Last Updated on December 16, 2010 7:04 pm by drew
College Football Bowl Trends
With the 2010-11 College Football Bowl Season set to kick off on Saturday, it is time to look at all the key trends to each bowl game.
Three games get the bowl season going on Saturday and the most intriguing game is Northern Illinois taking on Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl. Oddsmakers from online sportsbook Sportsbook.com have the Huskies as a 1-point favorite. Trends show that Northern Illinois is just 1-5-1 against the spread in their last 7 games against the WAC.
The big game is obviously the BCS National Championship on January 10. Oddsmakers have Auburn as a 3-point favorite against Oregon in the title game. Both teams have strong trends backing their cases but Auburn is 7-1-1 against the spread in their last 9 games as a favorite of 3 points or less.
For a complete breakdown of all of the key trends for the all the college football bowl games, see below.
2010 College Football Bowl Game Trends:
Saturday, Dec. 18
New Mexico Bowl -UTEP (6-6) vs. BYU (6-6), 2 p.m. (ESPN)
BYU is 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games on a neutral site while UTEP is 8-21 ATS in their last 29 games following a cover in their last game.
Humanitarian Bowl – Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Fresno State (8-4), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Northern Illinois is 0-6 against the spread in their last 6 games on a neutral site while Fresno State has covered in their last four bowl games as an underog.
New Orleans Bowl – Ohio (8-4) vs. Troy (7-5), 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Ohio is 7-1 against the spread in their last 8 games as an underdog while Troy is 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games against the Mid-American Conference.
Tuesday, Dec. 21
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl – Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Mississippi (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Louisville is 5-0 against the spread in their last 5 meetings against Southern Miss while the Golden Eagles are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Wednesday, Dec. 22
MAACO Bowl – Utah (10-2) vs. Boise State (11-1), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Utah is 7-1 against the spread in their last 8 bowl games while Boise State is just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in the month of December.
Thursday, Dec. 23
Poinsettia Bowl – San Diego State (8-4) vs. Navy (8-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Navy is 14-2 against the spread in their last 16 games against the Mountain West Conference while San Diego State is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a cover.
Friday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl – Hawaii (10-3) vs. Tulsa (9-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Hawaii has covered the spread in their last 7 home games while Tulsa is 6-1 against the spread in their last 7 games on fieldturf.
Sunday, Dec. 26
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl – Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Toledo is 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games as a favorite while Florida International is just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a failed cover.
Monday, Dec. 27
Independence Bowl – Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. Air Force (8-4), 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
Air Force is 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 non-conference games while Georiga Tech is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
Tuesday, Dec. 28
Champs Sports Bowl – North Carolina State (8-4) vs. West Virginia (9-3), 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
N.C. State is 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 games after a loss while West Virginia is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 bowl games as a favorite.
Insight Bowl – Missouri (10-2) vs. Iowa (7-5), 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Missouri is 0-4 against the spread in their last 4 games in December while Iowa is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 bowl games.
Wednesday, Dec. 29
Military Bowl – East Carolina (6-6) vs. Maryland (8-4), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
East Carolina is 2-9 against the spread in their last 11 non-conference games while Maryland is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
Texas Bowl – Baylor (7-5) vs. Illinois (6-6), 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Illinois is 8-1 against the spread in their last 9 games as an underdog while Baylor is 1-4 ATS int heir last 5 games overall.
Alamo Bowl – Arizona (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (10-2), 9:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Arizona is 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 games following a loss while Oklahoma State is 24-6-2 ATS in their last 32 games as a favorite of 3.5-to-10 points.
Thursday, Dec. 30
Armed Forces Bowl – SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5), Noon (ESPN)
SMU is just 2-6 against the spread in their last 8 games against Independent teams while Army is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Conference USA opponents.
Pinstripe Bowl – Syracuse (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Syracuse is 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 games following a loss while Kansas State has failed to cover in their last 4 bowl games.
Music City Bowl – North Carolina (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6), 6:40 p.m. (ESPN)
Tennessee has failed to cover in their last 4 games against the ACC while North Carolina has covered in their last four games against SEC opponents.
Holiday Bowl – Nebraska (10-3) vs. Washington (6-6), 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Nebraska is 7-1-1 against the spread in their last 9 non-conference games while Washington is 8-21 ATS in their last 29 games following a cover.
Friday, Dec. 31
Meineke Bowl – Clemson (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5), Noon (ESPN)
South Florida is 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 against the ACC while the Tigers are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
Sun Bowl – Notre Dame (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5), 2 p.m. (CBS)
Notre Dame is 6-1 against the spread in their last 7 games as an underdog while Miami is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after a straight up loss.
Liberty Bowl – Georgia (6-6) vs. UCF (10-3), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Georgia is just 1-6 against the spread in their last 7 games against a team with a winning record while Central Florida is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as an underdog.
Chick-fil-A Bowl – South Carolina (9-4) vs. Florida State (9-4), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
South Carolina is 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 games at a neutral site while Florida State is 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 bowl games.
Saturday, Jan. 1
TicketCity Bowl – Northwestern (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-5), Noon (ESPNU)
Arizona is 1-8 against the spread in their last 9 games and Texas Tech is currently 4-1 ATS in their last five games played on fieldturf.
Capital One Bowl – Michigan State (11-1) vs. Alabama (9-3), 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Alabama is 2-9 against the spread in their last 11 games following a loss while Michigan State is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games following a victory.
Outback Bowl – Florida (7-5) vs. Penn State (7-5), 1 p.m. (ABC)
Florida is 6-1 against the spread in their last 7 games at a neutral site while Penn State is just 2-8 ATS in their last 8 games out of conference.
Gator Bowl – Michigan (7-5) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Michigan has covered the spread in their last 6 non-conference games while Mississippi State is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a cover.
Rose Bowl – TCU (12-0) vs. Wisconsin (11-1), 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Wisconsin is just 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 games against the Mountain West Conference while TCU is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Fiesta Bowl – Connecticut (8-4) vs. Oklahoma (11-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Oklahoma is 0-4 against the spread in their last four bowl games while Connecticut is 4-0 ATS in their last four games as an underog.
Monday, Jan. 3
Orange Bowl – Stanford (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Stanford is 4-0-1 against the spread in their last 5 games following a win while Virginia Tech is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Tuesday, Jan. 4
Sugar Bowl – Ohio State (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Arkansas is just 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 bow games while Ohio State is 8-0 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games.
Thursday, Jan. 6
GoDaddy.com Bowl – Miami (Ohio) (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee (6-6), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Miami is 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games while Middle Tennessee is just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Friday, Jan. 7
Cotton Bowl – Texas A&M (9-3) vs. LSU (10-2), 8 p.m. (FOX)
Texas A&M is 0-7 against the spread in their last 7 neutral site games while LSU is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
Saturday, Jan. 8
BBVA Compass Bowl – Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6), Noon (ESPN)
Pittsburgh is 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 bowl games while Kentucky is 12-3-1 in their last 16 non-conference games.
Sunday, Jan. 9
Fight Hunger Bowl – Boston College (7-5) vs. Nevada (12-1), 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Boston College is 1-6 against the spread in their last 7 neutral site games while Nevada is 1-4 AS in their last 5 bowl games.
Monday, Jan. 10
BCS National Championship – Auburn (13-0) vs. Oregon (12-0), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Auburn has covered in 6 of their last 7 games while Oregon is just 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record.
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