BetUS $500 Match Bonus
Sign up for a new account with BetUS and deposit $500 or more to get a $500 match bonus!

$20 Free Play at Sportsbook.com
Your first bet is free when you open a new account at sportsbook.com!

2008-09 College Football Bowl Predictions

Written December 9, 2008 by Evan Altemus

Now that the bowl match-ups have been released, speculation has already started about which teams are poised for big wins while others may be destined for blowouts. It is absolutely essential to know the situations that every bowl team is in before handicapping these games further. Predicting college bowl games is less about the x’s and o’s of the match-ups and more about the mind-set and other intangibles. Let’s take a look at which teams to back or go against.

Fresno State – This team had BCS bowl aspirations at the start of the season, but they finished the season with a disappointing 7-5 record. The Bulldogs are now left to play in the New Mexico Bowl, a far cry from where this program expected to be at this point. Fresno State is a 3 point favorite over Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl.

Boise State – The Broncos were hoping for an at-large BCS berth with their undefeated record. However, Utah, playing in a better overall non-BCS conference, took the at-large bid away from Boise State. Now the Broncos are left to play in the Poinsettia Bowl against one of the best non-BCS conference teams in the country in TCU. If Boise State doesn’t bring maximum effort, then TCU will demolish them.

Miami – This very young team has to travel the across the country and play Cal in what is basically a home game for the Golden Bears. The Emerald Bowl is being played in San Francisco’s AT&T Park, just down the road from Berkley. Miami also finished the season with two losses to fall down in the ACC standings.

N.C. State/Rutgers – It is a big disappointment to see these two teams facing each other. Both groups are the playing their best football of the season and would have been excellent selections against other teams. However, this game will be a match-up of two very improved offenses. The line for the game is currently Rutgers -7.

Missouri – The Tigers have lost all three big primetime games that they have been in this season. They had national title hopes entering the year but are now left to the Alamo Bowl against Northwestern. Missouri will have a hard time getting motivated for this match-up, especially after a blowout loss to Oklahoma to end the regular season.

Nevada – This team has improved throughout the season. Three of their losses were to Missouri, Texas Tech, and Boise State, so they are much better than their record indicates. They also get to play a bowl game just up the road from their campus in Boise.

LSU – There was talk of the Tigers being national title contenders entering this year. They started out playing well, until they faced better competition. They lacked a quality quarterback, and their offense couldn’t get going. In addition, they suffered a horrible loss to Arkansas to close out the season.

Alabama – They were just a few plays away from the playing in the national title game, but the Crimson Tide couldn’t make the plays necessary to beat Florida. Alabama still gets to play in a BCS Bowl, but it is a far cry from the match-up against Oklahoma that they were hoping for. Now they have to face a tricky Utah team that will be very hungry.

Ohio State – This team wants badly to prove that they are able to play with other elite teams in the country. They have been embarrassed by USC, LSU, and Florida over the last few seasons on a national stage. The Buckeyes have another chance to prove how good they are, but this time they get to face a team that they match-up more favorably against. Ohio State will come to play, but will they have the offense needed to keep it close or pull out the win? The Buckeyes are 10 point underdogs in the Fiesta Bowl.

College football betting can be profitable for you this bowl season if you know the NCAA football odds well enough and use our experts’ college football picks.

You can be on your way to winning today with football picks from the best experts online.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Comments are closed.