Look,it’s not your fault. There’s hard data to support why this entire region of the country could, for the most part, care less about College football, or at least care SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than the rest of this great nation. Without beating y’all over the head with a history lesson, the rest of the country established public universities for each state after the passage of the Morrill Land Grant Act and that is what made schools like Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Ohio State, and yes, even The Penn State University the predominant schools in their states. But where Penn State falls by the wayside is the fact that this state (the good half, this half, not Shittsburgh) as well as the rest of the I-95 corridor already had countless private and parochial colleges and universities established, which led to the fragmented nature of university culture in this section of ‘Murica. Additionally, the population density in this region has resulted in professional sports being abundant, most I-95 cities have the 4 major sports present (no, not you Baltimore, no one cares) which means the civic pride surrounds those teams, hello, I have to do Eagles pieces in the middle of hockey season for a fucking reason… instead of the college football teams that dominate smaller markets across the American South, Midwest and even Pacific coast. So before moving on, like I said, it’s not your fault, but now’s as good a time as any to jump onboard the fun bus! The College Football Playoff is down to 8 teams and there’s two that you can easily jump on the bandwagon, like countless others in the northeast or eastern PA specifically as the case may be.
Now that we are down to the quarterfinals (that’s right, we started with 12), over the next evening and holiday we will be treated to 4 playoff bowl games. You should watch for the simple fact that college football is more entertaining than the NFL. From close battles and mistakes from 18-22 year old kids, to the pomp and circumstance surrounding traditions and marching bands, to even blowouts and trash being thrown on the field at refs (looking at you Texas), college football is less sterile than its pro counterpart. So I’m going to give you the 2 cents guide to each game and my pick for placing a wager on each (if you enjoy that sort of thing). And before you ask, why the f*&% should we take your gambling advice JJ? I’ll say that I am a risk-averse gambler and that those who followed my now-dead previous internet works which focused solely on betting college football and the NHL probably missed me the last few months (like, subscribe, and follow you Numpties, I’m back!)
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl TONIGHT @ 7:30 Penn State vs Boise State
This, on paper looks like a massive mismatch, Penn State’s defense is elite and the offense is good enough to party. Boise State has the most prolific rusher of the year in future Dallas Cowboys first-round pick Ashton Jeanty. The Nittany Lion defense against Ashton is the kind of matchup that makes college football worth watching regardless of what tiny School of the Seven Sisters College you graduated from (really?! Bryn Mawr!! Why!?!?)
In terms of gambling, both teams are actually undefeated in Fiesta Bowls so this one decides ultimate Glendale supremacy as well as who moves on to the semi-finals. I see this game going one of two ways, either Penn State has the depth and talent to impose their will on the plucky Mountain West team whose only loss on the year is to #1 Oregon and Penn State covers the 11.5 and the under probably is also good at less than 54.5, but… The other game that could playout is a shootout that sees the winner close out less than that 11.5 and the over hits in the opening stages of the second half (which is a much more entertaining game to watch but, to each their own). All the bandwagon PA and even NJ people jumping on Penn State will either get the norm for PSU in Franklin losing the big one, or a nice win into the semifinal.
Pick: PASS, if there’s not a clear and obvious play, then don’t.
Chik Fil A Peach Bowl Tomorrow @ 1pm Texas vs Arizona State
I might be biased on this one, forgive me. Texas as the 5 seed has been deemed by the legacy media that I hate oh so much (aside from you Ray Didy) to have been gifted the easiest road to the semis with Clemson in the opening round, who they trounced (Clemson was not good enough to be there, but good enough to win the ACC, a near poverty conference in my opinion). But that seems like a lot of disrespect to put on the hottest team in America and your BIG XII Champs, Forks Up bay bee! Texas had a light schedule aside from Georgia twice, and look what happened there… ASU plays with an attitude that hasn’t been in the San Tan Valley for decades and the offense runs (literally) through #4 Cam Skattebo. This future Day 2 draft pick runs angry. Texas has the 63rd ranked run defense in college ball and if you look at the way the numbers have been trending on this game, hopefully you took the Sun Devils when it was 14.5.
The spread is trending down to 11.5-12 depending on your preferred book of choice (I won’t divulge mine, we hear at GENY are completely for sale so holler at your boy if you want your ads plastered around my wisdom!) I have to mention that I have degrees from ASU so I might be a bit biased, but I see them covering a double digit spread so I have them at 14.5, 12.5, 10, 7, and even a sprinkle on the moneyline for good measure. In terms of the total, at 51.5-ish I LOVE the over. “Love it so much I wanna take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant!” (Tracey Jordan) This game will be the perfect way to shake off the New Year’s Eve drinking by either going through the rehydration and recovery process, or by hair of the dogging this piece into homeostasis.
PICK: WATCH THE F*#%ING GAME AND TAKE THE OVER (for my real sickos out there I like the Sun Devils to also cover the number, but again, I might be compromised)
The Rose Bowl Game Tomorrow 5pm Ohio State vs Oregon
The more things change the more they stay the same. The Rose Bowl Game is in the early evening on New Year’s Day and features a Big 10 stalwart against a former Pac 10 stalwart… These two played a classic earlier this year that came down to the last seconds and a clock management gaffe by the OSU QB to give the home Ducks the 1 point win. This game will be a gem, definitely worth the watch. The winner of this game is definitely 100% the favorite to win the National Title (pipe down Michigan fans, no one cares).
In terms of handicapping the game, it’s tough to pick against the total because the first game went over the current number of 55.5 by 7.5 but this game could be trench warfare. Gun to my metaphorical head I take the over due to the confines being the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which should aid scoring compared to Columbus or even Eugene. In terms of the side, Oregon won the first game and is currently getting 2.5 due to the absolute destruction that OSU committed against Tennessee.
I went to undergrad in the Southeast, I understand that it does just mean more in SEC country (mostly because the settings that land grant schools were established in the Southeast allowed them to flourish into having a religion-like status as the major shark in small ponds, but anyways). But I think the SEC bias might need to pump its’ brakes after what I’ve seen this season. I’m taking the points and the only undefeated team in ‘Murica.
PICK: Oregon +2.5 (I also would lean over since it’s the Rose Bowl Game)
AllState Sugar Bowl Tomorrow 8:45pm Notre Dame vs Georgia
This one is going to be an instant classic. Write it down. Both defenses are elite, as in could probably not completely embarrass themselves going up against the elite offenses of previous seasons (like they could make LSU Joe Burrow look human, he’d still beat them, but he’d look human, seriously that LSU offense might be the best of all time). This is that other team that people from our neck of the woods are 100% allowed to jump on the bandwagon… I think the rule is if you went to Catholic school EVER or at least were baptized in the eyes of our Catholic Lord then you can definitely root for the Irish, and if you’re Irish and not Catholic, well I’m not going to litigate The Troubles.
Anyways, back to football. Both offenses have talent littered throughout, yes even with Georgia starter Carson Beck out for the remainder of the playoffs. But these defenses are going to shine in this game, despite it being played on the track that is the Superdome that clearly favors the one cutting, not the one reacting. This setting is why I think the total is the riskier play, at 45.5 the books seem to agree with me that it’s more than likely the defenses are the star of the game, but a pick 6 or fumble return could be the difference between an over or under. I like Notre Dame to get the win here and advance, simply because the Dawgs offense is not what it was even a season ago, so I think that Notre Dame’s offense is better and in a game where points will be at a premium, that’s all I need.
PICK: Notre Dame +1.5 (lean under, but it’s a VERY SLIGHT LEAN)
With that being said, and it was a lot of things I said, that’s it, Happy New Year’s thanks for reading and I’ll write up another one of these for the semis… Fork ‘Em Devils!
