The college football bowl season has produced a number of surprises through three days of games and seven total contests. Houston getting blown out by San Diego State was a surprise. So was UCF getting thoroughly outclassed by Arkansas State. Then came Tuesday night, when Memphis was walloped by Western Kentucky. Matchups that might seem to point to one outcome can and do turn the other way in bowl games. Keep that in mind as you evaluate bowl games. These college football matchups might be better or more interesting than you might first think.
Potato Bowl: Colorado State vs. Idaho
There are lots of fascinating bowl stories, but few are more remarkable than Idaho. The Vandals will spend their last season in the Football Bowl Subdivision next year before moving down to the Football Championship Subdivision. One might easily think that Idaho was going to pack it in and suffer a steady decline in its final lame-duck years as an FBS program. Instead, the Vandals put together a winning regular season and earned a bowl bid for the first time this decade. The last time Idaho played in a bowl, it was also in Boise, when the Potato Bowl existed under its previous name, the Humanitarian Bowl. Idaho won that game 43-42. Could a similarly nutty shootout be in the cards here?
In terms of the college football betting line, we’ve seen plenty of movement on it throughout the week. Colorado State opened up as a 13.5-point favorite at DSI but the line has now climbed to 16.5. There has been less movement on the total, though. It opened up at 64 but now the line currently sits at 65.
Bahamas Bowl: Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan
This is a feel-good bowl to top all the other feel-good bowls. Idaho is a great story, but that’s just one team. This is a great story in both directions. Old Dominion is making its first bowl appearance ever. The Monarchs have steadily grown under head coach Billy Wilder. Eastern Michigan is making just its second bowl appearance ever, its previous appearance coming nearly 30 years ago, in 1987. Either way, one of these schools will walk away with a rare bowl win, and that’s reason enough to view this game as an attractive one.
The early action has heavily favored ODU as they opened as a 3.5-point favorite but the line has climbed to 5.5. The college football total has bounced around both ways as it opened at 64, has gone up to 64.5 and dropped to 63.5, but is now back to where it started at 64.
Armed Forces Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Navy
The immediate view of this game suggests Louisiana Tech will win easily, but Navy could be motivated by anger after losing to Army on December 10. The Midshipmen are down to their number three quarterback, Zach Abey, who replaced Will Worth on December 3 in a loss to Temple in the AAC Championships Game. Worth replaced Tago Smith, who was the starter to begin the season, on September 3. Louisiana Tech’s passing game is going to give Navy’s secondary tons of problems. Navy will probably need to try to turn this college football game into a shootout, but that means Abey will have to quickly learn and adjust under center.
This is one of the betting lines that’s moved the most this week. Louisiana Tech opened as a three-point favorite but the line has climbed all the way to -7. Clearly, a lot of bettors are expecting them to cover. The total opened up at 66 and is now currently at 67.5.
Dollar General Bowl: Ohio vs. Troy
This is a game between two teams which almost became conference champions. Ohio came within 37 yards of beating Western Michigan in the MAC Championship Game, but the Bobcats threw an interception and lost by six points. Troy led the Sun Belt heading into a November 17 game against Arkansas State. Troy lost that game, but when Arkansas State lost a week later, Troy had a chance to share the Sun Belt title with a win in its final game of the season. Yet, the Trojans lost to Georgia Southern. Two teams disappointed by tough losses will try to salvage their season. This should be a spirited battle.
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