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NCAA Football

2014 BCS Bowl Games & National Title Game Betting Preview

BCS Bowl Game Picks

The BCS bowl games were decided after a wild championship weekend on the field in which had teams change their destination for better or worse.

The games won’t commence until the New Year, but it’s not too early to begin looking for value in the lines.

Here’s a quick look at each of the five games with odds from [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′] and analysis of which of the sides stands out.

15 Central Florida Knights +16.5 vs. 6 Baylor Bears

The Central Florida Knights are the Rodney Dangerfield of the college football world: they get no respect. The team looked solid in a one-loss regular season, losing to South Carolina by only three points, and picking up a huge comeback win over Louisville, yet the team is giving away better than two touchdowns to Baylor in their bowl game.

Bryce Petty has the Baylor offense functioning at a very high level which led to many blowout wins for Baylor, but Central Florida will bring a top flight quarterback into this battle as well in the form of soon to be first-round NFL Draft pick Blake Bortles, who has led the Knights to the biggest game in the history of the program.

An outright win may be asking a little much, but there’s no question the Knights aren’t getting the respect they deserve from oddsmakers in this one.

The play: Central Florida +16.5

5 Stanford Cardinals -5 vs. 4 Michigan State Spartans 

This game is probably the toughest to handicap on the BCS board. Two stellar defenses will meet in the 100th playing of the Rose Bowl.

The natural inclination is to take the points in a game where scoring will be difficult, but Stanford has proven to be very comfortable playing the Rose Bowl, and it’s hard to get a read on any Big Ten team given the state of the Conference.
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The play: Pass

3 Alabama Crimson Tide -15.5 vs. 11 Oklahoma Sooners

Alabama will be hitting the field for the first time since crashing down to Earth in the Iron Bowl with a loss to Auburn. The team surely had its sight set on a third consecutive national title game, so motivation could be an issue, but don’t expect it to be with future pros like AJ McCarron on the roster, and McCarron in particular will look to put an exclamation point on his career with a statement win.

Oklahoma picked up a big win over Oklahoma State in its last game, but they’ve gotten extremely inconsistent play from their quarterbacks this year, and they could get exposed against Alabama. It hurts to give away this many points at this time of year, but Alabama’s the team to do it with.

The play: Alabama -15.5

12 Clemson Tigers +3 vs. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State was close to a likely spot in the national title game before stumbling in the Big Ten title game and have now been relegated to the Orange Bowl.

As for Clemson, the team has just two losses on the year and they can hardly be faulted for either, losing to a South Carolina team that they always lose to, and running into a buzzsaw in the form of a rising Florida State team.

Guys like Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins are going to want to go out with a bang. Frankly, it feels like the Buckeyes have been playing above themselves for the better part of two years, and they’re not going to be facing a Big Ten opponent on this night, so expect them to get exposed.

The play: Clemson +3

2014 BCS Title Game Pick

2 Auburn Tigers +8 vs. 1 Florida State Seminoles

This year’s national title game is tougher to predict than it appears to be on the surface. Florida State has run through its opponents with ease, winning all of their games by 14 points or more, leading the nation in scoring defense and finishing second in scoring, but their strength of schedule left a lot to be desired.

Now they get a red hot Auburn team that feels an awful lot like a team of destiny. Gus Malzahn has made all the right decisions since joining the program, and he may have a few more tricks up his sleeve to catch the Seminoles off guard.

This number has already been bet down after opening closer to 10, so getting in on Auburn quickly isn’t a terrible idea, if that’s the side you’re riding with.

The play: Auburn +8

Categories
NCAA Football

2013 College Football Bowl Games Betting Preview

The BCS bowl games may yield some extra money for the schools involved, but value for bettors is more likely to be found in the lesser bowl games that can sometimes be overlooked by the casual bettor and oddsmakers alike.

Categories
NCAA Football

Betting Preview: Chick-Fil-A Bowl Odds

Chick-Fil-A Bowl – Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:30 PM ET

Bowl Preview By: Matt Fargo

The Betting Numbers

Georgia Tech opened as a 3.5-point favorite at most shops with a scattering of a few at -4 as well as a couple at -2.5. Right away, there was a perfect middling opportunity for those who were able get those numbers. The number has now settled in between -4 to -4.5 and there has been very little movement over the last two weeks. We could see this number increase as we get closer to kickoff. There has been a lot of recent movement in the total however as the opening number of 49 and 50 stayed put for a while but has gone up to as much as 53 in some outlets over the last week.  

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Cappers

Betting Preview: Humanitarian Bowl Odds

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl – Tuesday, December 30, 2008 4:30 PM ET

Bowl Preview By: Matt Fargo

The Betting Numbers

This line has stayed pretty stable since Nevada opened as a one-point favorite. There has been some recent movement but that has been just a half-point in the Terrapins favor as they are getting 1.5-points in most places. However, doing some shopping will get you two points and there probably isn’t going to be much more movement in this one.

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Cappers

Betting Preview: Papa John’s Bowl Odds

Papajohns.com Bowl – Monday, December 29, 2008 3:00 PM ET

Bowl Preview By: Matt Fargo

The Betting Numbers

Rutgers opened as a touchdown favorite over the Wolfpack and that number is holding tight a week later. Shopping around could get you a 1/2-point in either direction but don’t expect much of a move until gameday. There has been a move on the total as it opened at 51 and has gradually gone up to 53 in the majority of shops with even a couple 54’s available. It would not be surprising to see this one go up even more based on recent results from these two teams.  

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Cappers

Betting Preview: St. Petersburg Bowl Odds

St. Petersburg Bowl – Saturday December 20, 2008 4:30 PM ET

Bowl Preview By: Matt Fargo

The Betting Numbers

South Florida opened as a 13-point favorite in most places with a few 14’s scattered about. The number has been bet down to 12.5 almost everywhere and that trend should continue right up to gametime. The total opened at 51 and was quickly bet up to 52 and it is sitting tight at that number with some 52.5 totals out there also.