Baseball Toaster: The Juice Blog : Bowl Game Selections (Pre January 1)

Bowl Game Selections (Pre January 1)

2007-12-21 22:45

by Scott Long

I have done well picking bowl games at the Juice blog, as the colleges have been my strength.

Cincinnati (-10.5) Southern Miss

Nevada (+3) New Mexico

Arizona St. (+2.5) Texas

Michigan St. (+3.5) Boston College

Oregon St. (-5) Maryland

You would have gotten rich betting on Cincy this year. They definitely have helped my record versus the spread. Nevada has lost more close, weird games than anyone in 2007. I will take the coaching of Erickson over Brown anytime. The Big 10 is the dog in 6 of the 8 bowl games they are in. The Spartans might be the best bet to win in outright in a game they are getting points in from the conference. I like Riley, and think the Pac-10 is far superior to the Big East.

Miss. State (+3) Central Florida

Wake Forest (-2.5) Connecticut

Alabama (-3.5) Colorado

California (-3.5) Air Force

Auburn (+2.5) Clemson

Oregon (+6.5) South Florida

I know the Knights have an all-timer at halfback, but the speed on D of State will help hold him down. Grobe at Wake is one of the Top 10 coaches in America. I've got to go with Saban and the SEC over the Buffs. Traditionally Air Force covers in their bowl game, but the underachieving Bears give good line value, so I will take Tedford to rekindle the magic. Who would have thought Tennessee would have been playing on Jan. 1, while Cal would be in the Armed Forces Bowl, after their game in September? Once again, I will go with coaching and the SEC over a Bowden-led Clemson squad that is hard to gauge. What a fall the Ducks took over their last 3 games, but I think they will get enough play out of their backup QB's to keep the game close.

Comments

2007-12-21 23:27:34

1. Vishal

Who would have thought Tennessee would have been playing on Jan. 1, while Cal would be in the Armed Forces Bowl, after their game in September?

sigh. i sure didn't.

2007-12-24 08:09:21

2. Penarol1916

What does the Pac-10 being better than the Big East have to do with the outcome of the Oregoan St. - Maryland game?

2007-12-24 13:10:18

3. Scott Long

The first factor I look at in bowl games is coaching, since there is such a large amount of time to prepare. I then look at the quality of play in the conference a team competed in. I believe the ACC has dropped in quality the past few years, as Florida State and Miami falling apart has drastically hurt its power ranking.

I do like like the Oregoan spelling, though let me go with Oregroan, if they don't cover. (I have started 0-2, with f-ing Cincy winning by just 10.)

2007-12-25 21:57:46

4. Johan

As our bridge to the Holiday Bowl on Thursday, gotta go with C. Michigan (+8) Wednesday night.

While I like your rationale for ASU (coaching), I think their bubble burst with the loss to Oregon. And Carpenter still probably hasn't healed from the beating USC put on his chirping ass.

2007-12-26 14:13:50

5. Scott Long

I traditionally love to bet on Central Michigan and add to it that they have a revenge set-up versus Purdue. I just have a feeling the number is about right, so I'm staying away. I would lean towards the Chippewas to cover, though, if I was forced to choose a side.

2007-12-27 17:28:13

6. overkill94

These picks are nice and all, but where's the year-end music list?

2007-12-27 20:43:52

7. Scott Long

I spend about a week trying to listen to everything that has been critically acclaimed before I make my selections. I suspect I will have them up sometime at the start of 2008.

2007-12-28 15:12:26

8. Penarol1916

But again, what does the Big East have to do with the Maryland and Oregon St. game?

2007-12-28 18:40:23

9. Scott Long

My bad, I meant to say ACC. Penarol gets editor of the week honors.

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