We promised to post a list of this week’s bowls and start times on this week’s College Football Roundtable, and as promised, here it is.
As always, we’ve listed the lines below against their direction of movement. For example, Army at Georgia State opened at Army (+4) but slid to Army (+2). We therefore listed it on the other side, i.e. against the movement, “Georgia State (-2)”. Because Georgia State (-2) is obviously a better bet than Georgia State (-4).
All lines come via OddsShark, save the Celebration Bowl, which I had to look up myself in The Tennessean, of all places. Meanwhile, ESPN has coverage on all of these, save the Cure Bowl, which will be on ESPN2.
[video_embed url=”https://youtu.be/oBW2ViVwYW0″ embed_style=”default”]
Friday, Dec. 17th
12 p.m. – Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee (+10) vs. Toledo
6 p.m. – Cure Bowl: Northern Illinois (+11) vs. Coastal Carolina
I have no idea whether either of these will be particularly compelling, but NIU (+11) is one of the better bets in this first week of bowl games. The Huskies have a great running game and a strong downfield passing attack, and they also do pretty well stopping the run. That might not be enough to put them over, but I expect the game itself to be fairly close.
Back like we never left.🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆#MACChamps #PL4Y #TheHardWay pic.twitter.com/LCKUwBdUxa
— NIU Football (@NIU_Football) December 4, 2021
Saturday, Dec 18, 2021
11:00 a.m. – Boca Raton Bowl: WKU (+3) vs. Appalachian State
12:00 p.m. – Celebration Bowl: SC State vs. Jackson State (-9.5)
2:15 p.m. – New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. UTEP (-11.5)
3:30 p.m. – Independence Bowl: UAB vs. #13 BYU (-6.5)
5:45 p.m. – LendingTree Bowl: Liberty vs. Eastern Michigan (+9)
7:30 p.m. – LA Bowl: Oregon State vs. Utah State (+7.5)
9:15 p.m. – New Orleans Bowl: #23 Louisiana (-5) vs. Marshall
A bunch of these could be great games, but the first two are the best two. As we said on the show, WKU QB Bailey Zappe is absolutely the real deal. If you haven’t watched him play this season, you absolutely must catch him at least once. He’s a polished pocket-passer and will be an outstanding pro.
Seriously, there are not a lot of college programs running legit pocket-passing offenses. Zappe has got a real chance if he can just get the right opportunity.
The other marquee game is the Celebration Bowl, aka the HBCU National Championship. With Coach Prime Time signing the nation’s #1 high school recruit out from under FSU, now seems like the perfect time to catch up on football at the nation’s historically black colleges and universities. Looks to me like HBCU football is on the verge of a serious national resurgence.
I watch the Celebration Bowl every year and think, “This must be what it feels like to watch Army-Navy as a civilian.” Plus, the game itself is always awesome.
Finally, we’ve got Oregon State vs. Utah State at the LA Bowl. No idea how Utah State is catching points ‘cause I’ll be shocked if they don’t win outright.
No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter is joining Deion Sanders 🔥👏 @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/WlL5E2Hcm6
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 15, 2021
Monday, Dec 20, 2021
2:30 p.m. – Myrtle Beach Bowl: Old Dominion (+9.5) vs. Tulsa
📲 Myrtle Beach Bowl Wallpapers 👑🌀 pic.twitter.com/QfxnTdIhSn
— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) December 8, 2021
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2021
3:30 p.m. – Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Kent State vs. Wyoming (-3)
7:30 p.m. – Frisco Bowl: UTSA (-2.5) vs. #24 San Diego State
The Frisco Bowl is another absolute must-watch. Not sure I agree that the Roadrunners ought to be giving points, but both these teams are outstanding, and this promises to be one Hell of an interesting contest.
The first conference championship team in program history. 🏆😤#210TriangleOfToughness | #BirdsUp 🤙 pic.twitter.com/z08wIhiKQ0
— UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) December 13, 2021
Wednesday, Dec 22, 2021
8:00 p.m. – Armed Forces Bowl: Army vs. Missouri (+4)
James will have our full preview of the Armed Forces Bowl later this week. Again, though, for the “nobody cares about Academy Football” crowd, it’s telling that this is one of the few games scheduled fully for Prime Time.
A few assholes notwithstanding, I’m expecting to see a full stadium and good television ratings.
Black Knights represented well on @philsteele042's 2021 All-Independent Team 🙌🙌🙌
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) December 14, 2021
Congrats to the 9️⃣ selections‼️#GoArmy
⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MTHD5x0nh4
Thursday, Dec 23, 2021
3:30 p.m. – Frisco Football Classic: Miami (Ohio) (-3) vs. North Texas
7:00 p.m. – Gasparilla Bowl: Florida vs. UCF (-6.5)
The Florida State FBS Championship Game ought to be fascinating, not least because everyone I know is picking UCF to win in a walk. Speaking personally, though, I’d bet North Texas (+3) if I absolutely had to pick a winner in one of these games.
Let’s make it a 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 game.
— North Texas Football (@MeanGreenFB) December 5, 2021
ꜰʀɪꜱᴄᴏ ꜰᴏᴏᴛʙᴀʟʟ ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱɪᴄ
🆚 Miami (Ohio)
🗓️ Dec. 23
📍 Frisco, Texas
🏟️ Toyota Stadium
⏰ 2:30 p.m. CT
📺 ESPN
💻 https://t.co/pIJsPJpyzF
📝 https://t.co/AAqSsmWNDi#GMG 🟢🦅 pic.twitter.com/CXwvhVHam9
Friday, Dec 24, 2021
8:00 p.m. – Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Hawaii (+7.5)
You know who loves the Hawai’i Bowl? Every father in America who’s gonna spend half the night wrapping and/or putting toys together, so they can be found by eager kids on Christmas morning.
God bless you, Hawai’i Bowl.
And God bless us, everyone.
ICYMI: This years matchup is between @HawaiiFootball and @MemphisFB! See you on Christmas Eve!
— The Hawai'i Bowl (@HawaiiBowl) December 6, 2021
⏰: 3pm HT/8pm ET
📍: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex
🎫: https://t.co/FOpQQoWfnS#EasyPost #HawaiiBowl #MadeinHawaiiPlayedinHawaii#CFB #CollegeFootball #BowlSeason #ESPNEvents pic.twitter.com/AFmyd4lkI0
Go Army! Beat Mizzou!!!
*Cover image via UTSA Football on Twitter.
