College Football Handicapping Articles

Indiana vs. Utah Foster Farms Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions with Betting Odds
by Chris Vasile - 12/22/2016

This particular bowl game has been around since 2002, but it has had four different names before settling on what we know today as the Foster Farms Bowl. The inaugural contest was dubbed the San Francisco Bowl in 2002, before it was called the Emerald Bowl from 2004-2009, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl from 2010-2012, or just the Fight Hunger Bowl in 2013.

Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern Pinstripe Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 12/21/2016

The New Era Pinstripe Bowl takes place at Yankee Stadium and has been contested six times before this year. The inaugural game took place in 2010, when Syracuse beat Kansas State 36-34, in front of more than 38,000 fans. This bowl game was originally tied exclusively to the Big 12 and the old Big East Conference (which is now the American), but in 2014 it signed an exclusivity deal with ACC and Big Ten. The ACC agreed to a six-year deal, which will get them a representative in this game until 2019, while the Big Ten signed an eight-year deal and will be represented until 2021.

Alabama vs. Washington Peach Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2016

This is the first of the two playoff semifinals that I will have previewed, and at least on the surface it should be the more straightforward one. After all, you wouldn't expect a game of this profile that teams have fought to get into all year to feature the biggest favorite of any bowl game played all season, yet here we are. Washington is a nice team that has a lot going for them. Alabama, though, is just on a higher level - more talented, more athletic, deeper, more experienced, more accomplished coaching - it goes on and on.

Clemson vs. Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2016

This is the 15th and final bowl preview I have written in the last week, and it is the game I am most looking forward to. It's at the most stupid time possible - apparently the NCAA hates having viewers - but it's not like I have a life anyway, so I'll be watching. These are two very talented and fairly-evenly-matched teams. Both do some things very well, and both have some flaws that make them potentially vulnerable. Part of the excitement also comes from the last bowl meeting between these two.

Auburn vs. Oklahoma Sugar Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2016

I have to admit - of all the major bowl games this is, by far, the one I have to work hardest to be interested in. Oklahoma is a very talented team that has major flaws that meant they couldn't win the games that really mattered. And they are facing a major off-field distraction leading up to this game in the whole Joe Mixon incident. Auburn won only eight games, they lost to the four best teams they played, and they come from a conference that was almost depressingly bad outside of Alabama compared to what we have come to expect from them.

USC vs. Penn State Rose Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/20/2016

This Rose Bowl pairing is one that I never thought we would see. In fact, if you had suggested at the end of September that this is what we would see I would have bet any amount of money against you. So, thanks for not suggesting it. At that point Penn State was 2-2 and had just lost to Michigan by 39, and USC was 1-3 and had opened their season losing to Alabama by 46. It seemed far more likely right now that both teams would be focusing on making their new head coaches comfortable than on selling Rose Bowl tickets.

Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin Cotton Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/20/2016

The Cotton Bowl is this year's edition of the David and Goliath showdown that so often is the cream of the bowl season. There have been duds when a precocious outsider faces a major conference power in a big-time bowl, but efforts by the likes of Boise State, TCU and Utah are things of lasting lore. Wisconsin already lost to one such upstart - TCU in the 2011 Rose Bowl - so they know full well how dangerous these spots can be.

Michigan vs. Florida State Orange Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/20/2016

It's only fair that I state up front that I am almost 35 years into my Michigan fandom. Obsession, really. I trust myself to be objective here, but I am also picking Michigan to win the game handily. It is up to you to judge the validity of that opinion - and you should have the full information available to do so. So, Go Blue, and let's move on.

Nebraska vs. Tennessee Music City Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/20/2016

The storyline was obvious as soon as this matchup was set. Tennessee's Joshua Dobbs and Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong Jr. are both senior quarterbacks that have been the heart and soul of their respective program for four years now, and both hold several career team records. Both teams have been rebuilding through their tenures, but a win here would cap off their time perfectly.

Maryland vs. Boston College Quick Lane Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 12/20/2016

Much like the previous two bowl games I've previewed, the Quick Lane Bowl is relatively new to the scene, but not for the reasons you would think. You would have known this bowl game from its original name -- Motor City Bowl -- which was contested from 1997-2008. In 2009, Little Caesars became the title sponsor after General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. The last Little Caesars Pizza Bowl was played in 2013, and due to the low profile of the game the bowl tanked and Ford Field was left without a bowl game for 2014.

Stanford vs. North Carolina Sun Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/19/2016

This is the second time I have written a Sun Bowl preview this year. I had to scrap the first one almost entirely. There is only one guy that could have caused that to happen in this game and only a few in the whole country that could single-handedly change a game like this. Stanford's all-World running back Christian McCaffrey has made the decision to skip this game to prepare for the draft. He's following in the footsteps of LSU's Leonard Fournette, who announced the same decision last week. Both guys are likely first-rounders, and an injury in a bowl game that ultimately won't decide much for the team could cost them millions.

Minnesota vs. Washington State Holiday Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/19/2016

This game has had all sorts of drama already and, sadly, it has nothing to do with what's on the field. Ten Minnesota players were suspended for the game in the aftermath of a sexual assault incident that occurred earlier in the fall. The rest of the team, upset that the players were suspended without what they felt was due process, threatened to boycott the game if the players were not reinstated by the university.

Oklahoma State vs. Colorado Alamo Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions with Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/19/2016

Bowl season always provides us with some intriguing matchups, and this one certainly qualifies on that front. For one, this is a throwback - the teams were longtime Big 8 and Big 12 foes before the Buffaloes migrated to the Pac-12 in 2011. Few around the programs have direct experience with their rivalry, but for conference purists it's a good throwback to simpler days.

Boise State vs. Baylor Cactus Bowl Expert Picks with Odds and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/16/2016

Boise State deserves better than this. After winning 10 games this year, and being so consistently excellent for so long, they shouldn't wind up in a bowl late on a Tuesday night against a 6-6 team that is a total mess. They really have no one to blame but themselves, though. If they had kept winning they had the chops to potentially wind up in the Playoff, but they let their eye off the ball and now here they are.

Idaho vs. Colorado State Idaho Potato Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 12/16/2016

The Idaho Potato Bowl is one of my favorite bowl games of the year. Not because it features two great teams, but because when people ask what game I'm watching, I love telling them it's the Potato Bowl. They almost always ask me if that's really the name, and as I say "yes" the look on their face is priceless. But for what it's worth, the Potato Bowl wasn't always the Potato Bowl. There was the Humanitarian Bowl from 1997- 1999 and then it was called the Crucial.com Humanitarian Bowl from 2000- 2003.

BYU vs. Wyoming Poinsettia Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/14/2016

I've had a thing for the Poinsettia Bowl since 2008. That was the year that No. 11 TCU and No. 9 Boise State met in a matchup where the teams severely overachieved their lot in life because the big bowls weren't interested in lesser-conference teams. TCU fell behind 13-0 but came back to win 17-16 and deal Boise State their first loss.

Houston vs. San Diego State Las Vegas Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/13/2016

I like the major bowls as much as the next guy, and there is nothing better than hunkering down on New Year 's Day (or whatever day it is this year) and watching them in bulk. What I love almost as much as that, though, are the bowls that are sneaky good. The Las Vegas Bowl, for example, is just way too good to be played on the first day of bowl action.

Central Michigan vs. Tulsa Miami Beach Bowl Expert Picks and Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 12/13/2016

If you aren't too familiar with the Miami Beach Bowl, don't worry as you are not alone. In comparison to the other well-known bowl games, this is the baby of the group as it has been contested just twice before this year. The third edition of the Beach Bowl will feature the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Both teams will have a tough task ahead of them to replicate the excitement of the previous two bowl matchups.

Memphis vs. Western Kentucky Boca Raton Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/13/2016

I have a holiday tradition every year that goes along with the turkey, the tree, the decorations and the rest. As soon as the bowl schedule is set I circle the game with the best chance to go totally haywire, and I block off everything else so I won't be distracted from watching it. Every year there is a game with two teams that can score in bulk and which don't really believe in consistently playing defense. It's inevitable. Bowl organizers know that people love scoring, so in the absence of high-profile teams they look for the promise of fireworks.

NCAA Football Bowl Game Betting Advice: Underrated Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 12/9/2016

The more I have looked at the bowl matchups and the odds, the more two teams have stood out to me. The two teams couldn't be more different. One is a power from a major conference playing for all the marbles, while the other is so obscure that seven out of 10 casual college football fans (at least) couldn't come up with their nickname if pressed. One is stacked with guys who will play on Sunday.