Hawaii Bowl: Bulldogs vs Owls
College Football Bowl Season sees betting action between the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Rice Owls in the Hawaii Bowl. Cappers Picks provides free college football handicapping tips all season long.
Entering this contest, the 6-7 Fresno State Bulldogs are coming off a 28-14 loss to the then-ranked No. 22 Boise State Broncos. It was their first loss in four outings.
College Football Odds
2014 Hawaii Bowl
Fresno State (6-7) vs. Rice (7-5)
Wednesday, Dec. 24
8:00 PM ET (ESPN)
Hawaii Bowl
College Football Betting Lines: Fresno State -2
College Football O/U: 59
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Rice enters this contest with a 7-5 record, also coming off a loss. This one was a bit more one-sided, though, as the team lost on the road 76-31 to Louisiana Tech.
Fresno State
Fresno State’s season has been defined up to this point by runs. After starting the year 0-3 — they fell to then-ranked No. 15 USC, Utah and Nebraska by a combined score of 166-59 — they won three straight.
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Following that winning streak, they lost three in a row. Once again, following the losing streak, they won three straight.
Coming off their loss to Boise State, the Bulldogs are looking to buck the trend of streaks. A win will do just that in the Hawaii Bowl.
On the year, Fresno State averaged 28.1 points per contest. That number was good enogh for 61st in the country.
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Unfortunately, the team gave up more points than it was able to muster on the offensive side of the ball. The team allowed 32.6 points per contest to its opponents, which was only good enough for 72nd in the nation.
Rice
Like Fresno State, Rice opened up a tough schedule with three straight losses. The team fell to then-ranked No. 17 Notre Dame, then-ranked No. 7 Texas A&M and Old Dominion.
Unlike Fresno State, the Owls turned things around quite nicely, and quite consistently.
After going 0-3 the team won six straight. Marshall got the best of them on Nov. 15, but the team bounced back nicely with a 31-13 win over UTEP.
Unfortunately, it was Louisiana Tech who shut them down in the final game of the regular season.
Entering the contest against Fresno State, the Owls are giving up 30.3 points per contest. That number is good enogh for 68th in the country.
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Like the Bulldogs, this group is allowing more points than it’s scoring. In 12 regular-season games, the group averaged 28.7 points per game, which was good enough for 57th in the country.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends:
- Fresno State is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
- Rice is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games
Hawaii Bowl
With such a small spread to open up, the safe pick here is Fresno State. Rice has the defensive advantage, but with a spread under a touchdown — let alone a field goal — this one should go to the Bulldogs.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick Fresno State -2
Keep an eye on the spread as we get closer, but if it stays low, Fresno State has the edge.
Check out our Updated College Football Bowl Game Odds.
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