NCAA Bowl Matchups and Analysis
After taking a Christmas break the college football betting schedule gets going again this weekend with one bowl game on the slate for Friday night and three more on tap for Saturday. Here’s a brief rundown of all four bowl games . . .
Motor City Bowl – Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
It didn’t look like the Owls were going to be bowl bound early in the season after they started the year 1-5. A quick turnaround and five wins in their last six games propped the Owls up to 6-6 and earned them their second straight bowl invite. Rusty Smith led a viable Owls offense with 2,918 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, which was tops in the Sun Belt. The Chippewas backed into bowl season after losing their last two games of the regular season. This is Central Michigan’s third straight trip to the Motor City Bowl after topping Middle Tennessee in 2006 and losing to Purdue last season. This year the Chippewas are a 6.5-point favorite on the college football odds.
Meineke Bowl – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
West Virginia vs. North Carolina
The Mountaineers and Tar Heels both had hoped for BCS berths earlier in the season, but failures down the stretch caused both of them to miss out on January bowl games. West Virginia lost two of their final four Big East games to finish tied for second in the conference. This game marks the swan song for senior quarterback Pat White, who was once again a double threat this season with 18 touchdown passes and eight TD runs. The Tar Heels had a chance to win the ACC Coastal before dropping two of their final three games. Still, North Carolina should be happy with their first bowl appearance since 2004’s Continental Bowl. West Virginia lost to Oklahoma in last year’s Fiesta Bowl and they’re a slim 1.5-point favorite against North Carolina.
Champs Sports Bowl – Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Wisconsin vs. Florida State
The Badgers finished off the regular season on somewhat of a high note with three straight wins moving into bowl season. Wisconsin’s final game of the season likely didn’t give them a ton of confidence though, as they barely got past Cal Poly 36-35 in overtime. Watch how running back P.J. Hill does against the Seminoles’ run defense after rushing for 1,024 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Florida State is playing in their 27th-straight bowl game, which is the longest active streak after Michigan failed to make it to bowl season this year. The Seminoles ended the regular season by getting routed by Florida 45-14, and they’ll need their defense to rebound to get another bowl victory for Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles are a 5.5-point favorite against Wisconsin.
Emerald Bowl – AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Miami (FL) vs. California
The Hurricanes employed a quarterback tandem of Robert Marve and Jacory Harris throughout the season, but Harris will have to carry the entire load in the Emerald Bowl after Marve was handed a one-game suspension because of a violation of team academic rules. Harris did start the season as the Hurricanes’ starter (when Marve was also serving a one-game suspension), but this likely isn’t how Miami coach Randy Shannon wanted to enter his first bowl game. The Golden Bears ended the season with two impressive wins over Stanford and Washington in which they outscored their opponents 85-23. The big weapon in those victories was running back Jahvid Best, who rushed for 312 yards and scored seven touchdowns in the two routs. The Golden Bears have ridden their recent success into an 8-point chalk in the Emerald Bowl.
