Ben Burns has been a top college football handicapper for years and it doesn’t stop once the post-season arrives. His bowl picks have shown bettors a profit for years and he is continuing his winning ways here in 2008. If you want to beat the bowl game odds, there are few that can keep up with the pace set by Burns. Let’s take a look at his winner from last night, on the UNDER of the Rutgers/NC State game:
I’m playing on Rutgers and NC State to finish UNDER the total. This total has climbed from its opener and I feel that the current number is offering us excellent value. Yes, both offenses closed out the season on a high note. Both teams were also relatively solid defensively on the season though, particularly Rutgers, and both were strong on that side of the ball down the stretch. Both teams saw three of their five road games dip below the number. The Scarlet Knights held each of their last four opponents to 17 points or less and to an average of just 12.5. On the season, they held 10 of 12 opponents to 24 points or less. As for the Wolfpack, they did allow 28 points in their finale. However, they’d held each of their previous three opponents to 17 points or less, with those teams averaging less than 15.
Overall, five of the Wolfpack’s last six games finished with 51 combined points or less. Ten of their 12 games finished with 58 points or less on the season, nine of them finishing with 56 or less. The UNDER was 2-0 when the Wolfpack were coming off a bye with games against Florida State and Duke producing 43 and 44 points. While the Wolfpack didn’t get to a bowl in his first year here, it’s worth noting that O’Brien had seen both his last two bowl games, while with Boston College, finish with less than 50 combined points. Look for this afternoon’s final combined score to also prove lower than expected with the UNDER improving to 17-7 the last 24 times that Rutgers played a non-conference game which had a total. *Best Bet