NCAA Football Bowl Season Preview
It’s time for bowling in college football. This year’s college sports betting schedule is packed with 34 bowl games over 20 days, starting on December 20 and running until January 8 (the date of the national championship game).
Running through all 34 bowl games would take forever, so here’s a quick rundown of the five BCS games, as well as the four games set for the opening day of bowl season on December 20.
The BCS bowl season kicks off on New Year’s Day with the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl. For the fourth year in a row USC plays in the Rose Bowl, this time against Big Ten champs Penn State. The Trojans and Nittany Lions both rank in the top four in scoring defense in college football, so points could be at a premium in this one.
In the Orange Bowl ACC champions Virginia Tech meet up with Big East champs Cincinnati. Neither team was expected to land a BCS bowl berth when the season began, even though this is the Hokies’ second straight trip to the Orange Bowl. They lost to Kansas 24-21 last season.
The Sugar Bowl comes next on its usual date, January 2, with Utah and Alabama squaring off. The Utes dominated the Mountain West this season and enter bowl season with a perfect 12-0 record and something to prove. The only blemish on the Crimson Tide’s season was their loss to Florida in the SEC Championship Game. Despite the Utes’ perfect record expect Alabama to be the favorites on the college football odds when they arrive later in the week.
After a couple days off the BCS bowls resume on January 5 with the Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Texas. The Buckeyes were throttled in their last two bowl appearances, both in the national championship game. Texas had hoped for a trip to the national championship game this year, so hopefully the disappointment won’t affect their play or Ohio State may finally win a bowl game again.
Finishing off the BCS bowl schedule is the title game on January 8 between Florida and Oklahoma. The last two title games have both been blowouts, as Florida and LSU put the boots to Ohio State. The Gators will seek their second national title in three years, while the Sooners’ last title came in 2000 when they defeated Florida State. This could be a high-scoring affair as the Sooners boast the No. 1 offense in college football, while the Gators are close behind, ranked third in the nation in scoring.
Long before the BCS games get started the bowl season gets underway on December 20, with four matchups on the sked. The first bowl game bettors will get a piece of is the EagleBank Bowl between Navy and Wake Forest. This is actually a rematch from the regular season, which Navy won 24-17 as a 17-point road underdog.
Also on tap for December 20 is the New Mexico Bowl between Fresno State and Colorado State. Even if you do place a wager on this game you may just want to check the final score instead of watching it, because a game between a mediocre Mountain West team and a mediocre WAC team doesn’t sound too appealing.
Rounding out the December 20 bowl slate is the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl between Memphis and USF, and the Las Vegas Bowl between BYU and Arizona. The St. Petersburg Bowl is essentially a home game for USF, whose campus is just minutes from the bowl venue, Tropicana Field. BYU has played in the last three Las Vegas Bowls, while Arizona hasn’t appeared in a bowl game since the 1998 season.
