By Daniel Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Christmas.
Hanukkah.
Kwanzaa.
Boxing Day.
And New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are just around the corner.
Of course, if you’re a college football fan and bettor, there’s something that transcends the holiday gauntlet — Bowl Season.
Bowl Season kicked off before noon local time on Dec. 20 when the Buffalo Bulls met the Charlotte 49ers in the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau, Bahamas. In case you were doing last-minute holiday shopping, the Bulls, – 7, won and covered in the first of 39 bowl games.
The Las Vegas Bowl was in the spotlight the following day with the Washington Huskies anywhere from -3 to -4 vs. the Boise State Broncos. It was Huskies’ coach Chris Petersen’s final game, and many handicappers liked that motivational factor. But computer simulations from a major website gave an edge to Boise State. In the end, the Huskies prevailed, 38-7, in a nationally televised game that included commercials spotlighting Las Vegas tourism. The total fell short of 48.
The Gasparilla Bowl, played in Tampa, Florida, was the first bowl offering of the following week. In case you wondered, the name Gasparilla is based on the legend José Gaspar, a mythical pirate who terrorized coastal waters off West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century. The legend also inspires Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival, according to online sources. The line on the Central Florida Knights vs. the Marshall Thundering Herd for the game actually came down, from -17 to -15 by game time. But the Knights had enough firepower on deck to plunder the Thundering Herd, staking a 24-7 first-half lead and rolling to a 48-25 win that sent the total over 59.5 fairly easily.
While many were marking Christmas Eve the following day, bettors turned their attention to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the BYU Cougars in the Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium late in the day. A flood of late BYU money pushed the number from pick to BYU -2.5 or even -3 in some spots. Handicappers lined up on BYU, too. In a highly entertaining game that saw BYU take a 3-point lead in the second half, Hawaii rallied to win, 38-34, and send the total over 65.
By Friday, there were enough bowl games to keep fans in front of big-screen monitors most of the day. The day’s lineup included the first matchup of ranked teams, the Iowa Hawkeyes, -2, vs. the USC Trojans, which the Hawkeyes won handily, 49-24.
Arguably one of the most watched and most bet games was the primetime showdown between the Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. the Texas A&M Aggies in the Texas Bowl. Plenty of a handicappers liked Oklahoma State +5.5 in that game — so many in fact, the line dropped to +4.5 and even +4 in some spots just before game time. The Aggies rallied from a sluggish start to win, 24-21, but a late touchdown from the Cowboys gave bettors a backdoor cover.
In an earlier game, bettors playing over 51.5 in the Pinstripe Bowl with the Michigan State Spartans at the Wake Forest Demon Deacons looked liked they were in good shape with 41 points on the scoreboard in the first half. But it was under bettors who cashed after only seven points were scored in the second half.
Of course, crowds were out in force in the race and sports books Saturday for major showdowns between the LSU Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners in the Peach Bowl and the late game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl.
LSU, -12.5, rolled over Oklahoma, leading 49-14 at halftime, on its way to a 63-28 rout. But the primetime game between Ohio State and Clemson, -2.5, was a classic confrontation of wills. Clemson that came away with the win, 29-23, but not until the Buckeyes’ last-minute drive fizzled. At least one savvy handicapped favored under 62.5 in the game, and another liked an in-game wager of under 59.5.
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What’s next?
— There’s four more bowl games on the schedule for Monday. And five on Tuesday. The first day of the new year has four bowl games. Bowl Week 3 doesn’t concluded until Jan. 6 when the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks are at the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Caguns in the Lending Tree Bowl. The Ragin’ Caguns are -14, and the total is 56.
— Bowl season concludes Jan. 13 with the National Championship game. LSU, after opening at -3, is currently at -5.5 vs. Clemson, with the total at 70.
— We missed our lone bowl pick, Wake Forest+4, dropping our record to 1-2.