Here's hoping that you got everything you wanted on Christmas Day, and then some. That you spent quality time with your loved ones and that you and yours had an all around good time.
Here's also hoping that your picks were winners.
It's after Christmas now so let's dive directly into the games.
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl. 1:30 PM ET. Tuesday, Dec 26th.
[6-6] Utah (-6.5) vs. [7-5] West Virginia T: 56.5
The line for this game opened at -4 for Utah and immediately started falling the Utes way. Mountaineer Quarterback Will Grier has announced he's coming back, but all-star RB Justin Crawford is sitting out this game for business reasons (aka the NFL draft). That's too bad because a 100% WV defense vs. a healthy(ish) Utah defense would have been a sight to see. If WVU is one-dimensional I think they are in some trouble, UNLESS Utah returns to having difficulties fielding a competent offense. There is a question if Grier can play due to his horrific looking broken finger against Texas. If not then WV will trot out Chris Chuganov and....oh boy.
Pick: Utah to COVER -6.5 and UNDER.
Quick Lane Bowl. 5:15 PM ET. Tuesday, Dec 26th.
[6-6] Duke (-5.5) vs. [8-4] Northern Illinois. T: 47.5
This game is going to be all about the turnovers. When they win, the Blue Devils are a ball-hawking group who put their limited offense in a good position to score easily, Northern Illinois does not protect the football. This game opened at minus two and a half and has slid toward Duke ever since. The primary reason for this is because. UNI will be without star running back Jordan Huff, which is going to put more pressure on the passing game, and the questionable quarterback play of Marcus Childers. I don't expect a lot of points in this game, as both defensive units are better than the offensive units they will be facing.
Pick: Duke to COVER -5.5 and UNDER.
Cactus Bowl. 9:00 PM ET. Tuesday, Dec 26th.
[7-5] Kansas State (-2.5) vs. [6-6] UCLA T: 64
Call this the "Goodbye Bowl", maybe. You're certainly seeing UCLA QB Josh Rosen for the last time in College Football (He'll likely be the number one pick in the NFL Draft next year) and it could possibly be the last game for KSU legend Bill Snyder. If that's the case enjoy it, because I expect Rosen to try and put on a show and KSU to basically try and bully the Bruins into submission. the problem for UCLA is that they are the finesse team's finesse team, lacking any physicality at all. That makes them ripe for the picking by a K-State team that's tough and aggressive, but overrated as a well coached team that doesn't make mistakes to beat themselves (they do, quite frequently often, especially in big games).
Pick: K-State to COVER -2.5 and UNDER.
Walk-On's Independence Bowl. 1:30 PM ET. Wednesday, Dec 27th.
[8-4] Southern Mississippi vs. (6-6) Florida State (-16.5) T: 49.
I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not watching this game and neither should you. To get to this game Florida State had to play funny with their schedule and re-add a game against UL-Monroe just to hit six wins. The Seminole's former head coach Jimbo Fisher is now an Aggie, which makes this the saddest continuation of a bowl-streak ever. The feeling is that Florida State will out-talent Southern Miss, which discounts a little bit the fact that the AAC is very close in talent to some Power 5 schools. The problem for Southern Miss is that they really don't. That said I think they're in with a chance given the situation at FSU.
Pick: Southern Mississippi to COVER -16.5 and OVER. (UPDATE: This line is falling. FAST. Now down to -14.5. I hope you grabbed this early.)
New Era Pinstripe Bowl. 5:15 PM ET. Wednesday, Dec 27th.
[7-5] Iowa (-2.5) vs. [7-5] Boston College T: 45
Yes, it's going to be boring, a slog, a "good old fashioned defensive battle" but one that I think Boston College has the horses to win. The good thing? If Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz plays BC close he'll probably get another contract extension out of the deal. Iowa had one of the greatest traditions this year turning around and waving to the Children's hospital after the first quarter. No matter how many times I saw that, or stories about it, the room got dusty. BC's Freshman RB Dillon is the real deal. Look for a defensive slug-fest though.
Pick: Boston College to COVER -2.5 and UNDER.
Foster Farms Bowl. 8:30 PM ET. Wednesday, Dec 27th.
[7-5] Arizona (-3.5) vs. [6-6] Purdue T: 65
Go ahead and watch this game and get a jump on water cooler talk about next year's Heisman race in the person of Arizona QB Khalil Tate. The guy is electric and I'm sure he would like to have a coming out party here, with most of his games being buried late night or on Pac-12 Network previously, this will be the first chance for many to watch him play. Purdue has a pretty good defense so I don't think a ton of points will be scored here but I do think Arizona has the better athletes and enough speed to pull of a comfortable win.
Pick: Arizona to COVER -3.5 and UNDER.
Academy Sports & Outdoors Texas Bowl. 9:00 PM ET. Wednesday, December 27th.
[6-6] Texas-Austin vs. [7-5] Missouri (-2.5) T: 60.5
Let's get this out of the way early: The start time on this game is AWFUL. Starting at 8PM local time it's not going to be finished until 1AM on the East coast. And a ton of people have to work on Thursday. Missouri has been read hot since the mid-point of the season and UT-Austin is learning that returning to prominence after a beloved coach almost destroyed the program is a tough ask. Mizzou OC Josh Huepel is off to coach at UCF so it will be interesting to see how their play-calling goes. IF they can continue to click on offense it could be a long night for the Fighting Hermans.
Pick: Missouri to COVER -2.5 and OVER.
In case you're not keeping count, that's two days and seven games worth of college football. After this batch of games we start to move into the big-boys games including many teams that you've seen play all year several times.
Enjoy the games.
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