Posted on 12/17/2007 1:55:58 PM

NCAA Football Bowl Betting - Hawaii, Motor City, and Holiday Bowls

By D.S. Williamson

It’s that time of the year, kids! No, not that time where you have to pretend that you like your mother-in-law’s cooking. Although I’m sure that some of us will be doing a lot of that this winter, the time I am talking about is the Bowl Season! Great match-ups all across the board this year! There isn’t a single bowl game this season where I feel a wager can’t be made. Let’s start, however, with the Hawaii, Motor City, and Holiday Bowls:

Dec. 23, 2007 - - Hawaii Bowl - - Honolulu, HI

East Carolina Pirates (+ 11) vs. Boise State Broncos (- 11) = Boise State, last year’s bowl darlings for upsetting Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, gets the b-prize this year as they have to travel to Hawaii (how awful!) to take on an East Carolina team that has done more this year than people think. The Pirates beat Central Florida, Houston, and Memphis. Before anybody starts laughing realize that all three of those teams are in bowl games. That doesn’t make the Pirates schedule on par with the LSU Tigers, but it’s not too bad. Boise State lost only two games this year. The first was two Pac-10 doormat Washington. The second was to BCS Bowl team Hawaii. The truth about Boise State, however, is that I do not believe they’re bringing their best team into this bowl game. In a game where the favorite may play a bit down, especially after last years’ BCS bowl game win, take the points and the underdog. East Carolina could keep this thing close for the simple fact that Boise State’s defense has little chance of keeping the Pirates out of the end-zone. I like the Pirates to beat this spread.

Dec. 26, 2007 - - Motor City Bowl - - Detroit, MI

Central Michigan Chippewas (+ 8.5) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (- 8.5) = The truth about this game is that, without a doubt, this line is too small. The Chippewas have no business even being in a game versus the “mighty” Purdue Boilermakers, right? Wrong! The Chippewas are actually set to not only beat this spread but top win this game outright. Why? Because Central Michigan wins versus Ball State, Miami of Ohio, and Akron are better than any single Purdue win this year. Sure, Purdue plays in the “awesome” Big-10, but check-out these trends: Purdue is 7 and 17 against the spread in their last 24 games versus a team with a winning record, Purdue is 3 and 7 against the spread in their last 10 versus a team from the MAC conference. I like the Chippewas to not only beat this spread but to have a good chance of pulling the upset.

Dec. 27, 2007 - - Holiday Bowl - - San Diego, CA

Texas Longhorns (- 2) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (+ 2) = This is actually one of my best bets of the entire bowl season. I can’t help it. I just can’t believe that the Longhorns have any sort of chance in this game. I’m not one of those guys who hates the Big-12. So, that’s not it. Nope. It has nothing to do with what some people might think. The truth about this game is that the Longhorns don’t have a good enough defense to stop ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter. He should put up some points against the Longhorns. For the Sun Devils, their defense is absolutely solid. It is one of the better defenses in the nation and I suspect they will prove it in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27th by smacking around that Texas Longhorn offensive line. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy might be running for his life in this one. Of course, the biggest difference I see between these two teams is that one of these college teams is coached by Dennis Erickson. That team will come out guns blazing while the other team, the Longhorns, may have to take their time before getting into a rhythm. I think the Devils have a chance of blowing Texas out of Qualcomm Stadium.

 

Until next week, good luck!

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