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Among the top offerings of Bowl Week is a matchup of former ancient rivals from the old Big Eight Conference between the Missouri Tigers and Oklahoma State Cowboys. For Mizzou what was looing like a lost season turned out to be one that ended as a rousing success. As a result, head coach Barry Odom was extended with a nice raise. For the Cowboys a season that started with great promise turned out to be a dud. In fact, it can be said that both teams did the opposite of what was expected of them t... 

Bowl Week includes what many fans and gamblers consider to be a mismatch between an Atlantic Coast Conference also-ran versus a Southeastern Conference team that is considered to be a “team of the future.” The North Carolina State Wolfpack have one of the most prolific passing attacks in the land with quarterback Ryan Finley but it was not enough for them to come close to Clemson as the top team in the ACC. The Texas A&M Aggies went through a culture change under first year head coach Jimbo ... 

An important part of the college football playoff debate will be featured this Bowl Week with the Central Florida Knights. For the second year in a row this Group of Five power was on the outside looking in when it came to the playoff. As a consolation prize the Knights will get a New Year’s Day bowl bid as they did last year. One year ago, Central Florida upset Auburn 34-27 in the Peach Bowl to earn a considerable amount of credibility and respect. This year the Knights will get their shot agai... 

Among the higher quality Bowl Week matchups is one between teams that lost their respective conference championship games. The Big Ten Northwestern Wildcats impressed all by winning the West Division for the first time in their history. The Pac 12 Utah Utes took the South Division championship for the first time since joining the league in 2011. Both the Cats and Utes play physical brands of football that old school fans will appreciate. While Northwestern uses guts, brawn and brains for success... 

Bowl Week includes an interesting matchup of a Big Ten team that did not reach expectations and one that could well be in decline against a Pac 12 team that many are now tabbing as the “Team of the Future.” The Michigan State Spartans did not contend for the Big Ten East Division title this year and seem to be falling further behind Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. The Oregon Ducks had a solid but hardly great year under first year head coach Mario Cristobal. But the big news about Oregon wa... 

Bowl Week includes a matchup of teams that did meet the expectations set out for them at the start of the year. Not much was expected from the Cincinnati Bearcats at the start if the 2018 season and yet from their opening day win at UCLA they continued to surprise both on the field and at the payout window. For the Virginia Tech Hokies, a shot at the Coastal Division title of the Atlantic Coast Conference was the expectation. Instead they had to force schedule an extra last home game to barely m... 

The Stanford Cardinal didn’t live up to expectations during the regular season, as the hope of competing for another Pac-12 title went away quickly. Stanford finally found a groove down the stretch by winning its final three games to earn an invitation to the Sun Bowl. Stanford will face off against the Pittsburgh Panthers as each side is hoping to finish the season on a high note.... 

The South Carolina Gamecocks have followed a pretty simple pattern this season. In games against ranked opponents, they have yet to come away with a victory. However, in contests against unranked opponents, they are undefeated. South Carolina hopes the trend will remain this way the whole year by capping the Belk Bowl with a victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.... 

The second of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games takes place on Saturday night in Miami, as the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Orange Bowl on ESPN. Both teams have explosive offenses, so this figures to be a high scoring contest. The Sooners averaged 49.5 points per game to lead the country, while Alabama was 2nd at 47.9 points per game. Let’s look at this game that can be seen on ESPN and live betting at BookMaker.eu.... 

The first of the two College Football Playoff games takes place on Saturday afternoon, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish battle the Clemson Tigers in the Cotton Bowl on ESPN. Both teams come into this game unbeaten, as Notre Dame is 12-0, while Clemson is 13-0. The Fighting Irish are not getting much respect from the oddsmakers, as the Tigers are nearly a two-touchdown favorite. Let’s look at this game that can be seen on ESPN and live betting at BookMaker.eu.... 

The Michigan Wolverines will be without three of their top players on Saturday, but they are still solid favorites to defeat the Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl on ESPN. The Wolverines will be without running back Karan Higdon and two of their best defensive players, Rashan Gary and Devin Bush. The Wolverines are a 6-point favorite with the total listed at 51. Let’s look at this matchup on Friday and college football picks.... 

Bowl Week action includes one of the most consistently successful Group of Five programs in the country going up against a program that used to have that status and could be in the process of making a return to prominence. The Arkansas State Red Wolves will be attending their eighth consecutive bowl game after making just one for their entire history before that. The Nevada Wolf Pack is back in a bowl game after missing out the past two years. From 2005 through 2015 they made a bowl every season... 

The late bowl game on Friday night on ESPN has the Iowa State Cyclones taking on the Washington State Cougars in the Alamo Bowl. The Cyclones are 8-4 SU and 6-6 ATS, while the Cougars are 10-2 SU and 10-2 ATS. This could end up being a low scoring game than most people think, as both Iowa State and Washington State have solid defenses. Let’s look at this game and live betting at BookMaker.... 

The Camping World Bowl lost some of its luster when it was announced West Virginia quarterback Will Grier would not play. His absence also affected the college football betting odds, as the Mountaineers went from a touchdown favorite to a one-point underdog in Friday afternoon’s game against the Syracuse Orange. Let’s look at this game that can be seen on ESPN and live betting at ... 

No matter what happens in Nashville, the Purdue Boilermakers will be remembered for blowing out Ohio State earlier in the season. And they got another win when coach Jeff Brohm elected not to take the Louisville job. The coaching situation is stable in Purdue, but that’s not the case for the Auburn Tigers, who slumped to a 7-5 record one season after coming within a victory of a CFP berth. Gus Malzahn is slated to be back next season, but the fickle nature in the football-crazed south could put ... 

Tearing the whole thing down and building it back up is what Baylor Bears coach Matt Rhule said needed to be done after the Art Briles scandal rocked the program. It didn’t take long for him to fulfill his prophecy. One year after going 1-11, the Bears knocked off Texas Tech in their regular season finale to become bowl eligible and they remain in-state to face the Vanderbilt Commodores in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl.... 

Bowl games are supposed to be fun, and with two teams that have a lot of losing on their resumes, the last few years have been productive on the gridiron. The Duke Blue Devils and Temple Owls are known more for their exploits on the hardwood, but they’ll square off in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl on Thursday. Duke has quietly put together a solid program under David Cutcliffe, getting to their sixth bowl game in seven seasons. Temple’s success cost the program another coach when Geoff Collins... 

It’s hard to determine which team was the bigger disappointment in 2018. Both the Wisconsin Badgers and Miami Hurricanes were thinking CFP last year before eventually falling short and squaring off in the Orange Bowl. And this was the year for redemption. Bucky was widely considered the favorite in the lesser Big Ten West and a showdown in the conference title game was circled on the calendar at the start of the season. The Canes were ready to give Clemson a go in the ACC. We saw how that turned... 

Most bowl games are played in neutral locations, but the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors catch a break in that they will get to play in the Hawaii Bowl. Their matchup against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs is expected to be a close one and the Rainbow Warriors are hoping the crowd and the comfort of home will help lift them to the victory.... 

Paul Johnson has had a great career. Johnson has been involved in coaching for 40 years, and he has been in charge of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the last decade. Under his watch, the Yellow Jackets have become respectable once again, and his triple option offense ensured that the program was able to compete with the heavy hitters in the ACC year in and year out. He will coach his last game on Wednesday when his Yellow Jackets face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Detroit.... 

Points will be at a premium on Wednesday night when two of the best defenses in the country square off. The California Golden Bears and TCU Horned Frogs both made it to a bowl game due to the strength of their respective defenses, and they will be out to show why in the Cheez-It Bowl. This is the most recent iteration of what was originally known as the Copper Bowl, but it has changed names many times over the last three decades for sponsorship reasons. It is the first time that Cheez-It will be... 

It’s been a banner year for the Army Black Knights. Their patience with Jeff Monken has been rewarded, and he has led the program to three straight bowl berths for the first time in their history. He has secured back-to-back 10-win seasons, and now Monken is looking to get Army to 11 wins for the first time in their history. A win over the Houston Cougars in the Armed Forces Bowl would also give them four straight bowl victories and make Monken the best coach in recent history.... 

College Football bowl action continues in earnest with the Boston College Eagles taking on the Boise State Broncos in the ServPro First Responder Bowl. BC has been stuck in low gear under head coach Steve Addazio in that they are a consistent bowl team but little more than that. The Eagles one asset is a powerful offensive line and ground attack. Boise State has long been the marquee program of the Group of Five but has not been a top ten contender since 2011. As usual the Broncos have a prolifi... 

For the fifth consecutive season, two lucky teams will spend part of their holidays soaking up the sun and enjoying the beach when the Toledo Rockets and the Florida International Panthers take part in the Bahamas Bowl. This game is being held a short plane ride away from Miami, so there should be some FIU fans in the stands, while Toledo fans who travel here will appreciate the reprieve from Ohio in the winter.... 

The hometown fans won’t be able to cheer on Boise State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl this year, but the stands should still be packed as a fan base that travels very well comes to town. It’s been an up and down year for the BYU Cougars, but they are glad to get back to a bowl game. Kalani Sitake had a disastrous second season after a strong start and making it back to the postseason will take some pressure off. A win over the Western Michigan Broncos would help matters too, and BYU is a heavy...