College Football Handicapping Articles

Michigan State vs. Alabama Cotton Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/24/2015

The fact that this game - a very promising semifinal by any measure - is being played at 8 p.m. ET on New Year's Eve is almost impossibly stupid. It's almost as if the powers that be at the NCAA and the networks don't like having viewers. Moronic. I won't let it taint my view of a very good game, though - albeit a game that I will only be able to watch in bursts when I can sneak away from the party I don't really want to go to but have no choice. Have I mentioned that this scheduling is dumb?

Stanford vs. Iowa Rose Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/24/2015

Last year we didn't have a traditional pairing in the Rose Bowl - the Pac-12 was represented by the winners from Oregon, but they beat not a Big Ten foe like they are supposed to but instead the ACC's Florida State. It was a playoff game, and a highly-prestigious game and all, but it still wasn't the real Rose Bowl, and there is no better game in my mind than the Rose Bowl. Now everything is right with the world again. Not only do we have a traditional matchup, but it's a heck of a game at that.

Oklahoma vs. Clemson Orange Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/24/2015

The first of the big games of the year. The winner moves on, and the loser goes home. I wasn't a playoff guy before it started, and I still have some real issues with it, but having games this important with teams this compelling makes a believer for at least one day. Now if only we didn't have to play the games on New Year's Eve - that's a really dumb idea.

Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss Sugar Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/24/2015

I am not in the locker rooms of these teams, obviously, but my guess is that the Sugar Bowl is not where anyone on either side was hoping to end up. Ole Miss got a huge upset win at Alabama in Week 3 and probably thought that they were national contenders, But then two weeks later they were blown out at Florida, then lost a stunner at Memphis two weeks after that, and then lost a shootout to Arkansas for good measure. Suddenly a very promising season turned into a very frustrating one. Oklahoma State was able to maintain their dream even longer - they opened their season 10-0.

College Football Playoff Betting: Unique Handicapping Challenges
by Trevor Whenham - 12/22/2015

Handicapping the bowl season is a much different proposition than the regular season. That has been true for a long time. What we have seen now, though, is that the new college football playoffs have added yet another wrinkle to postseason college football handicapping.

NCAA Football Predictions: Christmas Week Bowls Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 12/21/2015

If Saturday's first day of bowl action was any indication, it's going to be a very high-scoring and interesting postseason. Before the bowls began, Bovada had a prop asking whether any game would see two teams score at least a combined 100 points after two bowls did last year. I thought no, but there was plenty of offense on Saturday.

USC vs. Wisconsin Holiday Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2015

What we have here is surely a long-awaited rematch of the 1963 Rose Bowl. In that game USC maintained their No. 1 rank in the country by beating No. 2 Wisconsin 42-37. In the first-ever meeting of the top-two ranked teams in a bowl game, Wisconsin fought back from a 42-14 fourth-quarter deficit but fell just short in what is thought to be one of the best bowl games ever played.

LSU vs. Texas Tech Texas Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2015

A few weeks ago I was sure that the preview of LSU's bowl game that I wrote would definitely include a discussion of how the school had made a horrible decision by firing Les Miles. It seemed inevitable. Instead, I am writing about how bizarre it was that they made everyone think they were firing him, neutered his recruiting efforts, and then announced they were keeping him as if was the plan all along. Very odd. Relevant to this game, though? Probably not as much as the betting public will assume it to be.

Miami vs. Washington State Sun Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2015

We can only hope that both teams don't revert to their recent bowl game form in this one - if they do it will be a very lame game. Miami last won a bowl game in 2006 and has lost five bowl games since. That recent record shines next to Washington State, though. The Cougars lost the 2013 New Mexico Bowl in a crazy shootout to Colorado State. That was their only bowl appearance since 2003. So, in other words, we can toss the narrative about two proud programs at the top of their game clashing in this one.

UCLA vs. Nebraska Foster Farms Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/21/2015

This game really should be called the Nightmare Bowl. The game is a total nightmare for the fanbases of both teams - they would rather be pretty much anywhere else than this game. Nebraska got tired of winning nine or 10 games a year under Bo Pelini - the same thing he had done seven straight years - and hired Mike Riley to correct the situation. He didn't correct it so much as he changed it - the team won just five games, and it suffers the ultimate humiliation of being a pity bowl invitee out of necessity.

Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech Independence Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/18/2015

It's sad when an era ends like this. Frank Beamer has been coaching Virginia Tech since 1987. He won his conference seven times and was National Coach of the Year in 1999. After all he has done, and all the respect he has earned over the years, he deserves to go out in something other than a bad bowl game that people will most likely watch only because their turkey hangover and exhaustion from shopping has made them incapable of doing anything but lying on the couch.

NCAA Football Mid-Major Betting Report: Temple Owls Bowl Game
by Aaron Smith - 12/18/2015

The final edition of the NCAA Football Mid-Major Betting Report is ready to go! We're finishing up the fourth year for this article at Doc's Sports. The goal of this weekly piece is to attempt to show that specialization can be a profitable betting strategy. For the mid-major betting report, we follow one team throughout the season and make selections on their games on a weekly basis. Temple was picked this year because of their ability to have a breakout season.

BYU Cougars vs. Utah Utes Las Vegas Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/14/2015

The story here practically writes itself. After a two-year hiatus we get another edition of The Holy War - the bitter rivalry between these two schools. Usually a regular-season fixture, scheduling has gotten in the way, and now this is what we get. I couldn't be more excited - at least about an early bowl game. Many college football fans and a lot of BYU fans seem to feel the same way.

Arizona Wildcats vs. New Mexico Lobos New Mexico Bowl Expert Picks & Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/14/2015

The first bowl of the year is never going to be the best bowl of the year. We could certainly see a worse game than this one to start things off, though. It's far from a perfect game, but there is enough for us to sink our teeth into to at least make things a little interesting. It could have been a different story, too, if Rich Rodriguez had done as expected and taken another job.

NCAA Football Expert Picks Against the Spread: Army vs. Navy Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 12/9/2015

The last weekend of the college football season certainly doesn't offer quantity - there is only one game - or quality - Army is sorely outmatched, as they typically are. What it lacks in competitiveness, though, this game more than makes up for in tradition and visual appeal. It's just fun to watch. Navy comes into the contest with a 13-game winning streak in the series, and it would be truly a shock if it weren't stretched to 14 here. These are two teams in very different places. Navy is ranked 22nd in the country and has nine wins. Army has a mirror image record - nine losses. So, can the Knights be competitive here as massive underdogs, or will Navy roll on?

Betting NCAA Football Bowl Games: Underrated Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 12/9/2015

Many, many coaches over the course of the bowl season are going to tell teams that they aren't getting the respect they deserve. It's a classic motivational technique. The amazing thing is that, in a few cases, it is even true. Looking at the way the lines were set and how they have moved in bowl games has me thinking that these four teams aren't getting enough respect - and that they could provide some nice value as a result. Unless they pout about the lack of respect and use it as an excuse, of course:

NCAA Football Bowl Game Handicapping and Wagering: Toughest Games to Bet
by Trevor Whenham - 12/8/2015

There are some bowl games that seem almost easy to handicap. One team is clearly better, the spread seems fair, and the value is staring you right in the face. Those are the games we dream of as handicappers. And then there are games like these five. Maybe both teams have issues. Maybe they have played different schedules that make them hard to compare.

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 15 and Bowl Games Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 12/7/2015

McCaffrey do enough in their conference championship games to beat out Alabama running back Derrick Henry for the Heisman Trophy? The deadline for voting for this year's Heisman passed at 5 p.m. Monday, and the ceremony is Saturday in New York.

College Bowl Game Betting and Handicapping: Biggest Mismatches
by Trevor Whenham - 12/7/2015

Every year is the same. There are the bowl games that are competitive and exciting and in which you could make a strong case for either team. The playoff games fit that mold this year, as do most of the games played around the same time, and several others do too along the way. At the elite level it is a really strong year for bowls.

NCAA Football Bowl Game Betting Advice: Most Interesting Matchups
by Trevor Whenham - 12/7/2015

The playoff games and the rest of the New Year's six are really good matchups this year. They are, without exception, interesting and exciting games that promise both handicapping challenges and exciting play. For too many casual fans and bettors, though, that is where bowl season starts and ends for them. They don't bother to pay any attention to the games that come before or after the big games.