2012 BCS National Championship Overview
December 30, 2011
The BCS National Championship Game has a history of producing some controversial matchups and this one is no different. This year’s 1-vs-2 clash features two teams from the same division of the same conference who already played each other. One team won the league’s automatic BCS berth, while the other didn’t even play in the league championship game for the right to earn the BCS bid. While there are other conference champions in other bowls, a conference runner-up is considered...
2012 Cotton Bowl Preview
December 30, 2011
Two of the top non-conference winners in college football this year, Arkansas (2nd, SEC West) and Kansas State (2nd, Big 12), meet in the 2012 version of the Cotton Bowl. The meeting marks the first time in over 80 years that these two squads have played eachother. This game will mark the renewal of an old-fashioned rivalry. These two schools have met four previous times between 1910 and 1926, with Kansas State winning three of those meetings. The Wildcats won the last meeting, 16-7, in Manhattan...
2012 Compass Bowl Overview
December 30, 2011
The SMU Mustangs and Pittsburgh Panthers square off in this year’s version of the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. The all-time series between these two teams sits at 2-2-1, but the last meeting was clear back in the 1983 Cotton Bowl (a 7-3 SMU win). Our latest Compass Bowl odds show Pittsburgh favored by 3.5 points, while the over/under is listed at 47 points. SMU SMU started hot at 5-1 this season, but lost four of their next five games before finishing off the season with a win...
2012 Sugar Bowl Matchup
December 30, 2011
The Allstate Sugar Bowl is likely to be a great matchup. A couple of the more decorated programs in history, and a couple of the toughest defensive units in the nation this season, will square off in New Orleans when Michigan of the Big Ten takes on ACC runner-up Virginia Tech. This contest will mark the first-ever meeting between the schools. Our Sugar Bowl odds show Michigan as a 2.5-point spread favorite, while the total has been set at 50.5 points. Michigan Michigan closed their regular season...
2012 Taxslayer Gator Bowl Overview
December 30, 2011
The Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl might as well be called the Urban Meyer Bowl. Is it pure coincidence that just before the Gator Bowl matchup between Ohio State of the Big Ten and the Florida Gators of the SEC was announced that the Buckeyes unveiled former Florida head coach Urban Meyer as its new field general? Coincidence or not, the interest in two 6-6 schools has been increased with the story of Meyer watching his new program take on his old one. This will be Florida’s ninth showing in the...
2012 Rose Bowl Preview
December 30, 2011
The Rose Bowl Game will showcase two very similar schools in recent history. One played in this game a season ago (Wisconsin) while the other played for a national title. Oregon made this bowl two years ago but has dominated its conference the past three years. The Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio will feature Big Ten champion Wisconsin squaring off against Pac-12 champ Oregon in Pasadena. This will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the schools, with the Badgers owning a 3-1 series lead. However,...
2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl Game Preview
December 30, 2011
Houston’s Reliant Stadium has been witness to some winning football in recent years as the home of the Houston Texans. This New Year’s Eve, it will bear witness to a couple of college football teams looking to end their seasons on winning notes. Northwestern, of the Big Ten conference, will face Texas A&M, out of the Big 12, in what amounts to a near-home game for the Aggies. These two teams have never met on the football field. The latest Meineke Car Care Bowl odds list Texas A&M...
2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl Matchup
December 30, 2011
El Paso has been the home of a bowl game for more than 75 years. Utah played in one of the very first Sun Bowls, and now the Utes come back as a member of one of the BCS conferences for the first time. On New Year’s Eve, Utah will face Georgia Tech of the ACC in the 78th annual Hyundai Sun Bowl. The only time these two teams have played each other came in the 2005 Emerald Bowl in Seattle, with Utah posting a 38-10 win over a nationally ranked Georgia Tech squad. The Utes’ only other Sun...
2012 Fiesta Bowl Preview
December 30, 2011
The 2012 version of the Fiesta Bowl pits the Stanford Cardinal against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. With two of the most prolific offenses in the country on the field, this is expected to be one of the top games outside of the National Championship. These two teams have never met on the football field. A look at the most recent Fiesta Bowl odds shows Oklahoma State -3.5, while the total has been set for 74 points. Stanford The Cardinal missed out on a chance to play in the Pac-12′s inaugural...
2012 GoDaddy Bowl Preview
December 30, 2011
The very last game in this bowl season before the main course the Allstate BCS Championship Game the next day two of the best teams in the non-BCS leagues will collide in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., when Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State plays MAC champ Northern Illinois. These teams enter this contest with a combined 17-game winning streak. These two programs have played seven times in the past between 1990 and 1996, with Northern Illinois having won six of the seven meetings....
2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl Matchup
December 30, 2011
The Chick-fil-A Bowl pits the ACC against the SEC and this year’s match up features a pair of teams that haven’t met in nearly 15 years as Virginia faces Auburn. The all-time series between these two sits at 1-1 with Virginia winning the most recent meeting, 19-0 back in 1998. The latest Chick-fil-A Bowl odds list the Auburn Tigers as 1-point favorites, while the total has been posted for 49 points. Virginia The Cavs were riding the momentum of four-straight wins to end their regular...
2012 Capital One Bowl Matchup
December 30, 2011
This year, the Capital One Bowl will feature two top-20 teams, as Nebraska of the Big Ten takes on South Carolina of the SEC in the Capital One Bowl. These teams have met three other times in their histories, but not since 1987 – a 30-21 Nebraska win. In fact, the Cornhuskers are 3-0 in the all-time series. The latest Capital One Bowl odds show South Carolina favored by 2 points, while the over/under is posted at 46 points. Nebraska Nebraska opened the season 7-1, including an impressive 24-3...
2011 Liberty Bowl Game Preview
December 30, 2011
Though Cincinnati, Ohio, and Nashville, Tenn., are not that far apart, it has been nearly 20 years since Cincinnati and Vanderbilt met on the football field, and it takes a neutral-field bowl game to renew acquaintances. In Memphis in Vandy’s home state the AutoZone Liberty Bowl will pit the Bearcats, co-champion of the Big East, against the Commodores of the SEC. These two haven’t played since 1994, a 34-24 Vanderbilt win. The Bearcats last won back in 1976, a 33-7 win on their home...
2011 Insight Bowl Preview
December 30, 2011
This game will be a homecoming of sorts for Bob Stoops. The former Iowa Hawkeye football player will be on the same field as his alma mater when he takes his Oklahoma Sooners to the Insight Bowl to face the Hawkeyes. Although Stoops has coached the Sooners for 13 seasons, he has never faced his former school. In fact, the only time these two schools hooked up came in the 1979 season opener, when Barry Switzer’s Sooners beat Hayden Fry’s Hawkeyes 21-6 in Norman. Our latest Insight Bowl...
2011 Music City Bowl Overview
December 30, 2011
Nashville is recognized as Music City, and the home of country music. In Nashville, Dec. 30 will showcase two up-and-coming college football programs in the Music City Bowl as Mississippi State of the SEC takes on Wake Forest of the ACC. This will be the first time these two teams have met on the football field. A quick look at the latest Music City Bowl odds shows Mississippi State favored by 7 points, while the total has been set at 48 points. Mississippi State Mississippi State had one of the...
2011 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Overview
December 23, 2011
The state of Michigan will be represented in its own bowl game. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, taking place at Ford Field in Detroit, will be almost like a home game for one of these teams, as Western Michigan of the Mid-American Conference takes on Purdue of the Big Ten on Dec. 27. This will mark the 3rd all-time meeting between the schools, with the last meeting in 2002. Purdue won both matchups at home 28-13 in 1993 and 28-24 in 2002. Checking out the latest Caesars Bowl odds, the Boilermakers...
2011 Military Bowl Game Notes
December 23, 2011
The military schools have their own bowl-game available to them. Washington D.C. is the venue of the Military Bowl sponsored by Northrop Grumman, being played in the shadow of the Pentagon. In this year’s edition of the game, the U.S. Air Force Academy will be making its debut in this bowl contest as it represents the military against MAC power Toledo. These two schools have never played before on the gridiron. The latest Military Bowl odds list Toledo as a 3-point chalk, while the total sits...
2011 Independence Bowl Game Notes
December 23, 2011
The Big 12 and the ACC battle on the day after Christmas when Shreveport, Louisiana, serves as the location of the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, which features the Missouri Tigers and the North Carolina Tar Heels. This will be the third time these two schools have ever met. The Tigers won the first two; racking up a 27-14 road victory in 1973 and a 24-3 score in Columbia during the 1976 season. According to the latest Independence Bowl spread, Missouri is favored by 5 points, while the total is...
2011 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Preview
December 23, 2011
Yankee Stadium might be home of the Bronx Bombers, but it’s turning into a multi-purpose complex. Dec. 30 in the Bronx, Yankee Stadium will re-open for the bowl season, as it is the venue for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, which will showcase Rutgers of the Big East and Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference. This matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the Cyclones on the gridiron. Our latest Pinstripe Bowl odds list the Scarlet Knights as a 2-point favorite, while...
2011 Belk Bowl Preview
December 23, 2011
2011 Belk Bowl Preview The opponents in the 2011 Belk Bowl this year did not have far to go. The game is being played in Charlotte, N.C. and will feature an in-state team in NC State, representing the ACC, taking on Big East co-champ Louisville, from neighboring Kentucky. This will be the first meeting between the two teams dating back to 1994, when the Cardinals posted a 35-14 victory at home. Our Belk Bowl odds show North Carolina State as a 2.5-point chalk, while the total has been placed at 44.5...
2011 Holiday Bowl Preview
December 23, 2011
The Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences clash in San Diego December 28 in the 2nd of two San Diego bowl matchups. California finished the regular season playing well, while the Longhorns have struggled to cross the finish line, but both squads played quality football to qualify for bowl games. This will be an opportunity to close the season on a good note when they clash in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl. Texas has won all four meetings against the Golden Bears, though the last matchup was back...
2011 Hawaii Bowl Matchup
December 19, 2011
The tradition of college football on the islands continues December 24th with the 10th Sheraton Hawaii Bow, featuring WAC runner-up Nevada taking on Conference USA champion Southern Miss. This will be the third all-time meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Golden Eagles. USM won the first meeting at home in 1997, 35-19, and posted a 55-28 win over Nevada in Reno in 1998. The latest Hawaii Bowl odds show Southern Miss -6.5 and a total set for 62 points. Nevada After starting slow at 1-3 this season,...
2011 Las Vegas Bowl Game Notes
December 19, 2011
The Las Vegas Bowl takes a bit of a gamble this year as it pits a top-10 team, Boise State, against a team that managed just a.500 record in the regular season, Arizona State. The two schools met just one time before ASU posted a 56-7 win over Boise in October 1996 in Tempe, when the Broncos were in the Big West Conference in their first year in Division I-A (FBS) football. The latest Las Vegas Bowl odds show Boise State favored by 14 points, while the total has been set at 66 points. Arizona State The...
2011 Poinsettia Bowl Preview
December 19, 2011
This year’s San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl pits Mountain West champs, TCU against Louisiana Tech, the champions of the WAC. This game will mark the first-ever meeting between the schools in football. The latest Poinsettia Bowl odds list TCU favored by 10 points and the over/under at 55.5 points. TCU TCU went undefeated in the Mountain West this season, earning their third-straight conference championship. They come into this game riding a seven-game winning streak after blowing...
2012 Orange Bowl Point Spread & Total
December 16, 2011
West Virginia and Clemson face off for this year’s version of the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL. Geographically, these two conferences aren’t that far apart, however, these two teams have not faced in over two decades. These two haven’t met since the Gator Bowl back in 1989, with Clemson earning a 27-7 victory. The latest Orange Bowl odds list Clemson as a 3.5-point favorite, while the total has been set at 60 points. West Virginia The Mountaineers won their final three games to earn...
