Inside NU bowl betting special part 7: New Year’s Day

Fellow ‘Cats fans, bored Northwestern students on winter break and degenerate gamblers alike: welcome to bowl season. Most people regard mid-late December as holiday season, but to Matt and me, this is the finest part of the season from the greatest sport, college football. Follow along as we continue our quest to help you make money and take down the big bad wolf that is Las Vegas.

Records

Avery Zimmerman: 17-17

Matt Albert: 17-17

Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Happy 2019 everyone, if you made it this far you’re a real one. How about that ‘Cats win last night! Anyway, let’s pick some games,

Mississippi State (-7.5) vs. Iowa: Outback Bowl

Avery: Iowa — I don’t know why MSU is getting so much credit in this game. It doesn’t have a single impressive win all year, and Iowa hasn’t been blown out all year. I trust Kirk Ferentz to keep this game within a touchdown.

Matt: Iowa — The Outback Bowl is one of my personal favorites because of the human bloomin’ onion that’s at the game — to me it epitomizes bowl season in mascot form. With that said, the line is pretty steep. I’m riding with the Hawkeyes. Their tight ends will prove to be too much to handle.

LSU (-7) vs. UCF: Fiesta Bowl

Avery: LSU — UCF is another team that doesn’t have a single quality win on the season. Despite its undefeated record, its best win is against an unranked Cincinnati. Further, starting quarterback Mckenzie Milton suffered a knee injury and is out for this game. The only thing that gives me reason for concern is LSU’s motivation level for this game, but Ed Orgeron should be able to fire his team up to dominate an outmatched UCF team.

Matt: LSU — Not even close. This game will be even more embarrassing than Notre Dame getting blown out on national television (side note: I think Clemson just scored again while I’m writing this). That being said, the Tigers put up a dominating performance as UCF limps in with no Mckenzie Milton and UCF rides the coattails of last year’s season.

Penn State (-6) vs. Kentucky: Citrus Bowl

Avery: PSU — I believe in Trace McSorley. In his final start, he’ll be able to run riot over an average Kentucky defense.

Matt: PSU — My biggest issue with Kentucky is that they are just awful at scoring points. This Penn State team, however, is very good at scoring points. For me, this pick comes down to a basic belief that Penn State will score points at a rate that Kentucky just can’t keep up with. Take the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State (-6) vs. Washington: Rose Bowl

Avery: OSU — I saw all I needed to see out of Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. Urban Meyer gets his team up for big games, and in his final contest as a head coach, he’ll be able to lead his team to a blowout victory.

Matt: OSU — The day full of blowout matchup continues! Ohio State wins the rose bowl in a dominant fashion (I’m still a little salty it’s not us too) but Haskins proves to be too much.

Georgia (-11.5) vs. Texas: Sugar Bowl

Avery: Texas — I’m not sure how motivated Georgia is going to be after getting snubbed from the CFP. Texas keeps this game close but Georgia wins by a touchdown.

Matt: Texas — I think that Georgia has a tough time getting motivated for the game and this spread is JUST wide enough to account for Texas. Take the Longhorns against the spread but not money line. Side note: this game has two of the best mascots of college football taking part in it.