SBR’s Justin7 had a great read on the pre-Christmas bowl games, fading the Pac-10 and leaning to the over in general. Justin and SBR.tv’s Peter Loshak continue their previews and analysis with a look at the matchups scheduled between December 26th-30th.
The line in the Humanitarian Bowl on Wednesday between Bowling Green and Idaho has both Loshak and Justin a bit confused. Both would have leaned towards betting Idaho, but the line movement of Idaho -1 to +2 has them concerned, and has Justin thinking someone has some valuable information he doesn’t have access to. Loshak points out that the offensive make-up of each team will result in an edge for the Vandals if the weather inhibits passing.
The Emerald Bowl on Saturday presents a classic bowl betting scenario, where a powerhouse program, in this case USC, is off of a disappointing season and facing a disappointing bowl assignment, as a sizable favorite against a lesser upstart team, in this case Boston College, eager for an opportunity for a good showing against a big-name program. Justin loves a side in this one, and the line has already had movement in BC’s direction, going from USC -9 to -7.5.
Temple/UCLA in the EagleBank Bowl on Tuesday involves an intriguing handicapping situation involving the big disparity in public perception of the two respective conferences the teams come from – the MAC and the Pac-10. Loshak is looking for insight from Justin into this matter, given how Justin correctly assessed in the early bowl games this year that teams from the Pac-10 were being overrated and teams from the Mountain West were being underrated in the betting lines. With this game, however, Justin curiously doesn’t offer up a line, and he and Loshak discuss a bit why not.
Justin does have lines and opinions on the rest of the bowl games through December 30th – Ohio/Marshall, UNC/Pitt, Kentucky/Clemson, Texas A&M/Georgia, Miami/Wisconsin, and Nebraska/Arizona. Still leaning to the over in general, he has a number of plays he sees as having small-to-modest value, including one which agrees with Loshak’s favorite play in the Kentucky/Clemson game.
