Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Central Michigan vs. Wyoming
Line: Pick
McElroy: Central Michigan (13)
Galloway: Wyoming (19)
Palmer: Central Michigan (6)
My Pick: Central Michigan (9)
Result: Wyoming wins 37-14
I’ll be honest, this was a blunder on my part. A large blunder. Paying attention to more than just the stats would have helped here, as Wyoming’s starting quarterback returned for this game after missing the previous two. I mentioned in my preview that Wyoming has a great pass defense, and it showed up in this game when they picked off Central Michigan four times.
Foster Farms Bowl – Arizona vs. Purdue
Line: Arizona -4.5
McElroy: Arizona (8)
Galloway: Arizona (30)
Palmer: Arizona (32)
My Pick: Purdue (13)
Result: Purdue wins 38-35
Let me just begin by saying I love Jeff Brohm and his entire coaching staff. He made Western Kentucky’s football program a Conference USA powerhouse and in one year led Purdue to a winning record after five straight years of losing. Brohm has still never lost a bowl game, yet still is not as widely respected as he should be in the national media.
The reason so many experts were picking Arizona was because of one player – quarterback Khalil Tate. Yes, he put up some ridiculous numbers this year and was excellent in the Foster Farms Bowl, but Arizona’s defense once again proved to be a liability, allowing 38 points to the nation’s 87th-ranked scoring offense (averaging 28 PPG on the season). Betting the underdog here would have netted $16 on a $10 bet, and parlaying all three underdogs so far at $10 would have returned about $221. As for my work pool, only 18 of 62 people picked Purdue, so the Boilermakers proved to be a great value in pick ‘em pools too.
Camping World Bowl – #22 Virginia Tech vs. #19 Oklahoma State
Line: Oklahoma State -6.5
McElroy: Virginia Tech (3)
Galloway: Oklahoma State (15)
Palmer: Oklahoma State (33)
My Pick: Virginia Tech (11)
Result: Oklahoma State wins 30-21
This is where the fun with underdogs ends (at least for these games – there were some huge upsets in a few games I’m leaving out). I thought Virginia Tech would be a good value pick since everyone else (both at ESPN and in my work pool) seemed to really like Oklahoma State. It turns out they liked Oklahoma State for good reason. I liked Virginia Tech because Oklahoma State had seen few defenses as good as the Hokies over the course of the season, but the Cowboys had no problem shredding Virginia Tech for almost 500 total yards of offense. Oops.
