The 2008 Holiday Bowl just provided another chance for Evan Altemus and the followers of his bowl picks to cash in on the books. He’s been on fire with the 2008 postseason and will continue to beat the bowl game odds through the national title game. Just take a look at why he was so in love with the under last night when Oregon and Oklahoma State squared off:
Several sharp bettors have a habit of blindly taking the under when totals are set at high levels in basketball and football. I’m not a big fan of that theory, but this is one case where the under is a good selection. These two teams have put up excellent offensive numbers this season, no doubt. However, handicapping these bowl games requires more than just blindly looking at season statistics. These two teams haven’t played a game in almost a month, meaning that their offenses will be sluggish for a good part of the 1st half. In addition, both teams have offenses that are focused on running the ball. As a result, the clock is going to run more during drives, giving each team less possessions. In addition, each team has good rush defenses. Oklahoma State gave up only 124 yards on the ground, while Oregon gave up 119 yards. Another factor to be considered is that both teams will be fired up for this primetime game, meaning that defenses will tighten up and allow less big plays. The sports media has said for the past several weeks that they are looking forward to this game because the Holiday Bowl is always high scoring and fun to watch. Consequently, the sportsbooks were forced to make a total much too high in order to adjust for public opinion. Look for this game to be lower scoring than most people think.
3 UNIT SELECTION