The 2009 Bowl Season continues tonight, and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s Holiday Bowl between the Arizona Wildcats and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Nebraska as 3-point favorites with a total of 41.5.

Arizona (8-4 SU, 6-6 Against The Spread) won five of its last seven games both SU and Against The Spread, including a 21-17 win at USC as a 7-point road dog in its final game of the regular season. Arizona QB Nick Foles threw for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Trojans. Foles connected on a 36-yard TD pass to Juron Criner with 3:14 left in the 4th quarter that proved to be the game winner for the ‘Cats.

Nebraska (9-4 SU, 8-5 Against The Spread) is coming off a true heartbreaker after losing 13-12 to Texas in the Big 12 Conference Championship. The Cornhuskers celebrated what appeared to be an upset as 14-point dogs when Colt McCoy threw an incomplete pass that hurled out of bounds with no time left on the clock.  But after further review, the official put 1 second back on the clock, allowing Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence to boot a 46-yard field goal as time expired. The 25 total points stayed Under the 45-point closing total.

Nebraska won five consecutive games to end the regular season, but it was just 2-3 against the spread.  The Cornhuskers are 2-1 Against The Spread as single-digit favorites. The Nebraska defense has been the story this year as they are ranked second in the nation behind only Alabama, allowing just 11.2 points per game. Their defensive unit is led by Outland Trophy winner and Heisman finalist Ndamukong Suh, whose power, speed and agility gives opposing offensive lineman all they can handle.

Arizona is 3-2 Against The Spread in their five underdog spots in 2009. The Under is 10-3 overall for Nebraska, 7-5 overall for Arizona.

If you are wondering who will cover the spread in the Holiday Bowl, try FiveStarPick.com tonight and eliminate the guesswork. For only $19.99 you can test us out and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

The 2009 Bowl Season continues tonight, and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s Champs Sports Bowl between the Miami Hurricanes and the Wisconsin Badgers.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Miami as 3-point favorites with a total of 58.

Wisconsin (9-3 SU, 5-6 Against The Spread) finished up the regular season winning four of its last five games.  Last year after a 7-6 record, the Badgers came to the Champs Sports Bowl to take on Florida State. They got crushed 42-13.

This year the Badgers have improved, but they still are somewhat one dimensional, relying heavily on the running game. Wisconsin is ranked 14th in the country with 31 rushing touchdowns and 206.7 rushing YPG.  In addition, they have the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in John Clay. As the starting RB, Clay has amassed 1,396 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2009.

Miami (9-3 SU, 6-5 Against The Spread) will try to counter the Badger running game with a rush defense that is giving up just 118.3 YPG on the ground, good enough for a 28th rank nationally. And these numbers are against teams with solid running games like Georgia Tech and Oklahoma.

Wisconsin was a lot better this year against the pass, giving up just 219.9 passing YPG, but Miami and Jacory Harris are 27th in the nation throwing the ball with 268.1 YPG. Harris has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 3,164 yards and 23 touchdowns. Miami also has a solid ground game behind a pair of running backs in Craig Cooper and Javarris James.  The duo has combined for 1,157 yards and nine touchdowns.

Now let’s talk trends…In their last ten bowl appearances, Wisconsin is 4-6 Against The Spread, while Miami, is 7-3 Against The Spread in as many. The Badgers are 1-3 Against The Spread versus the ACC. Miami is 2-2 Against The Spread against the Big Ten since 1999.

If you are wondering who will cover the spread in the Champs Sports Bowl, try FiveStarPick.com tonight and eliminate the guesswork. For only $19.99 you can test us out and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

The 2009 Bowl Season continues tonight and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s Independence Bowl between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Georgia Bulldogs.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Georgia as 6.5-point favorites with a total of 66.5.

Texas A&M (6-6 straight up, 6-5 against the spread) has Quarterback Jerrod Johnson (3,672 total yards, 36 total TDs) who’s running the top ranked offense in the Big 12 and fifth ranked team nationally in total yards (465). Johnson’s offense has averaged 33.9 points per game this year and he was picked just six times in 12 games.

So why are the Aggies just 6-6 this season?  Bad defense!  The Aggies gave up 431 YPG and 32.7 PPG, which ranked dead-last in the Big 12. The Aggies gave up 30-plus points in eight of their 12 games, twice allowing over 40-points and twice giving up 60 (Kansas State and Oklahoma).  The Aggies do boast the nation’s sack leader in junior Von Miller (17 sacks).

Georgia’s (7-5 SU, 4-7 ATS) quarterback Joe Cox (2.426 yards, 22 TDs) isn’t Matthew Stafford, but he has helped Georgia close the year with 38, 31, 27 and 30 points in its final four games.  Georgia’s running game was led by freshman Washaun Ealey (637 yards) and sophomore Caleb King (534 yards, 5 TDs). The wide receiver corps was lead by A.J. Green (47 catches, 6 TDs). Green missed three of Georgia’s last four games this year with a shoulder injury, but is expected to play tonight.

The Dawgs also have have major issues on defense. Georgia’s defense allowed 26.4 PPG this year, which ranked 10th in the SEC and 70th in the nation. Georgia gave up 34 points or more in five games this year, three times giving up 40-plus.  Head coach Mark Richt was pissed and let go of his defensive coordinator and two other staffers after the season.  What’s interesting is that Richt said he’ll be personally creating the defensive schemes against the Aggies. Remember, Richt is a former quarterback and offensive coordinator. This might not be good. Georgia has one of the nation’s worst turnover margins (-17) in 12 games. Only Miami-Ohio (-24) was worse nationally.

National coverage of this game starts at 5:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2 under clear skies and temperatures in the mid-forties.

If you are wondering who will cover the spread in the Independence Bowl, try FiveStarPick.com tonight and eliminate the guesswork. For only $19.99 you can test us out and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

The 2009 Bowl Season continues today and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze the Meineke Car Care Bowl between the UNC Tar Heels and the Pittsburgh Panthers.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Pittsburgh as 3-point favorites with a total of 45.

Most Vegas books opened Pittsburgh (9-3 SU, 7-4 against the spread) as a two-point favorite with a total of 47.  As of today, most books had Pitt favored by 2.5 to as much as 3 with the total at 45. 

North Carolina (8-4 SU, 6-5 Against The Spread) was on a four-game winning streak both SU and Against The Spread until a 28-27 loss at N.C. St. as a 5-point road favorites.

This is Butch Davis’ 3rd year at the helm of UNC and today’s game will be his 2nd bowl appearance. The Tar Heels lost a heartbreaker 31-30 to West Virginia last year in the Meineke Bowl, but they did cover as two-point dogs. UNC is ranked first in the ACC in run defense and total defense.  They are giving up just 16.9 points per game.  UNC’s catalyst is Junior QB T.J. Yates.  Yates has a 12/14 TD-INT ratio this year, not so good.  When he is on he can be unstoppable, but when he is off he can be a major liability.

Pitt was 9-1 to start the season before losing in Morgantown to West Virginia 19-16 as one-point home favorites. Then Cincinnati came to town and won 45-44 at Pitt in the final minute. The Panthers did cash as 1.5-point home dogs, but it was an emotional let down for the Panthers to say the least.  The question is whether or not Pitt will be able to overcome such emotional losses to get up for this game.  If they are going to win today, QB Bill Stull will have to take over.  Stull had a great year this year, connecting on 64.6 percent of his passes for 2,470 yards with a 21/8 TD-INT ratio.

Now let’s talk trends…UNC has won outright in its last five games against ranked opponents. Pitt is 4-3 against the spread as a single-digit favorite this year.  Meanwhile, UNC is 3-1 against the spread as an underdog.  The Tar Heels won outright this year at Va. Tech, at BC and vs. Miami.

So who covers the spread in the Meineke Car Care Bowl?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

The 2009 Bowl Season continues tonight and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s Hawaii Bowl between the SMU Mustangs and the Nevada Wolfpack.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Nevada as 13-point favorites with a total of 72.

Nevada (8-4 SU, 7-5 Against The Spread) has been lighting up the scoreboard this year thanks to a solid running attack out of the Pistol Offense.  Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick has run for 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns in front of two of the nation’s top running backs in Luke Lippincott and Vai Taua. Lippincott has accounted for 1,034 yards on the ground this season, while Taua has gained 1,345 yards. These two speedsters have scored 19 touchdowns on the season.

This Pistol offensive attack of Nevada leads the country in rushing with an average of 362.3 yards per game, but both Lippincott (toe injury) and Taua (academic issues) are both out for tonight’s game. That means the Pack will hit the ground with their backups who have tallied just 851 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year combined.

SMU (7-5 SU, 6-4-1 Against The Spread) is making its first trip to a bowl game since getting nailed by the NCAA in 1987 and it’s due mostly to the hiring of coach June Jones.  The Mustangs have won four of their last five games and would have played for the Conference USA title if it weren’t for a 34-31 loss at Marshall back in November.

While Nevada runs the Pistol Offense, SMU runs the Run ‘n Shoot.  The Mustangs have the 28th best passing attack in the country, accounting for 267.2 YPG through the air. What’s interesting is that true freshman QB Kyle Padron is running this complicated offense.  Padron has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,462 yards with eight touchdowns to just four picks. His main receiver is Emmanuel Sanders who caught 91 passes this season for 1,215 yards and six scores.  Couple SMU’s passing attack with the fact that Nevada is has the 119th best pass defense in the nation giving up 283.4 YPG and you have a real reason to watch on Christmas Eve.

Now let’s talk trends…in the postseason, Nevada is just 1-3 Against The Spread in its last four bowl games. June Jones, as the Hawaii head coach, was 3-3 Against The Spread in his six career bowl appearances.  In addition, Jones’ Mustangs are 6-1 Against The Spread as an underdog this year.  Nevada is 6-3 Against The Spread in 2009 as favorites and the five times they were listed as double-digit favorites this season they went 4-1 Against The Spread.

So who covers the spread in the Hawaii Bowl?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com