2006 Emerald Bowl Picks

Two teams that are heading in opposite directions will face off in the 2006 Emerald Bowl when UCLA takes on Florida State. This bowl will be played at AT&T Park, which is the home of the San Francisco Giants, and will be the first time these two schools have faced off on the gridiron.

The Bruins are coming off an impressive win against USC in their last game of the season and also beat Oregon State and Arizona State to close out the year. UCLA also has some bowl momentum stemming from their 22 point comeback, the largest in school history, in last year’s Sun Bowl. They will want to keep the momentum going against a group of falling Seminoles. UCLA has really improved on the defensive side of the ball, going from 113th out of 118 last season to 33rd this year.

Florida State is going bowling for the 25th straight season, but a year after winning the ACC and almost beating Penn State in the Orange Bowl, the Seminoles are close to their first losing season since Bowden’s first in Tallahassee. The team lost more home games, 4, than any other year and was also shut out at home for the first time ever this year. However, they did manage a bowl game and the team will be making it’s first trip to the West Coast since 1997. The deceiving thing about the Seminoles this season was that 5 of their losses came by a total of only 26 points.

If you want to know which team is going to cover tonight’s game, take a look at what our expert handicappers have on tap for college football bowl picks.

Best odds:

Florida State +4.5 -109 at Pinnacle
UCLA -4.5 -101 at Pinnacle

OVER 40 -110 at BetCris
UNDER 40.5 -110 at VIP