College Football Predictions: Bowls (Pt. 2)

Week 1 of bowl season was pretty much a disaster. I'd follow these picks with a great amount of caution.

YTD Record

1* = 10-7-1
2* = 12-11-1
3* = 9-8

1* = Gun to my head, I'd play the team listed (risky)
2* = A good chance of covering; a worthy play (fairly confident)
3* = I will be playing this team for a large chunk of money (very confident)

Texas Bowl, December 28th, 8:00 PM, NFL Network

Kansas State +7 vs. Rutgers

By now, all of you know that Rutgers is the feel good story of the year, etc, etc. They were a tough overtime loss in Morgantown away from being a BCS participant. Kansas State had a very pedestrian year with the highlight being a home win over Texas, and the low-light certainly being an embarrassing road loss to Kansas to close the year.

Anytime a nationally-ranked, 10-2 team like Rutgers is laying a touchdown or less, there is going to be a flood of money coming in on the favorite, which makes the Wildcats a very nice looking anti-public under dog in this game. Kansas State has the personnel to play Rutgers very tough, and I would not be shocked if they won this one outright.

The play: Kansas State 2*

Holiday Bowl, December 28th, 8:00 PM, ESPN

Cal -4 vs. Texas A&M

Both of these teams enter bowl season fresh off confrontations with their fiercest rivals. A&M disposed of Texas in its final regular season game, while Cal fell in L.A. to the Trojans on the 18th of November before nipping Stanford at home in their finale.

Cal is one of those teams that I can't seem to get away from. I still think they possess way more ability than they have shown this year, and I really believe that they are going to stomp the Aggies in this one. That being said, A&M does have a very proven rushing attack thanks to the trio of Mike Goodson, Jorvorskie Lane, and Stephen McGee. I'm taking Cal, but I am going to tread lightly.

The play: Cal 1*

Liberty Bowl, December 29th, 4:30 PM, ESPN

Houston +5.5 vs. South Carolina

For the second straight year, Steve Spurrier has South Carolina playing in a bowl game, and SC will certainly be looking to make up last seasons Independence Bowl loss to Missouri in which they blew a big first-half lead. Houston is a similar situation as they were handled by Kansas during bowl play last year.

This matchup seems like a classic case of the name game. South Carolina does not have enough talent to be favored by this much against a Houston team that has a very balanced attack. The names Spurrier, SEC, and Sidney Rice are the reason for the bloated line. All of this makes Houston a very live dog, and I absolutely love them in this spot.

The play: Houston 3*

Please keep in mind that I am evaluating the most popular games for the purposes of this article. These games are not necessarily the best options available. You can more picks, results, and opinions on sports wagering at Ryan Hojnacki's website. This article is for entertainment purposes only. Sports wagering is not legal is most jurisdictions in the U.S. Sports Central does not encourage any individual to partake in illegal activities and holds no responsibility for actions taken as a result of this article. Check with your local laws before engaging in any wagering activities.