Welcome back, college football fans. The GCR took one on the chin yesterday although I did get to watch some football with a very good friend, JW. Let’s review.
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In the Fenway Bowl, Vegas and GCR favorite SMU (11-3/33) took a 14-10 lead into the 4th before giving up 13 unanswered to Boston College (7-6/59) and losing 23-14.
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Vegas favorite Rutgers (7-6/33) took out GCR favorite Miami FL (7-6/36) 31-24 in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Scarlet Knights were up 14 late in the 4th so the game wasn’t as close as the final score.
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In the GCR’s lone correct pick, Kansas St (9-4/14) won the Pop-Tarts bowl (complete with the edible mascot – don’t get me started) over NC St (9-4/30) by a score of 28-19. A 21-10 halftime lead was all the Wildcats needed.
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Speaking of Wildcats, Arizona (10-3/17) finished off Oklahoma (10-3) 38-24 in the Alamo Bowl. Down 14-13 at the half and 24-13 with less that 3 minutes in the third, they rattled off 25 straight points to get the blowout win.
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Maybe today will be better. At noon (all times Eastern), the Clemson Tigers (8-4/24) takes on the Kentucky Wildcats (7-5/41) in the Gator Bowl played in Jacksonville. As a reminder, OER stands for Offensive Efficiency Rating and DER stands for Defensive Efficiency Rating. Here’s the tale of the tape.
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opp’s Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| CLEM | 123 (47th)/29.2 | 141 (38th)/19.9 | 84-66 (.560) – 31st | 4-4 (.500) | Notre Dame (9-3/18) | Miami FL (7-6/36) |
| KENT | 113 (78th)/28.6 | 112 (81st)/24.8 | 80-67 (.544) – 34th | 1-4 (.250) | Louisville (10-4/20) | South Carolina (5-7/47) |
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Vegas likes CLEM-4.0 and that sounds about right. GCR picks the Tigers to win and cover.
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Next up is the Sun Bowl, played in El Paso, between the Oregon St Beavers (8-4/23) and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-3/18), with a 2:00 kickoff. This is the 3rd bowl game between GCR top 25 teams.
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opp’s Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| ORST | 131 (30th)/33.8 | 138 (32nd)/21.5 | 86-64 (.573)/27th | 4-3 (.571) | Utah (8-5/40) | Washington St (5-7/66) |
| ND | 158 (7th)/39.1 | 157 (15th)/16.6 | 80-68 (.541)/56th | 3-3 (.500) | Duke (8-5/26) | Clemson (8-4/24) |
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Vegas has ND-6.0 and the GCR agrees. The Irish to win and cover.
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The 3:30 game today played in Memphis is the Liberty Bowl in what is a home game for the Memphis Tigers (9-3/71) when they kickoff against the Iowa St Cyclones (7-5/27).
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opp’s Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| MEM | 142 (18th)/39.7 | 95 (152nd)/29.0 | 76-75 (.503) – 121st | 3-3 (.500) | Boise St (8-6/75) | Tulane (11-3/30) |
| IAST | 107 (100th)/26.3 | 134 (42nd)/21.7 | 92-59 (.609) – 3rd | 2-5 (.286) | Kansas St (9-4/14) | Ohio (10-3/48) |
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Vegas likes IAST-10.5 and that sounds a bit high on the road with a mediocre offense (granted against a horrible defense). The GCR picks IAST to win, but MEM to cover +10.5.
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In our nightcap, the Cotton Bowl in Arlington Texas pits the Missouri Tigers (10-2/15) and the Ohio St Buckeyes (11-1/4) at 8:00. Not only is this the 4th bowl game with 2 GCR top 25 teams, it’s the 3rd game today with one of the teams having the Tigers as a mascot. If only LSU and Auburn played today…
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opp’s Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| MIZZ | 134 (28th)/34.1 | 139 (30th)/22.3 | 84-63 (.571) – 66th | 4-2 (.667) | Kansas St (9-4/14) | LSU (9-3/13) |
| OHST | 146 (13th)/32.8 | 253 (3rd)/11.0 | 86-63 (.577) – 24th | 7-1 (.875) | Penn St (10-2/8) | Michigan (13-0/1) |
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Vegas likes OHST-4.5 and the GCR agrees. Buckeyes win and cover.
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That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow for 4 more exciting games. Thank you for reading and sharing with others, G.
