I want to thank my cousin Bruce Saber in Pittsburgh for giving me the play on the Steelers, which extended my NFL amazing win streak. They came within a missed field goal of gaining a wild card.
To top it off there should have been a penalty on the play, which would have given the Chiefs another try, but having lost their first four games we give Big Ben and company a big yahoo for almost getting there.
Time for a look at the rest of the college bowl games starting this Wednesday.
Gator, Jacksonville
Nebraska +9 vs. Georgia (60½): I’m not a Cornhusker fan, and their last two games were nothing to brag about. They have lost their last three bowl games and teams from the Big Ten have not done well. The Bulldogs won and covered their last two and had Auburn beaten until the immaculate deflection on fourth down and long. GEORGIA/OVER.
Heart of Texas, Dallas
UNLV +6 ½ vs. N. Texas (56): Rebels ranked a putrid 117th in red zone defense and with HC Hauck have gone 3-22 SU on the road and 7-17-1 ATS. They do look much better and inspired. That last win over San Diego State was especially good after the Aztecs crushed a good Buffalo team in the spud bowl. UNLV has been scoring. OVER.
Capital One, Orlando
Wisconsin -1 vs. S. Carolina (51): The Badgers lost their last game to Penn State in Madison as a 24-point favorite and they also got beat by Ohio State who almost lost to Michigan. Why are they favored over South Carolina who won their last 5, covering 4. SEC trumps Big Ten. S. CAROLINA.
Outback, Tampa
Iowa +7½ vs. LSU (49): Same SEC vs. Big Ten matchup. The Tigers beat Auburn in dominating fashion, 35-21. We will lay the points hoping Les Miles will open up the offense. Iowa lost to Northern Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. LSU/OVER.
Rose, Pasadena
Michigan St. +5½ vs. Stanford (43): One of my best plays. The Spartans could barely get by an average Minnesota team that lost to Syracuse in the Texas Bowl, only beat lowly Purdue 14-0 and lost, 17-13, to Notre Dame. Now they go west and play a very good Cardinal team who beat Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington and crushed Arizona State. STANFORD.
Fiesta, Glendale
UCF +16½ vs. Baylor (69): Not the matchup ESPN was looking for but Central Florida beat Penn State, handed Louisville its only loss and almost knocked off South Carolina. The Bears came within one game of going undefeated and playing in the Championship game when getting crushed by Okie State. UCF is 13-1 ATS as a dog of 4 or more points since 2008. OVER.
Sugar, New Orleans
Oklahoma +15 vs. Alabama (51): Bama may be down after not getting back in the BCS Championship game but the Tide are the Tide and Saban is Saban. Doubt if he will ever again make the horrible mistake of giving up the miracle return of the missed field goal against Auburn. Bama has won and covered its last four bowl games, which included two BCS Championships. They know the Superdome well. ALABAMA.
Cotton Bowl, Arlington
Oklahoma St. PK vs. Missouri (61): The crowd will be on the Cowboys side in a game that looks to be very high scoring. Scratching my head over Okie State’s losses to West Virginia, 30-21, as a 19-point favorite and at home to Oklahoma as a 10-point favorite. Missouri won and covered their last four before losing to Auburn, 59-42, in the SEC title game. I will chill with a glass of red and root for both sides to keep scoring. OVER.
Orange Bowl, Miami
Clemson +2½ at Ohio St. (68): I can’t bet against Urban and the Buckeyes after watching them against Michigan and losing to Michigan State. This game has all the factors of a real scoring battle so this is another game we will sit and go back and forth with the remote. I hope both teams are going up and down the field. OVER.
Compass, Birmingham
Houston +2 vs. Vandy (53): With the two NFL wild card games competing doubt there will be much interest. Will go with the SEC again as the Commodores won their last four games, including a victory over Georgia. Houston lost three of their last four games with no quality wins. VANDERBILT.
Go Daddy, Mobile
Arkansas St. +8½ vs. Ball St. (63½): The Red Wolves may garner the most support in this low level bowl game but we can’t find a lot of reasons except the high point spread. The MAC has been bad in the bowls so far but both teams can score. OVER.
BCS title, Pasadena
Auburn +8½ vs. FSU (67): The public is crying out this is Auburn’s year; they are destined to win. I heard the same thing last year with Notre Dame and look what happened to them. If it weren’t for two very lucky plays the Tigers would not be here.
No such luck for the Seminoles who just crushed their foes on the way to a perfect season. No team ever got close to beating them as they outscored their opponents 689 to 139. It almost looks too easy and when it looks too easy it usually isn’t.
This game has moved a pimple. I remember last year when I picked Notre Dame but maybe this is the year for Auburn. They did beat Alabama because they were in position to beat them. This could come right down to the wire. Maybe there is one more miracle waiting for the Tigers. AUBURN.
NFL Wild Cards
I was going to take the Bengals but decided to sit when the number came -7 instead of -6½. Bengals are perfect at home this year, winning and covering all eight of their games.
Record
Last Week
7-4-1
NFL
16-7-1
NCAA
63-35-1
Richard Saber, a former director of race and sports at the famed Stardust book, is GamingToday’s horse racing and sports handicapper. Follow Richard on Twitter @SabesBet. Contact Richard at [email protected].
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