Get your 2009 year started off right with the bowl picks offered by Jimmy Boyd and his staff. There are not many handicappers out there who can win as much as Boyd can when dealing with the bowl game odds. Let’s see a few of the things he looks at in a game by taking a look at why he liked Iowa over South Carolina:
3* Outback Bowl SMASH on Iowa -4
Iowa is no stranger to Florida Bowls and is deserving of being the favorite here. While the SC defense has been vaunted,it was dominated by Florida and Clemson in the last two games of the season. SC’s offense hasn’t been able to do anything too help out this season. It is a turnover waiting to happen and is only averaging 18.4 ppg on the road this season. Iowa has the best running back in the nation in Shonn Grenne. He was not slowed by the best defenses in the Big 10 and will not be held down in this one. Iowa won 3 in a row to close out the season and 5 of its last 6, including a win over then-undefeated and No. 3 ranked Penn State to keep the Nittany Lions from a chance at a National title. Iowa is 4-1 ATS on the road this season and plays on favorites of 3.5 to 10 points (IOWA) – a top caliber team (>=+14 PPG differential) against an average team (+/- 5 PPG differential), after scoring 42 points or more last game are 32-11 ATS the last 10 seasons. Take Iowa.