First wave of bowls is worth watching
College football’s bowl season kicks off Saturday. You know what that means.
It’s time for some media-types to complain there are too many bowls. But you won’t hear that from me.
College football always has been my favorite sport. Why would I complain about having too much of it? In fact, I would be in favor of 65 bowl games, which would include all the FBS.
So what if the holiday season is littered with bowls. You aren’t required to watch.
The best reason for watching bowls is they remind us the end of a college football season is near. In February, you won’t be whining about the bowl excess. You more likely will be lamenting the loss of football games and regretting not having watched more of them.
With that in mind, I would encourage you to watch the first wave of bowls, even if you can’t name a single player on the involved teams. It’s still college football, and you never can be sure what game might produce a longtime memory.
For example, during the regular season, I tuned in a Thursday night game between Houston and West Virginia. The game ended with two long touchdown passes in the last 25 seconds, including a Hail Mary that doomed West Virginia to defeat.
The next night, I watched Colorado take a 29-0 first-half lead against Stanford before foolishly switching the channel. The next morning, I was surprised to learn Stanford had rallied for a 46-43 victory in double overtime.
That outcome epitomizes college football. You just never know when it will offer up an epic upset or a comeback you wouldn’t want to miss.
If such a possibility doesn’t persuade to watch the first week of bowls, perhaps I can. I recommend you bet every game. I’m not suggesting you borrow money or dip into your life savings. Just bet a few dollars, like Page Ault did this past season.
At about the same time I stopped watching the Colorado-stanford game,
Page bet money on it. She bet $10 on Stanford to win the game, even though it was trailing 29-0 at halftime.
She won $375.
You don’t need to know much about these leadoff bowl matchups to bet on them. Once the betting line is set, you basically are just flipping a coin. The games all could be close based on the betting line. No team is favored by more than 5.5 points.
Or, if you want to improve your chances, you can follow my lead on Saturday’s bowl games. I have correctly picked almost 60% of SEC games against the spread this season.
Instead of opting out of bowl games – to maintain my high percentage – I am expanding my picks to include the first Saturday of bowl games. Why? Because I want to help you make money.
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Ohio 20, Georgia Southern 13
The Eagles tumbled into a bowl by losing their last three games. Potential problem against a Bobcats defense that ranks fifth nationally in points allowed
per game: Quarterback Davis Brin struggles to distinguish jersey colors.
He has thrown 16 interceptions.
New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State 27, Louisiana 23
Gamecocks coach Rich Rodriguez returns to the city where he was the offensive coordinator for an unbeaten Tulane team in 1998.
His offense still works. The Gamecocks are averaging 232.3 yards rushing per game, and their top four rushers are averaging better than five yards per carry.
Cure Bowl: Appalachian State 24, Miami (Ohio) 17
The Redhawks have fielded the nation’s seventh best defense, which gave up only 55 points in the last five games. But quarterback Joey Aguilar, who has passed for 3,546 yards and 33 touchdowns, will generate enough offense for Appalachian State, which has won five of its last six games.
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State 34, Fresno State 30
The Bulldogs will be without coach
Jeff Tedford, who is sitting out the bowl game for health reasons. They’re also without much of a run defense, which helps explain why they have lost three consecutive games.
The Aggies are headed in the other direction with eight wins in their last nine games.
LA Bowl: UCLA 24, Boise State 20 Boise State quarterback Taylen Green has announced he’s transferring to Arkansas. So, I guess he won’t play in the bowl.
But how can we be sure? Maybe, Broncos boosters will fund his bowl appearance.
Independence Bowl: Cal 37, Texas Tech 33
Betting rule of thumb: Never pick a team that lost its previous game 57-7, which Texas Tech did against Texas.
Record: 92-18 (.836), 56-38 (.596) against the spread
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.