Welcome back sports fans, this time as we at the GCR are approaching Barbados. It is very relaxing and fun to be on the ship and enjoy the islands, but we do not get ESPN. We are living vicariously through you, the readers, and the ESPN app. We missed some good ones yesterday. in the Independence Bowl, Coastal Carolina (6-7/104) jumped to a halftime lead, but forgot the game was 60 minutes long thus lost to LA Tech (8-5/65) 23-14. The Liberty Music City Bowl (not to be confused with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl coming up in a couple of days) saw Illinois (9-4/24) leading most of the game before Tennessee (8-5/34) scored 14 in the 4th to take the lead with less than 5 minutes to go. A last-second field goal gave the Illini the win 30-28. Not to be outdone Southern Cal (9-4/16) and TCU (9-4/20) went to overtime before the Horned Frogs bested the Trojans 30-27. The GCR picked LATC to win so went 1-2 straight up and picked TCU to cover so a 1-2 mark against the spread as well.
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There are 5 games on this last day of 2025. We start with the ReliaQuest Bowl out of Tampa at 12:00 (all times Eastern). The Big Ten’s Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4/21) will face the SEC’s Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2/11) who have experienced their first 10-win season ever becoming the last Core 4 team to accomplish that feat. The Hawkeyes faced 7 future bowl teams going 3-4 including losses to playoff teams Indiana and Oregon. Their best win was against Penn St (7-6/35) while their worst loss was against rival Iowa St (8-4/30). Vanderbilt’s magical season including 4 wins against bowl teams against just 2 losses, including a loss against Alabama. Their best win was against rival Tennessee (8-5/34) while their worst loss was against Texas (9-3/19). Vegas likes Vandy-4.5 and the GCR agrees despite Pavia’s lack of social maturity 60.5% and to cover.
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Next up, at 2:00, is the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl out of El Paso. We will see a team used to the desert, the Big 12’s Arizona St Sun Devils (8-4/31), facing a team not from a desert, the ACC’s Duke Blue Devils (8-5/29). They should have renamed this the Tony the Tiger Devil Bowl. AZST faced 8 bowl teams splitting them 4-4. They beat the only playoff team they faced which was their best win of the season – Texas Tech (10-2/3). They also lost to Mississippi St (5-7/69). Duke was the unlikely champion of the ACC going 7-5 in the regular season, but 6-2 in conference and winning the tiebreaker. Then they beat the favorite to throw a wrench in the playoff selection. I still think that if the better Miami FL team had played that game instead, the ACC champion would have made the playoffs along with Notre Dame. So, Duke knocked the Irish, effectively, out of the bowl season. The split 10 games against bowl teams, but lost to their only playoff opponent, Tulane. Their best win was in the ACC championship game vs Virginia (10-3/17) and their worst loss was to UCONN (9-4/64). Vegas likes DUKE-3.5, but the GCR is calling for the upset with AZST at 53.0% and to cover.
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At 3:00, we have the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando featuring the Big Ten’s Michigan Wolverines (9-3/18) against the SEC’s Texas Longhorns (9-3/19). Michigan went 5-3 vs bowl teams this year including a loss to playoff bound Ohio St. They beat Washington (8-4/28) but lost to Southern Cal (9-4/16) as their worst defeat. The Longhorns only played 6 bowl teams going 4-2 in those games, but 4 of them were against playoff opponents. They beat Oklahoma and Texas A&M but lost to Ohio St and Georgia. It should be said that the first two teams are already eliminated and the second two received first round byes. Their best win was against that Oklahoma (10-3/12) team but the game that kept them out of the playoffs was an upset at Florida (4-8/70). Vegas likes TEX-7.5 and the GCR agrees they will win on a neutral field but by the slimmest of margins – 50.5%. MICH will cover.
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At 3:30 we have the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl with the Big 10’s Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-5/53) butting heads with the Big 12’s Utah Utes (10-2/10). Nebraska did not do well against bowl-eligible teams going just 1-5 and did not face a playoff team. The did beat Cincinnati (7-5/44) for the best victory but dropped the game vs Minnesota (8-5/44) which was their worst defeat. Utah only faced 4 bowl teams beating 3 of them and losing to playoff team Texas Tech. The best win was against Arizona St (8-4/31), and their other loss was their worst – BYU (12-2/8). Vegas sees this game belonging to UTAH-14.5 and the GCR wholeheartedly agrees at 74.5% and to cover.
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The playoffs continue tonight at 7:30 when the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, based in Arlington, TX, kicks off at 7:30. The ACC’s Miami FL Hurricanes (11-2/7) will face the Big Ten’s Ohio St Buckeyes (12-1/2). MIAF just came off a playoff win over Texas A&M by a score of 10-3 – which was their only game against a playoff team. They did go 5-2 against bowl teams during the season including that first round victory. Their best win (which was included in the 5-2 record) was against Notre Dame (10-2/6) in week 1. Their worst loss was against SMU (8-4/23) in a surprise upset. Ohio St finished the regular season 12-0 before losing the Big Ten championship game 13-10 – so both teams scored 10 points in their last game with different results. That loss to Indiana (13-0/1) was their only game against a playoff opponent (and their worst loss) and their only loss against bowl eligible teams going 7-1 for the season. Beating Michigan (9-3/18) was the high point of their season. Vegas has OHST winning this game -9.5 and the GCR agrees on the win at 58.5% but sees MIAF covering. The winner of this game moves on to the semifinals against the winner of the Georgia/Mississippi game.
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That’s it for today. Thank you for reading and sharing with others. Tune in tomorrow for the next episode – the other 3 playoff games. We wish you a safe and happy New Year – may your 2026 be better than 2025 and worse than 2027, JoJo and G.
