2024 College Football Bowl Previews (Dec 16th)

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern Eagles (6-6) vs Ohio Bobcats (9-3)

What you need to know: Georgia Southern is coached by Clay Helton (yes this is where he landed after USC) and they have a high flying passing offense. Their QB Davis Brin is very exciting to watch because when he throws the ball chances are something crazy will happen (both TDs or INTs). Ohio won’t have their star QB Kurtis Rourke as he transferred out, the Bobcats also lost a few other players to the portal. The offense will be bogged down, but this is a chance for a very underrated defense to shine. Halfway through last year Ohio’s defense was very bad and now they’re one of the best in the MAC.

Previous Meetings: First time matchup!! Ohio and Georgia Southern have never played each other. They have no future matchups scheduled.

Motivation Edge: Ohio is hoping to cap off a strong season with 10 wins, Georgia Southern needs this to not end the season with a 5 game losing streak. It feels like Ohio is a little more motivated.

Best bet: Under 54.5 – watch this number as it might dip. Ohio turned into a defense first team this year, and Vegas hasn’t caught on to that. Ohio games were 3-8-1 to the under this year. Kurtis Rourke transferred out which will lead to struggles for Ohio’s offense. Georgia Southern has a good offense but it has struggled more lately. Keep an eye on this line too, Ohio has it tough with opt outs, but Clay Helton hasn’t won a bowl since 2016.

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State Gamecocks (8-4) vs Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (6-6)

What you need to know: Jacksonville State is coached by Rich Rodriguez and is in their first year transitioning to FBS. They run the fastest paced offense in college football but their defense is quietly very good. Louisiana is solid offensively, and is mostly a balanced attack. Their starting QB Zeon Chriss suffered a broken fibula earlier this month, the backup Chandler Fields has filled in well but doesn’t offer the same running threat as Chriss, so the Cajuns lean more to passing now. Louisiana’s biggest issue is their defense struggles to get off the field on 3rd downs, the Cajuns must fix this in the bowl game. Getting off the field early is critical against Jax State’s high tempo attack.

Previous Meetings: Louisiana and Jacksonville State met once, in 2000, in what was a 28-14 FCS over FBS win for Jacksonville State. Jacksonville State didn’t even have a great season finishing 4-6. Louisiana was in their last year lost in the wilderness as an independent before joining the Sun Belt. They only won 1 game all season, not a good year for the Cajuns. They don’t have any future meetings scheduled.

Motivation Edge: Both are very motivated Jacksonville State was told all season they weren’t going to go bowling because of a stupid NCAA rule, and Louisiana is always excited to play in the New Orleans bowl. Still Jacksonville State has the edge.

Best Bet: I struggle to get a read on these two, but the total is currently at 56.5 which is rather high for a game involving Jax State so there’s decent value there.

Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl: Miami Redhawks (11-2) vs Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-5)

What you need to know: Miami is coached by longtime coach Chuck Martin who’s having his best season with the Redhawks in his 10th season there. Miami will be down to their 3rd string QB this game, but the centerpiece of this team is their tremendous defense and perhaps the best special teams in the country led by kicker Graham Nicholson, and punter Alex Bevelhimer. Appalachian State is nearly the opposite, their offense is one of the 30 best in college football, but their defense is surprisingly not a vintage Appalachian State defense. The Mountaineers can get taken advantage of on that side of the ball.

Previous Meetings: First time matchup!! Miami and Appalachian State have never played each other. They have no future matchups scheduled.

Motivation Edge: Miami would love to beat a brand like Appalachian State to cap off a strong season and finish in the Top 25 (Rank the Redhawks you cowards!!). Appalachian State would love nothing more than to upset them here and end the season strong. Miami feels accomplished thanks to their conference championship win, Appalachian State is pissed after losing the Sun Belt, I’ll go Mountaineers here.

Best Bet: Miami +6.5 – The Mountaineers traditionally show up for bowls, and they were undefeated in them until 2021, then missed a bowl last year. They will be hungry to start out a new streak. Miami hasn’t been great in bowl games and will be starting a 3rd string QB. I just think Appalachian State’s defensive struggles will still allow Miami to establish their slow pace of play in this game and cover. This number is trending App State so waiting until closer to kick could get you a better number.

Isleta New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State Aggies (10-4) vs Fresno State (8-4)

What you need to know: New Mexico State is having the best season they’ve had since 1960!! It’s truly incredible, I don’t know how Jerry Kill (their HC) has done it but he’s giving this program some of their best seasons ever overnight. New Mexico State’s QBs are a reason to watch, this is the last chance to see Diego Pavia if he plays and he’s an electric factory, but freshman backup Blaze Berlowitz showed in the conference championship that he’s fun too. The Aggies run the ball well but Pavia makes a lot of plays out of play action as well. Jeff Tedford is sitting this game out due to health concerns so Fresno State will have an interim coach for this game. Fresno State was one of the best Mountain West teams to start the year but injuries hurt them down the stretch. QB Mikey Keene has battled all year with injuries but it looks like he’s available for this game, however the defense has dropped off. If you didn’t know (I had to look this up), Isleta is a resort and casino in New Mexico. After looking it up, I want to go there for my next vacation (not a paid ad, we aren’t anywhere near big enough for paid ads.)

Previous Meetings: New Mexico State and Fresno State have met 19 times, mostly thanks to sharing conferences together, most recently in the WAC. Fresno State holds an 18-1 edge. The most recent meeting was a non-conference game in 2019, Fresno State won that meeting 30-17 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score. New Mexico State actually beat Fresno State for the first time in their last game as WAC foes in 2011, Fresno State wanted nothing to do with the Aggies for a few years after that.

Motivation Edge: Bowl games are not common for New Mexico State, this is the first time going back to back since 1960, so yeah, they’re pretty excited to be here. Being able to play and potentially win in their rival’s stadium while New Mexico can only watch just makes it sweeter. Fresno State had their sights on much bigger things before they collapsed in November, but this is a return to the location of their lowest point of the season this year so they could always want to avenge that. Still New Mexico State seems to have the edge here.

Best Bet: New Mexico State -3 – the Aggies are excited to be here and Fresno State is going in the wrong direction to end the year. Injuries have hurt the Bulldogs.

Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk: UCLA Bruins (7-5) vs Boise State Broncos (8-5)

What you need to know: Chip Kelly is still the coach at UCLA, but this is not a vintage Chip Kelly team. The offense has been a revolving door of QBs all season and struggled mightily. Meanwhile the Bruins defense was near dominant at times, but their DC went to crosstown rival USC. Boise State was staring their worst season in decades in the face and fired their coach. What happened under interim coach Spencer Danielson was incredible. The Broncos somewhat backed their way into the MWC championship game thanks to collapses from other teams in the conference, but once they got their they looked like vintage Boise State again. This bowl game will be a true test of that. This bowl is apparently presented by Gronk? I’m assuming we’ll see him partying around the stadium or in the stands or something.

Previous Meetings: These programs have only met once, all the way back in 1999. UCLA won big 38-7, but both programs would go in opposite directions after the game. UCLA collapsed to 4-7, Boise State would rebound to 10-3. They have no future meetings scheduled, and likely never will Boise State tried for years to schedule UCLA with no success.

Motivation Edge: Boise State looks revitalized ever since Danielson took over and they would love nothing more than to knock off a LA school. UCLA might be happy to be near home, but they might be disappointed to be here.

Best Bet: Under 49.5 – UCLA is struggling a lot to juggle QBs throughout the latter half of the season and overall the offense capsized in November outside of when they thumped USC. That combined with the Bruins defense will lead to a low scoring game I suspect.

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: California Golden Bears (6-6) vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-6)

What you need to know: Cal’s program has struggled mightily since Covid, but this year was a rebound. The key to this improvement was they finally had a good offense under Justin Wilcox. That offense was led by RB Jaydyn Ott who is a special athlete. Texas Tech is known for offense themselves and as you could expect, the Red Raiders absolutely love to throw the ball all around. Sophomore Behren Morton had some struggles at times but he can absolutely sling it. Neither defense is particularly threatening either.

Previous Meetings: These programs only met once, in the 2004 Holiday Bowl and it was a controversial one. Cal had a near dream season loaded with tons of familiar faces we know today such as Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch. Cal only had one loss all year, by 6 on the road to eventual National Champ USC, but Cal was left out of the Rose Bowl for Texas instead. Mike Leach (RIP) with Sonny Cumbie at QB led the Red Raiders to a big upset in that game.

Motivation Edge: Needless to say there’s much less controversy in this matchup this time around but it’s going to be a fun one. Cal has struggled massively since Covid and had to win their last game to make a bowl so they’re excited to be here, Texas Tech has a bowl winning streak going on so they’re going to bring it too. Cal might be slightly more excited though.

Best Bet: Texas Tech -2.5 – Cal is excited to be here but it’s hard to pick against Texas Tech because they’ve been strong in bowl games the last few years. The over isn’t a bad idea either.