It’s the Thursday before New Year’s and the games are getting hotter (or colder – more on that in a minute). Let’s review yesterday’s games.
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In the Military Bowl, Virginia Tech (7-6/59) stomped on Tulane (11-3/37) 41-20. I listened to that game while driving. Tulane scored first in every quarter, but VT answered strongly. Congratulations Hokies. The GCR picked the Green Wave for the upset, oops.
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In the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, West Virginia (8-5/51) got the mayo bath when they topped North Carolina (9-4/34) 30-10. The GCR picked the Mountaineers to win, but North Carolina to cover. Not a great start to the day at all. The Tar Heels scored their points in the 2nd and WVU owned the game from then on.
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In a Vegas and a GCR miss, Southern Cal (8-5/31) upset Louisville (10-4/19) 42-28 in the Holiday Bowl on the back of a 21-point second quarter by the Trojans.
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The Texas Bowl saw Vegas and GCR favorite Oklahoma St (10-4/22) top Texas A&M (7-6/42) 31-23. The Cowboys jumped to a 24-6 halftime lead and held on for the victory.
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Today we have 4 more games with our first two games played on baseball fields in the north (hence the colder comment above). It’s 43 and rainy in Boston and 49 and rainy in the Bronx.
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Our first game at 11:00am (all times Eastern), the Fenway Bowl in Boston, features the SMU Mustangs (11-2/21) of the American and the Boston College Eagles (6-6/74) in a virtual home game. As a reminder, OER means Offensive Efficiency Rating, and DER means 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 |
| SMU | 142 (19th)/40.6 | 154 (18th)/17.4 | 72-87 (.453) – 119th | 3-1 (.750) | Tulane (11-3/37) | TCU (5-7/81) |
| BC | 101 (121st)/25.0 | 93 (165th)/29.5 | 79-71 (.527) – 57th | 3-5 (.375) | Georgia Tech (7-6/43) | N Illinois (7-6/127) |
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Vegas likes SMU-11.0 and the GCR agrees. Mustangs win and cover in cold wet Fenway Park.
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At 2:15, in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-6/40) tackle the Miami FL Hurricanes (7-5/32) in the Pinstripe Bowl.
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opp’s Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| RUTG | 105 (103rd)/22.6 | 121 (4th)/21.0 | 87-60 (.592) – 9th | 2-6 (.333) | Michigan St (4-8/36) | Wisconsin (7-5/62) |
| MIAF | 130 (33rd)/32.1 | 127 (54th)/22.1 | 88-63 (.583) – 10th | 4-5 (.444) | Clemson (8-4/25) | North Carolina (8-5/51) |
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Vegas has Rutgers-2.5, I guess because of the very non-Miami weather, but the GCR has the Hurricanes to win and cover.
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At 5:45 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl played in Orlando, we have the NC St Wolfpack (9-3/24) vs the Kansas St Wildcats (8-4/17). This is the first bowl game between two GCR top 25 teams (hence the hotter comment earlier).
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opp’s Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| NCST | 109 (91st)/26.8 | 133 (44th)/20.2 | 78-71 (.523) – 68th | 5-3 (.625) | Clemson (8-4/25) | Duke (8-5/28) |
| KSST | 147 (11th)/37.8 | 139 (31st)/21.2 | 88-63 (.583) – 5th | 4-4 (.500) | Kansas (9-4/23) | Iowa St (7-5/30) |
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Vegas likes Kansas St-2.5 and the GCR agrees. These teams are very close statistically except for strength of schedule and scoring offense. The Wildcats win and cover.
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In the nightcap, the Arizona Wildcats (9-3/20) and the Oklahoma Sooners (10-2/10) meet in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio at 9:15, in another GCR top 25 matchup.
| Team | OER/PPG | DER/PPG | Opps Record – Rank | Vs Bowl Teams | Best Win | Worst Loss |
| ARIZ | 123 (47th)/34.3 | 132 (46th)/20.8 | 73-74 (.497) – 72nd | 3-2 (.600) | Oregon St (8-4/26) | Mississippi St (5-7/79) |
| OKLA | 164 (3rd)/43.2 | 135 (39th)/22.3 | 87-65 (.572) – 22nd | 6-2 (.750) | Texas (12-1/4) | Kansas (9-4/23) |
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Vegas likes these Wildcats as well, ARIZ-2.5, but the GCR sees the advantage for Oklahoma at every statistical turn. Sooners win and cover.
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That’s it for today’s version. Tune in tomorrow for the next 4 games. Thank you for reading and sharing with others, G.
