Miami Florida Hurricanes #217 over LSU Tigers: LSU will have the adv for the neutral site given the game will be played in Texas AT+T stadium. However if Mia takes the lead that could turn the noise down fast. QB Rosier returns for Mia as a dual threat. Mia has a strong receiving core and RB with Homer. The real strength however is with their fast defense which forces lots of turnovers. Mia returns 7 on offense and 7 on defense. LSU has an inexperienced offense which will try and become more pass oriented this year. Transfer QB Burrow from Ohio ST. will make his first start.
Akron Zips #161 over Nebraska Cornhuskers: The hype in Neb is in full force with the return of coach Frost after what he did at Cent Flor. Neb had the 84th ranked off last year and now they turn to a freshman QB to lead them. That is a tall order in game 1 to cover this many points despite Neb having a very talented WR core. Akr has the best defense in the MAC and return 9 on that side of the ball. Akr has an excellent coach and a strong QB sophomore Nelson. This should all be enough to stay well within this inflated line.
Northern Illinois Huskies #171 over Iowa Hawkeyes: Low total on this game making the points offered that much more substantial. Iowa has 2 suspensions on their OL and 2 more on the DL. Iowa is a conservative grinding type of team which is difficult to cover this size of line vs. a good NI team. NI has 8 starters back on offense incl all 5 on the offensive line. NI won here last year. Simply too many points for an Iowa team with distractions to be spotting in the 1st game of the year.
Alabama Crimson Tide over Clemson Tigers: Part of the value in the line a rematch from last year. Big deal revenge not relevant these teams have changed. Watson is a force. Clem is a very solid team on both sides of the ball. Clem destroyed Oh St. and that also has an impact on this line. Ala struggled against Wash especially on offense but still covered. One key and one constant the Ala defense and its ability to force turnovers. Freshman QB on Ala new off coord all factors again contributing to this lower than should be line.
Ohio State Buckeyes over Clemson Tigers: Give Meyer 4 weeks to game plan against Watson and at this line we get value. Oh St. has a more impressive resume heading into this matchup. Also give the overall defensive edge to Oh St. Offenses are a wash. Oh St. went 3-1 vs. top 10’s while Clemson went 1-0. I have this game at 3.5 crossing the key 3.0 to give us the value.
Alabama Crimson Tide over Washington Huskies: Not often I spot this type of lumber also not often you find Ala undervalued. Wash is a cinderalla team however it is one thing for the Wash def to stop Pac 12 teams but to stop Ala another story. Conversely how is Wash going to score enough to keep pace against this offense. This line has moved all over the place. It started at 12 the money quickly arrived moving it to 17 than back to 12 and now has settled where it is. I simply do not see this game remaining close.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets over Kentucky Wildcats: 2 top rushing attacks face off in this bowl game. However with the short price and the fact Kent is horrible at stopping the run we will play GT. I actually have this game at 6.5 giving us excellent value. Part of the influence on this line is Kent winning a huge upset over Louisv just to get here. However all this has done is make Kent overvalued.
South Alabama Jaguars over Air Force Falcons: Af draws a very uninspiring opponent here and they are being asked to cover a substantial margin. Of course AF runs he option and because it is unique teams have trouble defending it. However it is run run and run moving the clock making these points available even more attractive. Secondly this is a bowl game giving Sala more time to prepare. Sala does have some signature wins. They are led by stud Jr RB Johnson. Their QB Davis is prone to the pick and in order for us to cover we will need him not to force things.
Kansas State Wildcats over Texas A/M Aggies: KSt is a young team that continually improved through the year finishing 5-1. Tex A/M had bigger aspirations. The season started that way but they finished 2-4 relegating them to the Texas Bowl. It is close to home but their motivation comes into question. Even if they are motivated they are horrible at stopping the run and that is what Kst excels at. Kst defense we will call a work in progress but it is improving. I expect a high scoring game with Kst winning outright the small amount of points providing a cushion.
Vanderbilt Commodores over NC St. Wolfpack: Vandy started off the season rough adjusting to the new system of coach Mason. However 4-2 to finish including wins over Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tenn got them to this bowl. 2 teams evenly matched played similar strength of schedules whereby in my opinion either has an equal chance to win this game outright. Give us the substantial points offered and we get excellent value.