Bowl Season Week II Pre-X-Mas
Season to date (70-26) Straight Up (56-38)* Against the Spread
Monday December, 23rd
The Gasparilla Bowl
#22 UCF (9-3) vs. #81 Marshall (8-4)
11:30am PT, ESPN
Line: UCF -16.0
Beta_Rank Win Prob: UCF 93%
Beta_Rank Line: UCF -20.67 (DO NOT GAMBLE)
Rob: This game is a huge mismatch. Marshall's #66 defense is going to have a hard time slowing down this #17 UCF offense. The Thundering Herd's #96 offense is going to have work hard against the #34 defense. We don't need to spend too much time on this game; unless Marshall gins up 4 turnovers this should not be close.
Buffalo 27 Charlotte 21
Tuesday December, 24th
The Hawai'i Bowl
#74 Hawai'i (9-5) vs. #64 BYU (7-5)
5:30am PT, ESPN
Line: BYU -1.0
Beta_Rank Win Prob: BYU 57%
Beta_Rank Line: BYU -2.11 (DO NOT GAMBLE)
Rob: Hawai'i gets a 'home' game here, but with the large LDS presence on the islands I expect it to be pretty close with the fan support. BYU gets the fun job of playing Hawai'i's bad defense. The Rainbow Warriors come in at #113 with a #118/#95 run/pass split. BYU is a pass heavy team with a middling offense; #61 with a #91/#29 split. The Cougars will be able to move the ball pretty well against Hawai'i. The other side of the ball should be a fun matchup. Hawai'i's #32 offense vs. BYU's #58 defense. The Rainbow Warriors have a #102/#11 split and the Cougars are at #69/#48. BYU's special teams have been awful #129 and that could hurt the Cougars in this game.
BYU 38 Hawai'i 35