in points per game allowed at 14.1. Against the run, a key for Penn State in this game, they were fifth overall with just 98.0 rushing yards per game allowed.

-- Memphis, the top Group of Five entrant, can really score. They're 10th in the nation with 480.7 total yards per game, 26th in passing yards (284.5) and 34th in rushing yards (196.2), while posting 40.5 points per game to rank eighth in the country. Defensively they can hold their own, ranking 49th with 372.3 total yards allowed, 34th against the pass (200.7) and 79th against the rush (171.6) while allowing 24.4 points per game to check in 76th.

-- Tigers freshman RB Kenneth Gainwell is a handful, as he rumbled for 1,425 yards on the ground while gathering 12 touchdowns. QB Brady White can sling it, too, though, going for 3,560 passing yards, so they're anything but one dimensional.

-- Nittany Lions QB Sean Clifford led the way with 2,521 yards, hitting WR KJ Hamler for 858 of those yards. Yetur Gross-Matos posted eight sacks. Clifford (leg) and Gross-Matos (arm) are each listed on the injury report, but both fully expected to play.

-- Memphis is hoping to turn things around in bowl games. They won their first two postseason appearances in 1971, and then 2003. However, they 2-7 since, including four straight bowl losses. They fell 37-34 to Wake Forest in the Birmingham Bowl last season.

-- Penn State has a lengthy bowl history, and most of it good. However, they haven't been great lately, going 3-6 SU in the past nine, including a loss to Kentucky in last season's Citrus Bowl. They have won two of five bowl trips under current head coach James Franklin. The last time they faced an AAC team in the postseason they lost to Houston in the TicketCity Bowl in the Cotton Bowl, 30-14, back on Jan. 2, 2012.

-- The Tigers are colkd against the number, going 4-9 ATS in the past 13 as an underdog, 1-6 ATS in the past seven neutral-site games and 0-4 ATS in their past four bowl appearances. In addition, they're 1-10 ATS in the past 11 games in the month of December.

-- Conversely, Penn State is 4-0 ATS in the past four December showings, while going 8-3-1 ATS in the past 12 non-conference tilts. They're also 20-9-2 ATS in the past 31 against winning teams, but just 1-4 ATS in the past five as a favorite.

-- For Memphis, the over is 7-3 in the past 10 games overall, while going 12-4 in the past 16 non-conference tilts and 6-2 in the past eight against winning teams. The over is also 10-2 in the past 12 as an underdog.

-- The over has hit in each of the past four neutral-site games for Penn State, while going 4-1 in their past five bowl appearances. The over is 8-1 in their past nine non-conference battles, too, while going 4-1 in the past five vs. AAC foes. The under is 7-3 in the past 10 overall for Penn State, however.

[StarDust Bum]

Michigan State beats Wake Forest 27-21 in Pinstripe Bowl
December 27, 2019
By The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored on a 6-yard run, a 98-yard kickoff return and a 12-yard reception - all in the second quarter - in No. 19 Iowaâ??s 49-24 victory over No. 22 Southern California in the Holiday Bowl on Friday night.

Senior Nate Stanley threw two touchdown passes and the Hawkeyes (10-3) won their fourth straight game for their sixth 10-win season in coach Kirk Ferentz's 21 years.

USC freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who threw two touchdown passes, was knocked out of the game with an apparent arm injury early in the third quarter. The Trojans (8-5) had their three-game winning streak snapped. They fell apart after Slovis left.

Smith-Marsette helped the Hawkeyes to a 28-17 halftime lead.

Smith-Marsette scored on a 6-yard sweep for a 14-7 lead. After USC tied it on Slovis' 16-yard pass to Vavae Malepeai, Smith-Marsette returned the kickoff 98 yards to give the Hawkeyes the lead for good.

Smith-Marsette, a junior wide receiver, also had a 95-yard kickoff return for a score in the regular-season finale, a 27-24 victory over Nebraska.

Stanley found Smith-Marsette on a 12-yard scoring pass on Iowa's next possession for a 28-14 lead.

TEXAS BOWL

TEXAS A&M 24, OKLAHOMA STATE 21

HOUSTON (AP) - Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome an early deficit and beat Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl.

Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies (8-5) a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else. Tre Sterling had a shot to tackle him around the 25, but Mond ran away from his diving attempt.

The Cowboys (8-5) went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas A&M 34 on their next possession, but Spencer Sanders was stopped for no gain.

The Aggies added a 24-yard field goal to make it 24-14 with about three minutes to go.

Oklahoma State cut the lead to three on a touchdown reception by Braydon Johnson with about a minute left. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick, but A&M recovered it to secure the victory.

Chuba Hubbard, who finished the regular season as the nation's leading rusher, ran for 158 yards, and Johnson had 124 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cowboys.

Hubbard finished the season with 2,094 yards rushing to become the second player in school history to reach 2,000, joining Barry Sanders, who did it in 1988 when he won the Heisman Trophy.

CHEEZ-IT BOWL

PHOENIX (AP) - Kadin Remsberg ran for 178 yards and stretched to the pylon for a 3-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, lifting No. 24 Air Force over Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl.

The Falcons (11-2) had their triple option working to near perfection, grinding out 371 yards rushing while setting a Cheez-It Bowl time of possession record of 43:24.

Donald Hammond III scored two touchdowns and Remsberg had his fourth-down TD confirmed by review to help the Falcons close the season on an eight-game winning streak.

Anthony Gordon, the FBS passing leader, kept the Cougars within reach, throwing for 351 yards and three touchdowns. He hit Brandon Arconado on a 13-yard TD early in the fourth quarter to pull Washington State (6-7) within 24-21, but the Cougars had no answer for Air Force's triple-option attack.

PINSTRIPE BOWL

MICHIGAN STATE 27, WAKE FOREST 21

NEW YORK (AP) - Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in Michigan State's victory over Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.

Lewerke threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans (7-6) ahead 27-21 and they survived down the stretch to give embattled coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory.

Wake Forest (8-5) missed a chance to win nine games for just the third time in program history.

Michigan State tried to give away the game twice in the fourth, the first time on Lewerke's shovel pass to tight end Trenton Gillison inside the 10 that was stripped and recovered by linebacker Ja'Cquez Williams at the 6.

The Deamon Deacons failed to score on the drive, and handed Michigan State another chance to seal the victory. Again, the Spartans couldn't put it away when Matt Coghlin was wide left on a 28-yard field goal attempt with 3:03 left Wake Forest's last chance ended on an incomplete pass on its own 16.

Lewerke passed Connor Cook (9,403) to become Michigan State's career leader in total offense and was the bowl MVP. White finished with 97 yards receiving, and Elijah Collins had 96 yards rushing.

Jamie Newman did all his damage for the Demon Deacons in the first half, throwing three touchdown passes for a 21-20 halftime lead.

MILITARY BOWL

NORTH CAROLINA 55, TEMPLE 13

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass in North Carolinaâ??s victory over Temple in the Military Bowl.

Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) to their first bowl victory since 2013. Temple (8-5) has gone to a bowl five years in a row - and lost four of them.

Howell threw two first-half touchdown to stake the Tar Heels to a 20-6 lead. They pulled in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns in a 12-second span, the last on Storm Duckâ??s 20-yard interception return.

Howell completed the third-quarter blitz by catching a 2-yard TD pass from wide receiver Rontavius Groves at the end of a razzle-dazzle reverse to make it 41-6. Howell threw 38 touchdown passes this season, the most by a true freshman in FBS history.

[StarDust Bum]

SATURDAY DECEMBER 28, 2019
Time (ET) Bowl Away Home
12:00 PM Camping World Bowl Iowa State Cyclones Notre Dame Fighting Irish
12:00 PM Cotton Bowl Memphis Tigers Penn State Nittany Lions
4:00 PM Peach Bowl Oklahoma Sooners Louisiana State Tigers
8:00 PM Fiesta Bowl Clemson Tigers Ohio State Buckeyes


***************************


Bowl Games Best Bets & Opinions ( All Based On 5 Units )

DATE................W-L-T...........%........UNITS


12/27/2019.......5-5-0.......50.00%......-2.50
12/26/2019.......1-3-0.......25.00%......-11.50
12/24/2019.......2-0-0......100.00%....+10.00
12/23/2019.......1-1-0........50.00%.....-0.50
12/21/2019...... 4-8-0........33.33%....-24.00
12/20/2019.......1-1-0........50.00%.....-0.50

Totals.............14-18-0........43.75%.....-29.00


****************************************

Best Bets

Date......................Ats..................Uni ts...................O/U...................Units..............Total

12/27/2019..........3 - 2.................+4.00.................2 - 3................- 5.50..............-1.50
12/26/2019..........1 - 1..................-0.50.................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.50
12/24/2019..........1 - 0..................+5.00................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
12/23/2019..........0 - 1..................-5.50.................1 - 0.................+5.00..............-0.50
12/21/2019..........2 - 3..................-6.50.................1 - 4..................-17.00............-23.50
12/20/2019..........1 - 0.................+5.00.................0 - 1..................-5.50..............- 0.50

Totals..................8 - 7...................-1.50................5 - 10................-29.00.............-27.50

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday’s 6-pack

— North Carolina 55, Temple 13— Temple coach Carey is now 0-7 in bowls.

— Michigan 27, Wake Forest 21— Total was 51.5; no one scored in 4th quarter.

— Texas A&M 24, Oklahoma State 21— Aggies have only four seniors on whole roster.

— Air Force 31, Washington State 21— Flyboys ran ball for 371 yards.

— Falcons’ coach Dan Quinn will be back in Atlanta next year.

— Five bowl games on New Year’s Eve, only four on New Year’s Day; why?

Quote of the Day:
“We believe in championships here. Just as the fan base might be frustrated, the coaching staff and players are frustrated . . . we’re going to be a very good team next year.”
USC football coach Clay Helton, whose team was not good Friday

Saturday’s quiz
Which NFL team drafted Joe Namath?

Friday’s quiz
Shaquille O’Neal finished his NBA career with the Celtics, nine years ago.

Thursday’s quiz
Ozzie Guillen was manager of the White Sox when they won the World Series in ’05.

*********************

Saturday’s List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here…….

13) Pitt 34, Eastern Michigan 30— OK, never saw this before; Panthers score with 0:47 left to take a 34-30 lead, their first lead of the night. EMU was trying to drive for a winning score when their QB gets hit while throwing an incomplete pass with 0:10 left.

The QB gets up, one of the defenders says something to him, and the QB smacks the guy in the facemask— not good. He gets thrown out of the game; a kid playing his last college game, who threw for 311 yards and two TD’s, gets tossed before the last play. Oy.

12) Found a treasure trove of old knowledge Thursday, a website full of old stats from the USFL, which played from 1983-85. Was a very good league, good springtime entertainment.

22 different cities hosted USFL teams; Breakers played in a different city every year (Boston, New Orleans, Portland).

11) Steve Young led the LA Express to a 10-8 record in 1984, playing for coach John Hadl, who was an excellent QB himself in the old AFL for the Chargers, and then briefly for the Rams.

Young threw for 2,361 yards, ran for 515 more; they slipped to 3-15 the next year, losing a great 34-33 game to Jim Kelly and the Houston Gamblers early in the season, in front of a small gathering at the LA Coliseum.

When I say small crowd, the Express averaged 8,415 fans a game in the Coliseum. No bueno.

10) Tampa Bay Bandits averaged over 40,000 fans/game in their three-year run for Steve Spurrier, going 35-19. Florida alum John Reaves played QB most of the time for the Bandits; at one point, he was a 1st round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles.

9) Super Bowl winners by seed, since 1990:
seed #1) 14 Super Bowl champs
#2) 7
#3) 1 (Colts ’06)
#4) 4
#5) 1 (Giants ’07)
#6) 2 (Steelers ’05/Packers ’10)

8) Minnesota Vikings are locked into the #6 seed in the NFC; they’re likely to sit lot of guys this weekend, including QB Kirk Cousins.

7) Marshawn Lynch will apparently be paid $60,588 by the Seahawks this week.

For any NFL player with more than 10 years of experience, the minimum salary is $1,030,000 for the whole year, which breaks down to $60,588 per week over 17 weeks.

6) Washington Huskies’ QB Jacob Eason, the #4 NFL prospect at QB, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., announced Thursday that he will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.

5) Lebron James has played four games for the Lakers against the rival Clippers; he is 5-29 on the arc in those four games.

4) Louisiana Tech 14, Miami 0— Miami used three QB’s in this game; none of them played well. This is their first losing season since 2014. Not often the TV announcers are speculating during the game about the offensive coordinator getting fired.

Friday, the offensive coordinator got fired.

Miami lost nine of its last ten bowl games. Meanwhile, Skip Holtz is 6-0 in bowls at Louisiana Tech.

3) On November 12, Evansville upset Kentucky 67-64 in Rupp Arena, a great moment for the Purple Aces and their coach, Kentucky alum Walter McCarty.

Six weeks later, McCarty was put on leave by Evansville, after “……a troubling report about Coach McCarty’s interactions with a member of the campus community.”

Former Samford coach Bennie Seltzer is the Purple Aces’ interim head coach.

2) RIP Don Imus, 79, a legend on NYC radio who often made me laugh when I was driving to work. ESPN’s Mike Breen did the sports on Imus’ show for a while; Imus would bust his chops and make him laugh, while he was trying to read his report.

1) Aaron Rodgers, Danica Patrick recently bought a Malibu estate for $28M in cash; who doesn’t have $28M lying around?

[StarDust Bum]

I'll be on vacation and will try to post when i can.....In the meantime UDOG will be posting for me information as far as News Stats Etc.
I"ll be back Sunday the 5th

GOOD LUCK TO ALL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !


SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

MEM at PSU 12:00 PM
MEM +7.0
U 60.5

ND at ISU 12:00 PM
ISU +3.0
O 57.0

OKLA at LSU 04:00 PM
LSU -14.0
O 76.0

CLEM at OSU 08:00 PM
CLEM -2.0
U 62.0

[Udog]

Monday's Bowl Tip Sheet
Joe Williams

First Responder Bowl (ESPN, 12:30 p.m. ET)

Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan

-- The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-4 straight up, 8-4 against the spread) from Conference USA will tangle with the Western Michigan Broncos (7-5 straight up, 6-6 against the spread) from the Mid-American Conference in the ServPro First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Tex. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

-- The Hilltoppers of WKU finished up the season with three straight wins, including a road rout of Arkansas on Nov. 9, 45-19. They also won seven of their final nine outings, including victories over bowl teams Southern Miss, Charlotte and UAB, and the Hilltoppers ended up covering seven of their final nine outings, too.

-- Western Kentucky doesn't have an extensive bowl history. This will be their sixth-ever postseason showing, and they're looking for their fourth bowl victory. After losing the Little Caesars Bowl to Central Michigan in their bowl debut in 2012, they avenged that loss in a 49-48 shootout vs. CMU in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl. That kicked off a three-game bowl win streak which also included a 45-35 win over South Florida in the 2015 Miami Beach Bowl and a 51-31 win over Memphis in the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl. They were tripped up 27-17 by Georgia State in the Cure Bowl on Dec. 16, 2017 in their most recent bowl showing.

-- The Broncos have appeared in nine bowl games all-time, but they have just one win to show for their efforts. Their lone win was in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl over Middle Tennessee. They coughed up a 49-18 loss to BYU last season in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and they suffered a 24-16 loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 2, 2017 in the Cotton Bowl, easily their most impressive season to date.

-- Western Michigan no longer rows the boat for P.J. Fleck, but they have continued to be relevant since his departure for Minnesota. They blew a chance at the MAC Championship Game last time out on Nov. 26, losing at Northern Illinois by a 17-14 score as a 10-point favorite. That snapped a season-high three-game win streak which included victory over Bowling Green, Ball State and Ohio. One interesting thing about Western Michigan this season is that they alternated covers and non-covers in each of their 12 games this season, failing to cover last time out.

-- The Broncos had a powerful offense, ranking 23rd in the nation with 457.3 total yards per game while ranking 56th in passing yards (244.6) and 24th in rushing yards (212.7). They were also 25th in the country with 34.2 points per contest. Defensively, WMU wasn't very good, ranking 82nd with 414.6 total yards per game allowed, while ranking 69th in passing yards allowed (228.1) and 94th in rushing yards allowed (186.5) per game. They also yielded 26.2 PPG to check in 57th.

-- The 'Toppers struggled on offense, ranking just 87th with 380.0 total yards per game, while posting 251.1 passing yards per game to finish 52nd in the land. They also posted a dismal 128.9 rushing yards to rank 109th in the nation, while managing 25.6 PPG to end up 90th. On defense, they yielded 337.8 total yards to rank 29th, they were 32nd in passing yards (200.2) and 40th in rushing yards (137.7) per game, while allowing 20.1 points per game to rank 21st in the country.

-- Western Kentucky is 7-2 ATS in the past nine games overall and 5-1 ATS in the past six against winning teams. However, they're 5-13 ATS as a favorite.

-- Western Michigan is 2-5 ATS in the previous seven neutral-site appearances, while going 2-8 ATS in the past 10 as an underdog, and 1-6 ATS in their past seven showings in the month of December.

-- The over is 4-1 in Western Kentucky's past five overall, and 5-1 in the past six neutral-site games. The over is also 7-2 in the past nine as a favorite, but the under is 5-2 in their past seven tries against winning sides.

-- The over is 4-1 in WMU's past five bowl games, and 6-1 in the past seven as an underdog. However, the under is 5-2-1 in their past eight games overall.


Music City Bowl (ESPN, 4:00 p.m.)

Mississippi State vs. Louisville

-- The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl will pit the Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-6 straight up, 5-7 against the spread) against the Louisville Cardinals (7-5 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. in a rematch of the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl, which went to Mississippi State 31-27.

-- The Bulldogs might have made the cut for a bowl by the slimmest of margins of any team in this season's postseason field. They won 21-20 at home against Mississippi in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night thanks to a missed extra point. That missed PAT came after an unsportsmanlike penalty on that nonsense where the wide receiver who scored the touchdown imitated a dog urinating while celebrating in the end zone. Hey, however you get it done. Mississippi State did win three of their final four games, while covering in those three wins, and the 'under' cashed in the final three.

-- The Cardinals didn't need any late-game antics in the finale to get into the bowl field. They clinched bowl eligibility on Nov. 16 with a 34-20 win at N.C. State, and they followed it up with a 56-34 win over Syracuse the next week. However, the Cardinals might be champing at the bit after getting throttled 45-13 in their season finale against rival Kentucky of the SEC.

-- Mississippi State has a lengthy bowl history which dates back to an Orange Bowl loss in 1936, a 13-12 loss to Duquesne, by the way. They also beat Georgetown 14-7 in the 1941 Orange Bowl, so yeah, they've been around. In more recent times, they have won three of their past four bowl showings, but they lost in the Outback Bowl last season to Iowa in a 27-22 nailbiter. They have appeared in the Music City Bowl once before, topping Wake Forest 23-17 back on Dec. 30, 2011.

-- Louisville's bowl history dates back to 1958, a 34-20 win over Drake in the Sun Bowl. More recently, the Cardinals have dropped two straight bowl games, including that TaxSlayer Bowl in 2017 to the Bulldogs. They won the 2015 Music City Bowl over Texas A&M by a 27-21 score in their only other previous appearance at Nissan Stadium.

-- The Cardinals ranked 35th in the nation with 442.8 total yards per game, while ranking 70th in the pass with 227.7 yards per game. Rushing was a strong suit, ranking 23rd with 215.2 yards per game, as RB Javian Hawkins rumbled for 1,420 yards and eight touchdowns. They ended up with 32.7 points per game to check in 40th. Defensively, the Cardinals had a lot of issues, ranking 107th in total yards (446.3), 84th in passing yards (235.3), 115th in rushing yards (211.0) and 111th in points allowed (33.8) per game.

-- The Bulldogs were rather so-so in most facets of the game, which isn't surprising since they ended up 6-6. They were just 67th in total yards (402.9), 112th in passing yards (176.0) and 75th in points scored (27.6). However, they were 18th in rushing yards per game at 226.9, as Kylin Hill posted 1,347 yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively, they were also rather marginal, ranking 68th in total yards (390.1), 92nd in passing yards (241.3) and 55th in rushing yards (148.8) allowed per game. They also yielded 28.1 PPG to rank 68th.

-- MSU is 10-4 ATS in the past 14 non-conference games, but they're 2-5 ATS in the past seven appearances on a grass surface and 0-4 ATS in the past four against winning teams.

-- Louisville has covered in just one of the past five neutral-site games, while going 0-4 ATS in the past four tries vs. SEC. They're also a dismal 4-12-1 ATS in the past 17 games out of conference.

-- The Bulldogs have hit the under in five of their past seven games overall, but the over is 4-1 in the past five non-conference games and 5-2 in the past seven neutral-site contests.

-- The over cashed in the final four for the Cards. However, the under is 5-0 in their past five bowl appearances, while going 6-2-1 in the past nine neutral-site affairs.


Redbox Bowl (FOX, 4:00 p.m.)

California vs. Illinois

-- The Redbox Bowl has the California Bears (7-5 straight up, 6-6 against the spread) from the Pac-12 Conference meeting the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-6 straight-up, 8-4 against the spread) from the Big Ten Conference at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

-- Cal fired out of the gate at 4-0 SU/2-2 ATS in their first two games, including road wins at Washington and at Mississippi. Things were humming right along, but then injuries reared their ugly head, particularly to QB Chase Garbers, and the Bears took a big step back. They lost four in a row to Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State and Utah, and suddenly bowl eligibility didn't look so certain. They posted perhaps a season-saving 33-20 win over Washington State as 8.5-point underdogs before finishing off the season with wins at Stanford and at UCLA, covering three of the final four.

-- Illinois was stumbling to a 2-4 SU start, although they did give Michigan a scare Oct. 12 in a 42-25 loss which was much closer than the score indicates. That gave them confidence heading into the next week, as they won outright as 28.5-point underdogs for one of the biggest upsets across college football in a 24-23 win over Wisconsin. They rattled off four straight wins to attain bowl eligibility, winning at Purdue, home to Rutgers and at Michigan State in a game with a monster comeback. They won that game in East Lansing 37-34 as 11-point underdogs, their third win of the season as a double-digit 'dog. They also finished up 6-1 ATS in the final seven. An inexplicable 29-10 loss at home to rival Northwestern won't splash cold water on their season. The Illini are going bowling.

-- The Illini are playing in a bowl for the first time since the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26, 2014, a 35-18 setback to Louisiana Tech. Their last win in a bowl came ovr UCLA in the Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec. 31, 2011. They're 0-4 SU in their past four bowl games against the Pac-12 since topping Washington 17-7 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1964.

-- Cal is making a bowl appearance for the second straight season, and they hope to find a little more offense than they had in a 10-7 loss to TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl last season. The Golden Bears will be playing their 14th bowl appearance in school history in the state of California. They're 4-8-1 SU in their past previous 13 bowl appearances inside the confines of the Golden State.

-- The Illini managed just 319.7 total yards per game to rank 120th, and they were 110th with 177.0 passing yards per game, with WR Josh Imatorbhebhe leading the way with 634 receiving yards. They did manage to post 27.3 points per game to rank 78th. Defensively, they allowed 410.7 total yards per game to rank 79th, while allowing just 208.0 passing yards per game to finish 39th. On the ground, they struggled, giving up 202.7 yards per game to check in 110th, but they still allowed just 25.4 points per game to finish 53rd. Defensively, Oluwole Betiku Jr. cashed in with eight sacks.

-- Cal is 1-4 ATS in their past five games as a favorite, 1-4 ATS in the past five non-conference tilts and 1-4 ATS in the past five bowl games. They're also a dismal 1-6 ATS in the past seven neutral-site battles.

-- Illinois is 5-0 ATS in the past five as an underdog, while hitting in six of the past seven games overall. They're also 4-1 ATS in the past five against winning teams, and 6-2 ATS in the past eight neutral-site contests.

-- The under is 7-2 in Cal's past nine non-conference battles, while going 20-7 in the past 27 games overall. They have hit the over in seven of their past 10 bowls, and 6-1 in the past seven against the Big Ten conference.

-- The under is 5-1 in Illinois' past six non-conference tilts, 4-1 in the past five against the Pac-12 Conference and a perfect 6-0 in their past six neutral-site battles.

[Udog]

Tuesday's Early Bowl Tips
Joe Williams

Belk Bowl (ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET)

Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky

-- The Virginia Tech Hokies (8-4 straight up, 6-6 against the spread) from Atlantic Coast Conference will square off against the Kentucky Wildcats (7-5 straight up, 9-3 against the spread) from the Southeastern Conference in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. at Bank of America Stadium.

-- The Hokies are back at the Belk Bowl for the first time since the 2016 season, and they won 35-24 against Arkansas to cap off that campaign. That was also their most recent bowl victory, and they lost to Oklahoma State in 2017 in the Camping World Bowl and in 2018 to Cincinnati in the Military Bowl. This will be their first matchup with Kentucky in a bowl game, and they're 3-3 SU in six previous battles against SEC teams in bowl games.

-- The Wildcats have a bowl history dating all the way back to 1947 when they won the Great Lakes Bowl in Cleveland against Villanova by a 20-19 score. They were 8-5 in their first 13 bowl games, but dipped below .500 with four straight losses from 2009-17 before finally snapping that losing streak in a mild upset of Penn State last season in the Citrus Bowl, 27-24. This is their first-ever appearnace in the Belk Bowl. They're 0-3 in the past three tries against ACC teams in bowl games, falling to Georgia Tech in the TaxSlayer Bowl in 2016, the BBVA Compass Bowl in 2011 and Clemson in 2009 in the Music City Bowl. They last topped an ACC team when they pushed aside Florida State 35-28 in the Music City Bowl on NYE 2007.

-- The Hokies got a lot better as the season progressed. They started out just 2-2 SU/0-4 ATS through the first four games, including an 0-2 conference start with a loss at Boston College and at home to Duke. They turned things around with a comeback win at Miami on Oct. 5, kicking off a three-game winning streak. They nearly had a seven-game win streak, but fell just short 21-20 at Notre Dame on Nov. 2, although they easily covered in that one. They have a sour taste in their mouths, however, losing 39-30 to Virginia in Charlottesville to close out the season, snapping a 3-0 SU run, and a 5-0 ATS streak.

-- The Wildcats are streaking into bowl season, as they started out with a 2-3 SU/3-2 ATS record, including an 0-3 run in conference. In fact, their first two wins were against MAC teams Toledo and Eastern Michigan. They narrowly avoided upset against a bad Arkansas team on Oct. 12 for their first SEC win, but were blanked at Georgia to sit 3-4 SU on Oct. 19. They fell back under .500 at 4-5 with a 17-13 home loss to Tennessee. However, they posted wins over Vanderbilt, Tennessee-Martin and Louisville to close out the year on a high note. Not exactly a murderer's row, but bowl eligibility is bowl eligiblity.

-- Once QB Terry Wilson (knee) went down in September due to a knee injury, the Wildcats had to get creative. Dual-threat QB Sawyer Smith and WR/QB Lynn Bowden Jr. have been under center. The former Troy signal caller Smith has 690 passing yards to lead the team. If you think that's weird, Bowden Jr. is third on the team with 330 passing yards while tied for second with two touchdown throws. He also leads the team in rushing with 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns while also leading with 30 receptions, 348 yards and one score. Somehow, with a mish-mash offense, they have made it work for more wins than losses.

-- The Wildcats are 80th overall in total yards on offense (391.8), while ranking just 126th in passing yards (117.1). However, they're fourth in the nation with 274.8 yards per game, while ranking 86th in points per game (26.3). Defensively, the Wildcats are stout, allowing just 324.0 total yards (20th), 172.7 passing yards (4th) and 151.3 rushing yards (60th). They yielded just 18.4 PPG to check in 12th in the country.

-- Virginia Tech is 81st in total yards on offense (390.3), 80th in passing yards (217.3), 53rd in rushing yards (172.9) and 52nd in points scored (30.9). Defensively, they're 42nd overall with 360.4 total yards allowed, hilw ranking 27th against the rush (123.4). They're also 45th in points allowed (23.7). If they have trouble, it's against the pass, but that's not a strong suit - or even much of a part - of Kentucky's game.

-- The Hokies are 5-1 ATS in the past six games overall, while going 4-1 ATS in the past five neutral-site battles. However, they're 3-9 ATS in the past 12 as a favorite, and 2-5 ATS in the past seven vs. SEC foes.

-- The Wildcats have covered six of the past seven games overall, and they're 4-0 ATS in the past four against teams with a winning record. UK is also 6-0 ATS in the past six non-conference tilts, but only 2-5 ATS in the previous seven neutral-site battles.

-- The under is 4-1 in Virginia Tech's past five, and 5-2 in their past seven as a favorite. However, the over is 6-2-2 in the past 10 neutral-site games and 5-1-1 in their past seven showings vs. SEC.

-- The under has cashed in four of Kentucky's past five bowl games, and six of their past eight neutral-site battles. The under is also 4-0 in the past four as an underdog.


Sun Bowl (CBS, 2:00 p.m.)

Florida State vs. Arizona State

-- The Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl sees the Arizona Sun Devils (7-5 straight up, 4-7-1 against the spread) from the Pac-12 Conference facing off against the Florida State Seminoles (6-6 straight up, 4-7-1 against the spread) of the ACC at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Tex.

-- The Sun Devils fired out to a 5-1 SU start after a 38-34 win against Washington State on Oct. 12, but they lost four straight to Utah, UCLA, USC and Oregon State, putting their bowl eligibility in severe peril. A loss in Corvallis, 35-34, on Nov. 16, looked particularly damaging. However, they stunned Oregon 31-28 in Tucson to attain bowl eligibility, and then added to their resume with a win over rival Arizona, 24-14, in the season finale on Nov. 30.

-- The Seminoles qualified for a bowl game, but a .500 record wasn't enough to save the job of head coach Willie Taggart. He is now the head man at Florida Atlantic, and the Seminoles have hired Mike Norvell, formerly of Memphis. However, interim coach Odell Haggins will lead the Seminoles into El Paso. FSU managed to win just two games over bowl teams, 35-24 over Louisville on Sept. 21, and 38-31 at BC on Nov. 9.

-- Arizona State lost its first bowl game under Herm Edwards last season, falling 31-20 to Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl. They have dropped three in a row in the postseason, and they're 4-10 SU in their previous 14 bowl showings. These two teams met back in 1971 in the Fiesta Bowl, with the Sun Devils winning 45-38 behind legendary head coach Frank Kush.

-- FSU obviously has a long and decorated bowl history. Lately it's been a little less decorated, however. They didn't go to a bowl last season, ending the nation's longest active run. They won 42-13 in the Independence Bowl in 2017, and 33-32 over Michigan before that in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30, 2016. The last time the Seminoles faced a Pac-12 team in a bowl game they lost to Oregon, 59-20, in the Rose Bowl in a playoff game. Their last win over a Pac-12 team was the Emerald Bowl over UCLA in 2006, although that win was actually vacated due to ineligible players. And, as mentioned above, they also lost to AZ State in 1971. So technically, they're 0-2 all-time in bowl games vs. Pac-12.

-- The Sun Devils rank 89th in the nation with 379.6 total yards and they're just 114th in rushing yards (126.3). However, the Sun Devils were a respectable 48th in passing yards per game with 253.3, led by QB Jayden Daniels, who improved as the season went on. He passed for 2,748 yards, with a majority going to WR N'Keal Harry's replacement, WR Brandon Aiyuk with 1,192 yards. RB Eno Benjamin also posted a respectabe 1,083 yards when they did run the ball. Defensively, the Sun Devils really struggled against the pass, allowing 270.1 yards in the pass-happy Pac-12, but they were a solid 22nd in the nation against the run at 117.0, and they allowed just 23.1 PPG to rank 41st.

-- The Seminoles rank 65th in total yards per game (403.2), 33rd in passing yards (269.4) and 104th in rushing yards (133.8) with 29.1 PPG to rank 65th. On the defensive side of the ball, the Seminoles were horrific, ranking 99th with 436.0 total yards per game allowed, 120th in passing yards (283.5) and 63rd in rushing yards (152.5) allowed. They coughed up 28.5 PPG to rank 71st in the country.

-- Arizona State is 0-8 ATS in the past eight games as a favorite, and they're 1-6 ATS in the past seven neutral-site battle. They're also 2-8 ATS in the past 10 bowl games, 1-4 ATS in the past five non-conference tilts and 1-4-1 ATS in the past six games overall.

-- Florida State is just 2-5 ATS in the past seven games overall, and 1-4 ATS in the past five against winning teams. They're also 0-6 ATS in the past six non-conference games. However, they're 10-2-1 ATS in the past 13 bowl games.

-- The Sun Devils have hit the over in four of the past five games overall, and 8-3 in the past 11 neutral-site battles. The over is also 6-2 in the past eight bowl games for AZ State, while going 9-4 in the past 13 as a favorite.

-- The over has connected in four bowl games in a row for FSU, while going 13-6-1 in their past 20 against winning teams. The over is also 7-1 in the past eight neutral-site games and 18-5 in their past 23 non-ACC games.


Liberty Bowl (ESPN, 3:45 p.m.)

Navy vs. Kansas State

-- The Autozone Liberty Bowl features a battle between the Navy Midshipmen (10-2 straight up, 9-3 against the spread) from the American Athletic Conference battling the Kansas State Wildcats (8-4 straight-up, 9-3 against the spread) from the Big 12 Conference at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn.

-- Navy heads into this one on the heels of their 10th victory of the season Dec. 14, topping rival Army in their annual battle by a 31-7 score. It was their third straight win and cover since getting pounded 52-20 at Nore Dame on Nov. 16. Their only other loss, oddly enough, was in this stadium back on Sept. 26 when the Middies fell to Memphis in their first AAC road game. They managed a 3-2 ATS mark in their five true road games this season.

-- Kansas State opened with three victories, but then they slipped against Oklahoma State and Baylor to fall to 3-2 SU/ATS. They rebounded with wins against TCU, Oklahoma and Kansas, and they were a 23.5-point underdog in that game against the Sooners at home. They were dumped by Texas and West Virginia, but finished up strong with wins over Texas Tech and a good Iowa State team, ending up 6-2 ATS in the final eight outings.

-- Navy's bowl history dates all the way back to 1924, when they tied Washington 14-14 in the Rose Bowl. It hasn't been quite as long since they were in the Liberty Bowl, but it's been a while. They fell to Ohio State by a 31-28 score in the Liberty Bowl in their final bowl under George Welsh on Dec. 30, 1981. While they'll now play Navy on a fairly regular basis in the AAC, they still don't have a long history at the stadium. The Middies are 4-1 SU across the past five bowl appearances under Ken Niumatalolo. The last time they faced a Big 12 team in a bowl game, they faced Missouri (then in the Big 12) in the Texas Bowl by a 35-13 score on Dec. 31, 2009. They also lost to Texas Tech in 2003 in the Houston Bowl, so officially they're 0-2 SU vs. Big 12 in bowl season.

-- K-State has appeared in 21 bowl games in school history. They're currently on a two-game winning streak, and they have never won three straight bowl appearances in school history. This will also be their first appearance against an AAC team. This will also be their first bowl appearance under Chris Klieman, and just the third in their history without Bill Snyder at the helm. The Wildcats appeared in the Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016, falling to Arkansas by a 45-23 score.

-- The Midshipmen are 12-3-1 ATS in the past 16 games overall, including 4-0 ATS in the past four as a favorite. They're also 3-1-1 ATS in the past non-conference tilts, and 5-0 ATS in the past five bowl appearances.

-- The Wildcats are 6-1 ATS in the past seven games overall, and 4-0 ATS in the past four against winning teams. They're also 4-0 ATS in the past four outside of the conference, while going 4-0 ATS in the past four in the month of December.

-- However, K-State is 3-7 ATS in the past 10 bowl games, and they're 1-5 ATS in the past six as a bowl 'dog.

-- Navy is 7-3 ATS in the past 10 games overall, and 4-1 in the past five against winning teams. However, the under is 14-2 in the past 16 neutral-site games as a favorite, with the under hitting in 11 of their past 14 neutral-site games overall. The over is 9-4 in their past 13 bowl games.

-- The under is 5-1 in K-State's past six against winning teams, and 18-7-1 in the past 26 games overall.

[Udog]

Monday, December 30


245W MICHIGAN -246 W KENTUCKY
W KENTUCKY is 13-4 ATS (8.6 Units) in road games vs. good offenses (>425 TYG) since 1992.

249ILLINOIS -250 CALIFORNIA
ILLINOIS are 27-13 Under (12.7 Units) after scoring 7 points or less in the first half in 2 straight games since 1992.

251VIRGINIA -252 FLORIDA
FLORIDA is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) after allowing 7 points or less in the first half in 2 straight games over the last 2 seasons.




W MICHIGAN (7 - 5) vs. W KENTUCKY (8 - 4) - 12/30/2019, 12:30:00 P
Top Trends for this game.
W KENTUCKY is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games in games played on turf over the last 2 seasons.
W KENTUCKY is 24-10 ATS (+13.0 Units) after 2 or more consecutive straight up wins since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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ILLINOIS (6 - 6) vs. CALIFORNIA (7 - 5) - 12/30/2019, 4:00:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ILLINOIS is 140-177 ATS (-54.7 Units) in all games since 1992.
ILLINOIS is 140-177 ATS (-54.7 Units) in all lined games since 1992.
CALIFORNIA is 64-90 ATS (-35.0 Units) as a favorite since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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VIRGINIA (9 - 4) vs. FLORIDA (10 - 2) - 12/30/2019, 8:00:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 35-19 ATS (+14.1 Units) in road games when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest since 1992.
FLORIDA is 30-16 ATS (+12.4 Units) in road games after a bye week since 1992.
FLORIDA is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) after 2 or more consecutive straight up wins over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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MISSISSIPPI ST (6 - 6) vs. LOUISVILLE (7 - 5) - 12/30/2019, 4:00:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MISSISSIPPI ST is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
LOUISVILLE is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MISSISSIPPI ST is 1-0 against the spread versus LOUISVILLE over the last 3 seasons
MISSISSIPPI ST is 1-0 straight up against LOUISVILLE over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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Western Kentucky @ Western Michigan
Western Kentucky
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Western Kentucky's last 5 games
Western Kentucky is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games
Western Michigan
Western Michigan is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Western Michigan is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games

California @ Illinois
California
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of California's last 21 games
Illinois
Illinois is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Illinois is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games

Mississippi State @ Louisville
Mississippi State
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Mississippi State's last 7 games
Louisville
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Louisville's last 5 games
Louisville is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games

Florida @ Virginia
Florida
Florida is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games
Florida is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Virginia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Virginia's last 5 games
Virginia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games




Dec 30 First Responder Bowl- Dallas
Western Kentucky won its last three games, scoring 34.7 ppg; Hilltoppers are 5-9 ATS in last 14 games as a favorite, 2-1 TY. WKU is -10 in turnovers in its losses, +5 in their wins. Four of their last five games went over the total. WKU won three of its last four bowls, with average total 69.6 in last five. Western Michigan won three of its last four home games after a 4-4 start; they’re they’re 7-1 when they score 31+ points, 0-4 when they don’t. Broncos lost four of last five bowls, scoring 16-18 points in losing last two. WMU is 4-8 ATS in last dozen games as an underdog, 1-3 TY. Under is 5-2-1 in their last eight games. Favorites covered this bowl four of last five times, with average total of 59.8- this bowl was cancelled LY (weather).

Music City Bowl, Nashville
Mississippi State won three of its last four games after a 3-5 start; they’re 9-7 ATS in last 16 games as a single digit favorite, 2-2 TY. State is 6-2 when it res ball for 200+ TY, 0-4 when they don’t. Five of their last seven games stayed under. Bulldogs won three of last four bowls, last three of which were all decided by 5 or fewer points- average total in their last five bowls: 60.6. Louisville is 7-0 when it scores 28+ points, 0-5 when it doesn’t; they allowed 449+ TY in five of last seven games, lost three of their last four bowls, scoring average of 19.3 ppg. Six of their last eight games overall went over. Cardinals are 4-11 ATS in last 15 games as an underdog, 3-4 TY. Favorites covered this bowl five of last seven years, with average total of 58.6 the last five years.

Redbox Bowl, Santa Clara
Illinois lost its last two games, scoring 10-10 points; they’re in bowl for first time in five years. Illini covered six of seven games as an underdog TY- they’re 6-1 when they gain 300+ TY, 0-5 when they don’t. Under is 4-1-1 in their last six games. Favorites covered four of Illinois’ last five bowl games. California won three of its last four games (over 3-1) after a 4-4 start; they’re 1-7-1 ATS in last nine games as a favorite, 0-3 TY. Cal is 0-5 when it scores 17 or fewer points, 7-0 when they score more. Three of their last four games went over. Cal is bowling in consecutive years for first time in a decade; they lost three of last four bowls, with average total of 49.2 in last five. Underdogs covered this bowl the last four years; average total last five years is 53.6.

Orange Bowl, Miami
Florida won its last three games, scoring 39.7 ppg, throwing for 378.7 ypg; they covered seven of last eight as a double digit favorite, 3-0 TY. Four of their last six games went over. Junior QB Trask stepped in for injured starter Franks, threw 24 TD’s TY. Gators won three of last four bowls, with average total of 48.2 in last five. Mullen is 6-2 in bowls in his career. Virginia won four of its last five games, losing ACC title game 62-17 to Clemson; Cavaliers allowed 337.7 passing yards/game in last three games. Cavaliers lost three of last four bowls- they gave up 31+ points in four of last five. Under Mendenhall, Virginia is 4-7 ATS as a double digit underdog. Underdogs covered six of last eight Orange Bowls; average total in last five Orange Bowls is 68.7.




Western Kentucky @ Western Michigan

Game 245-246
December 30, 2019 @ 12:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Western Kentucky
84.186
Western Michigan
77.971
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Western Kentucky
by 6
55
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Western Kentucky
by 3
52
Dunkel Pick:
Western Kentucky
(-3); Over

Mississippi St @ Louisville

Game 281-282
December 30, 2019 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Mississippi St
92.348
Louisville
84.734
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Mississippi St
by 7 1/2
68
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Mississippi St
by 4
63 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Mississippi St
(-4); Over

California @ Illinois

Game 249-250
December 30, 2019 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
California
91.914
Illinois
82.798
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
California
by 9
39
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
California
by 6 1/2
43 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
California
(-6 1/2); Under

Florida @ Virginia

Game 251-252
December 30, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Florida
109.993
Virginia
93.367
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Florida
by 16 1/2
49
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Florida
by 14
54 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Florida
(-14); Under

[Udog]

Tuesday, December 31


255FLORIDA ST -256 ARIZONA ST
FLORIDA ST is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) when the total is 49.5-56 in the last 3 seasons.

257KANSAS ST -258 NAVY
NAVY is 7-1 ATS (5.9 Units) as a favorite in the current season.

261TEXAS -262 UTAH
TEXAS are 17-4 ATS (12.6 Units) after allowing 375 or more passing yards in their last game since 1992.

285KENTUCKY -286 VIRGINIA TECH
KENTUCKY is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) off a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.




FLORIDA ST (6 - 6) vs. ARIZONA ST (7 - 5) - 12/31/2019, 2:00:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA ST is 12-23 ATS (-13.3 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
FLORIDA ST is 12-23 ATS (-13.3 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
ARIZONA ST is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) as a favorite this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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KANSAS ST (8 - 4) vs. NAVY (9 - 2) - 12/31/2019, 3:45:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NAVY is 181-134 ATS (+33.6 Units) in all games since 1992.
NAVY is 181-134 ATS (+33.6 Units) in all lined games since 1992.
NAVY is 68-44 ATS (+19.6 Units) in games played on turf since 1992.
NAVY is 81-46 ATS (+30.4 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1992.
KANSAS ST is 178-141 ATS (+22.9 Units) in all games since 1992.
KANSAS ST is 178-141 ATS (+22.9 Units) in all lined games since 1992.
KANSAS ST is 76-49 ATS (+22.1 Units) as an underdog since 1992.
KANSAS ST is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) after playing a conference game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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GEORGIA ST (7 - 5) vs. WYOMING (7 - 5) - 12/31/2019, 4:30:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEXAS (7 - 5) vs. UTAH (11 - 2) - 12/31/2019, 7:30:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TEXAS is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) on a neutral field where the total is between 52.5 and 56 since 1992.
UTAH is 25-13 ATS (+10.7 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
UTAH is 25-13 ATS (+10.7 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
UTAH is 22-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
UTAH is 34-16 ATS (+16.4 Units) when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest since 1992.
UTAH is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) after playing a conference game this season.
UTAH is 37-19 ATS (+16.1 Units) after a bye week since 1992.
UTAH is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in games played on turf this season.
UTAH is 64-39 ATS (+21.1 Units) in non-conference games since 1992.
UTAH is 47-25 ATS (+19.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1992.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KENTUCKY (7 - 5) vs. VIRGINIA TECH (8 - 4) - 12/31/2019, 12:00:00 P
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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Virginia Tech @ Kentucky
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Virginia Tech's last 5 games
Kentucky
Kentucky is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Kentucky is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

Florida State @ Arizona State
Florida State
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Florida State's last 9 games
Florida State is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Arizona State
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona State's last 5 games
Arizona State is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

Navy @ Kansas State
Navy
Navy is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
Navy is 13-3 ATS in its last 16 games
Kansas State
Kansas State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas State's last 5 games

Georgia State @ Wyoming
Georgia State
Georgia State is 8-15 SU in its last 23 games
Georgia State is 7-12-4 ATS in its last 23 games
Wyoming
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Wyoming's last 5 games
Wyoming is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games

Utah @ Texas
Utah
Utah is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games
Utah is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
Texas
Texas is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
Texas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games




Dec 31- Belk Bowl, Charlotte
Virginia Tech won three of last four games, covered five of last six; they’re 4-6 ATS in last ten games as a single digit favorite, 2-3 TY. Four of their last five games went under total. Hokies lost their last two bowls; their last bowl win was here, three years ago. Average total in their last five bowls: 70.8. Kentucky won four of last six DI games, running ball for 918 yards in last two; Wildcats are 2-7 ATS in last nine games as a single digit underdog, 2-2 TY- their last three games went over the total. Wildcats lost four of its last five bowls, with last two decided by total of four points. Favorites won seven of last eight Belk Bowls (6-1-1 vs spread), with average total of 60.5 in last six; ACC teams are 5-3 SU in last eight Belk Bowls.

Sun Bowl, El Paso
Florida State scored 31+ points in all six of its wins; they’re 0-5 scoring less than 31. Seminoles are 3-8-1 ATS in last dozen games as an underdog, 1-2-1 TY. FSU won three of last five bowls, scoring 33-42 points in last two- they didn’t go to a bowl LY, part of why they’ll have a new coach next year.. Six of their last eight games went under the total. Arizona State went 7-5 TY despite a 4-game skid near end of year; under Edwards, Sun Devils are 1-5 ATS as a single digit favorite. Four of their last five games went over. ASU plays a true freshman QB; they lost last three bowls and four of last five, giving up 38.8 ppg. Favorites won last five Sun Bowls, going 2-2-1 ATS, wth an average total of 51.8.

Liberty Bowl, Memphis
Navy won four of its last five bowls, covering last two tries when favored, scoring 44-45-49 points in last three. Middies won eight of their last nine games, with loss to Notre Dame; they ran ball for 375 yards in seven of their last eight games- they’re 22-13 ATS in last 35 games as a favorite, 6-1 TY. Over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Kansas State went 5-4 in Big X this year, they’re 5-1 ATS as a single digit underdog TY, after being 1-6 the previous four years. Under is 4-0-1 in their last five games. Wildcats won last two bowls but stayed home LY; they scored 31+ points in four of last five bowls, with favorites covering four of those five games. Underdogs won four of last five Liberty Bowls SU, with average total of 63.2.

Arizona Bowl, Tucson
Wyoming lost three of last four games (scoring 15.3 ppg) after a 6-2 start; they’re 8-2 ATS in last ten games as a favorite, 4-1 TY. Wyoming completed fewer than 10 passes in eight games TY- they were held under 200 RY in last four games. Cowboys’ last six games went under the total. Wyoming won three of last five bowls, winning twice as a double digit dog; average total in their last five bowls: 51.2. Georgia State lost three of last four games after a 6-2 start; they’re 4-3 ATS as an underdog TY, after being 4-8-3 the previous two years. Panthers split their only two bowls, in ’15, ’17. Mountain West teams won three of four Arizona Bowls, three of which were decided by 6 or fewer points. Average total in those four games: 48.

Alamo Bowl, San Antonio
Utah was KO’d from national title hunt when Oregon smoked them in Pac-12 title game; whats their motivation here? Utah scored 30+ points in 10 of their 11 wins; they’re 1-2 scoring less than 30. Utes are 10-6 ATS in last 16 games as a single digit favorite, 3-2 TY. Over is 3-1-1 in their last five games. Texas lost four of last seven games after a 4-1 start; Longhorns allowed 435+ TY in seven of their nine conference games. Texas is 9-4 ATS in last 13 games as an underdog, 3-2 TY. Three of their last four games went under. Underdogs are 3-0-2 ATS in last five Alamo Bowls; this bowl was a push the last two years. Big X team won this game three of last four years; average total in last five Alamo bowls, 67.8.




Virginia Tech @ Kentucky

Game 285-286
December 31, 2019 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Virginia Tech
99.636
Kentucky
94.294
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Virginia Tech
by 5 1/2
53
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Virginia Tech
by 2 1/2
46 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Virginia Tech
(-2 1/2); Over

Arizona State @ Florida State

Game 255-256
December 31, 2019 @ 2:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Arizona State
89.973
Florida State
88.247
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Arizona State
by 1 1/2
57
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Arizona State
by 4 1/2
54
Dunkel Pick:
Florida State
(+4 1/2); Over

Navy @ Kansas State

Game 257-258
December 31, 2019 @ 3:45 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Navy
94.323
Kansas State
98.647
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Navy
by 4 1/2
63
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Kansas State
by 2 1/2
52
Dunkel Pick:
Navy
(+2 1/2); Over

Wyoming @ Georgia State

Game 259-260
December 31, 2019 @ 4:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Wyoming
83.113
Georgia State
70.632
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Wyoming
by 12 1/2
33
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Wyoming
by 7
49
Dunkel Pick:
Wyoming
(-7); Under

Utah @ Texas

Game 261-262
December 31, 2019 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
107.989
Texas
97.973
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Utah
by 10
51
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Utah
by 7
55
Dunkel Pick:
Utah
(-7); Under