BCS Hysteria: No. 1 vs. No. 2!

Happy New Year! After recovering from the weekend’s New Year festivities, we glide through the end of the bowl season. A few more bowls are appetizers for the tune-up that is the January 9 Alabama/LSU rematch for all the marbles. Cotton Bowl (Fri., Jan., 6): The all-running team against the all-passing one…and a pair of dynamite scoring offenses. Kansas State (10-2 SU, 9-2 ATS) is not flashy, with a ground game carrying the offense (33.1 points, 193.7 yards rushing), as the poor passing game... 

Bowl Bonanza!

by Jim Feist As 2010 draws to a close, we find ourselves smack in the middle of the bowls. You shouldn’t be bowled-out, either, as they build to the crescendo that is the LSU/Alabama showdown for the national title. Belk Bowl (Tues., Dec. 27): A pair of teams that started slow and finished strong. Louisville rebounded from a 2-4 start to finish 7-5 under second-year coach Charlie Strong. The Louisville (7-5 SU, 7-3-1 ATS) offense (21.8 ppg) puts up few points, and averages just 206 yards passing... 

2012 Fiesta Bowl Predictions

At First Glance: This Bowl match-up will mark the first ever meeting between Stanford and Oklahoma State. Stanford is 5-7 against teams that are currently aligned in the Big 12 Conference (1-0 Kansas; 1-0 Missouri; 1-4 Oklahoma; 2-2 Texas; 0-1 Texas A&M). The last time Stanford played a Big 12 team was in the 2009 Sun Bowl, where the Cardinal dropped a 31-27 decision to Oklahoma. Stanford: While the Stanford Cardinals are an offensive minded team primarily due to  their quarterback Andrew Luck,... 

Late December: The Best Time for Bowling!

by Jim Feist As 2011 draws to a close, we find ourselves smack in the middle of the bowls. You shouldn’t be bowled-out, either, as the bowls slowly build to the crescendo that is the Alabama/LSU showdown. Poinsettia Bowl (Wed., Dec. 21): A pair of teams with great passing offenses – but only one plays defense. Louisiana Tech (8-4 SU, 7-3 ATS) is on a tear, a 7-game win streak that got them a surprise WAC title. They have a great passing offense for coach Sonny Dykes, averaging 30.6 points... 

Gildan New Mexico Bowl: History, Analysis & Free Prediction

Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 17th, 2 p.m. EST, ESPN Temple vs. Wyoming Team History In Bowl Match-Ups: Temple’s Record: 1 And 2 December 29, 2009 EagleBank Bowl-UCLA 30, Temple 21 December 15, 1979 Garden State Bowl-Temple 28, California 17 January 1, 1935 Sugar Bowl-Tulane 20, Temple 14 Wyoming’s Record: 6 And 6 December19, 2009 New Mexico Bowl-Wyoming 35, Fresno St. 28, 2OT December 3, 2004 Las Vegas Bowl-Wyoming 24, UCLA 21 December 9, 1993 Copper Bowl-Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17 December... 

The Overlooked Edge: Football Depth

Depth is such an essential element of success in pro and college football, and one that is easily overlooked. Big college programs have this as a huge advantage over smaller programs. The Florida Gators got off to a strong 4-0 start this season, but then a serious injury against Alabama to starting QB John Brantley changed everything. They lost 4 in a row and end up stumbling into a bowl thanks to a win over Furman last week. Not exactly what the Gator fateful were hoping for under new coach Will... 

Correlating Factors: Run Defense & ATS Success

Good handicappers know how to make lines based on power ratings, home field and public perception. Other numbers, however, that are easier to identify mustn’t be overlooked, either, when analyzing games and point spreads each week. Here’s one anyone can utilize: Run defense. This is one of the basics when it comes to winning football. And speaking of basics, if you can’t stop the run, the opponent doesn’t need to pass. This is something that was evident when Nebraska and Oklahoma... 

The Must-Win Game Myth

The pressure’s on every Saturday and Sunday! With football season in full swing, you’ll hear media prognosticators proclaim with regularity, “This team doesn’t want to start 0-4. Therefore, this is a must-win game that they have to win!” All right, so be it. That’s as superficial a statement as one can find, which is often the case with newspaper, radio and TV “experts.” But is it true? Of course not. Teams want to win every game, of course, but we... 

Anticipating Low Scoring Second Halves

Handicappers are always looking for angles to replicate week after week in an attempt to cull profit from the books. Here’s a tried and true oldie: Look at second halves to go under the total if the home team has a big lead. We’ve already seen it this season. In Week 3, the Ravens blitzed the Rams and led 27-0 at the half. They played it conservative in the second half, relied on their defense, and finished up with 17 total points scored in the second half. The biggest halftime deficit this season... 

September Football: Upset City!

There’s a reason they play the games. Teams don’t always play the way stats and power rankings suggest they are supposed to. That’s often evident early in the pro and college football seasons because some teams are very different from year to year. In Week 1 of the NFL season, the Bears, Bengals, Bills, Lions and Redskins all won straight up as dog, while the Cowboys and Vikings covered. One thing that has stood out is that the offenses are much improved across the NFL. Part of... 

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