Service Plays Monday 12/29/08

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

FYI... Unless there was a time change we have an afternoon bowl game!

Monday, December 29, 2008
PapaJohns
3:00 pm W-L
North Carolina State 6-6
Rutgers 7-5

Alamo Bowl
8:00 pm W-L
Missouri #25 9-4
Northwestern #22 9-3

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

THE SOCCER EXPERTS

NOW 14-3 SIDES AND TOTALS
4-1 PARLAYS


MONDAY, Dec.29
Man Utd v Middlesbrough under 3
03:00 pm
England - Premier League

Parley:
Everton to win (Sunday's play which won)
Man Utd v Middlesbrough under 3
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

goodfellas sports tony o

15 unit play over mizz/northwestern cfb top play

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Donn Wagner

3 Star NC State in Football
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Vegas Experts The Edge Newsletter 0-3


CFB
Northwestern
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[mjag21]

dr. bob

Rotation #225 NC State (+8) 3-Stars at +7 or more, 2-Stars from +6 1/2 to +4.

 

[bigboi808]

where's the fade material for bowls....

Winning points (0-11)
Pointwise (1-10)

 

[mjag21]

PSYCHIC
3 units Missouri -12.5
2 units Rutgers -7

Da Stick
5 units Rutgers -7

 

[LEFTCOASTSHARP]

FYI... Unless there was a time change we have an afternoon bowl game!

Monday, December 29, 2008
PapaJohns
3:00 pm W-L
North Carolina State 6-6
Rutgers 7-5

Alamo Bowl
8:00 pm W-L
Missouri #25 9-4
Northwestern #22 9-3

NO TIME CHANGE GENERAL, KICK OFF @ 3 ET !! :fballch3:



CURRENT LINES @ 2 A.M ET
-------------------------------

RUTGERS -6.5 (most books) ( 56.5) vs. NC STATE @ 3 ET

MISSOURI - 12.5 (66.5) vs NORTHWESTERN @ 8 ET


L.V.S.C. LINE MOVEMENTS
--------------------------

12/8 - MIZZ -10 & 64
12/18 -MIZZ -13 & 65
12/27 -MIZZ -12.5 & 66

12/8 - RUTG -4.5 & 52.5
12/18 -RUTG - 7.5 & 53.5
12/26 -RUTG -7 & 56

#'S VIA SPORTSBOOK SPY @ 2 AM ET (mon)
-------------------------------------------

TEAM SPREAD ML TOTAL
-------------------------------------------------------------
NC ST 50% 77% 62% (over)
RUTG 50% 23% 37%(under)



NWESTERN 38% 63% 84% (over)
MISSOURI 62% 57% 14% (under)

*represents % of bets not % of money

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Raging Bull Handicappers

Early Card

Soccer:

Manchester United over 2.5 -145
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Nelly’s Green Sheet = 10 -14 ( 6-6 SIDEs AND 4-8 TOTALs )

Legion Field – Birmingham, Alabama ESPN
Rutgers (-7) NC State (52)
After a 2-6 start to the season NC State reeled off four consecutive wins to
land in the postseason and the last three wins all came against bowl teams.
Coach Tom O’Brien has a career bowl record of 6-1 and the Wolfpack should
be ready to play in this game. Rutgers also delivered a great late season
story, riding a six-game win streak following a 1-5 start to the year.
Statistically Rutgers owns stronger overall numbers but it came through a
weaker schedule as NC State faced one of the top ranked schedules in the
nation, facing ten bowl teams on the year. Early in the season Rutgers lost
44-12 at home against North Carolina, a team NC State beat 41-10 on the
road late in the year, although the final scores were a bit misleading. Rutgers
has won its last two bowl games in blowout fashion but the Scarlet Knights
played as heavy favorites in both of those games against teams questionably
deserving of a postseason bid. The Big East has won this bowl game the
past two years but this year an ACC team steps in instead of a Conference
USA foe and the ACC finished the year as the strongest conference in the
nation according to many ratings despite lacking an elite team. NC State has
taken much better care of the ball this season as these teams have nearly
opposite turnover margins. NC State is 9-2 ATS on the year and it is hard to
argue with the bowl success Coach O’Brien has had. NC ST 28-27


RATING 2: NC STATE (+7)
RATING 1: ‘OVER 52’





ALAMO BOWL 7:00 PM
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas ESPN
Missouri (-13) Northwestern (66)
The Tigers lost four games this season against quality teams, giving up a ton
of points in the process. The memory of the Big 12 championship rings clear
and the Missouri defense can certainly leave much to desire. The Tigers did
dominate inferior foes this season however, winning the other nine games by
an incredible margin of 449-172. Those opponents include five Big 12 teams
and a Big Ten team with three of the nine teams playing in bowl games this
season. Northwestern has had an incredible run to finish 9-3 but the Wildcats
only beat two bowl teams all season and both required borderline miraculous
finishes. Northwestern did not have to play Penn State or Wisconsin in the
Big Ten schedule and the non-conference schedule was among the easiest
slates in the nation with an FCS team and three teams that failed to win more
than four games. This will be the first bowl game since 2005 for Northwestern
and the first ever as a head coach for Pat Fitzgerald. Missouri had much
higher expectations to start the year but a letdown in this bowl game would
not make sense considering how poorly the final two games of the season
went. The Tigers have one of the top offenses in the nation and in each of
the last three years Missouri has scored at least 38 points in its bowl game,
including a stunning blowout over Arkansas last year in a game that many
felt Missouri would be flat for given the BCS snub. It has been a great season
for Northwestern but the Wildcats have been fortunate with five wins by eight
points or fewer and having been out-gained in six of eight Big Ten games.
Northwestern has not won a bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl and this
will be a tough match-up to stay close in. MISSOURI 38-21

RATING 3: MISSOURI (-13)
RATING 2: ‘UNDER 66’
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MARC LAWERENCE PLAYBOOK = 3-9

Monday, December 29th
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL
Legion Field • Birmingham, AL
Rutgers over NC State by 1
The Wolfpack may have ended the season at 6-6 but NC State fans can
howl over winning the ‘state championship’ this year, whipping Duke, East
Carolina, North Carolina and Wake Forest to claim the unoffi cial crown.
Today’s game appears to be one of the more interesting matchups on this
year’s bowl schedule with both squads grabbing the cash at such a torrid
pace that we’re surprised Anna Nicole Smith hasn’t returned from the
dead to grab her share of the loot. After a 1-5 start, the Scarlet Knights
have won 6 straight and brought home the bacon in 7 of the last 8 while
the Wolfpack enter on a 4-game win streak and a 7-game ATS run. Even
though Rutgers senior QB Mike Teel has certainly been the catalyst in the
Scarlet Knights’ resurgence, we think our Freshman of the Year, NC State QB
Russell Wilson, could be the difference in this one. Wilson has tremendous
poise and athletic ability (226 passes with NO INTs and 16 TDs this season)
and Tom O’Brien’s crew should make some serious noise in the ACC over
the next few years. The Wolfpack faced the 2nd toughest schedule of all
bowlers this season and speaking of O’Brien, he checks in with a nifty 6-1
SU and ATS mark in his 7 bowl appearances, including a perfect 5-0 SU and
ATS against an opponent off a SU win. Greg Schiano’s 11-1 ATS mark with
a winning record versus non conference opponents is nothing to sneeze at
but we’ll once again side with ACC bowl dogs who have been very good to
us over the past several campaigns. Wilson’s athletic ability and O’Brien’s
bowl pedigree keeps this one close. Grab the points.



ALAMO BOWL
Alamodome • San Antonio, TX
Missouri over Northwestern by 6
Touting QB Chase Daniel as a Heisman Trophy candidate and carrying a 12-
2 record from 2007, Mizzou opened this season with a powerful 5-0 rush,
blasting opponents while lighting up the scoreboard for 53.4 PPG. However,
the euphoria was quickly squelched by back-to-back losses to Oklahoma
State and Texas. And even though the Tigers rebounded to reach the Big 12
Championship game, they got a 62-21 dose of reality from Oklahoma that
might take longer than a few weeks to shake: Bowl chalk of 4.5 or more
points off a loss in a Championship game are just 4-9 ATS, including 0-4 ATS
when off a loss of 20 or more points. Northwestern, on the other hand,
was a major surprise this year, casting aside a 10-14 SU effort in 2 seasons
under coach Pat Fitzgerald to fashion an incredible 9-3 record. An upset of
Mizzou here would give the Wildcats just their 2nd bowl victory and 2nd
10-win season in school history. But unlike years gone by, NU’s traditional
Achilles’ heel – the defense – more than held its own by limiting foes to
just 19 PPG while racking up 33 sacks. The Purple Cats also have a pretty
decent signal caller of their own in C.J. Bacher who should make some hay
against a Missouri pass ‘D’ that allowed over 325 yards in each of its last
3 games. And if superb RB Tyrell Sutton has suffi ciently recovered from a
serious wrist injury to be remotely effective, Northwestern can engineer
clock-killing drives that will keep Daniel and his array of offensive weapons
(pay special attention to WR Jeremy Maclin) pacing the sidelines and off the
scoreboard. Alamo Bowl favorites have cashed in only 2 of the previous 7
tries and Big 12 Bowl favs are only 2-7 SU and 0-9 ATS when tackling a Big
10 opponent allowing fewer than 23 PPG. It also doesn’t hurt the Wildcats’
cause that Mizzou OC Dave Christensen has announced he’s leaving to take
the head coaching job at Wyoming, even though he will be calling plays in
tonight’s game. Missouri coach Pinkel showed he could motivate his team
after last year’s humbling loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game when
he led the Tigers to a convincing 38-7 Cotton Bowl rout of Arkansas but
we’re not looking for history to repeat here in Alamo country. This catfi ght goes to NU.
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

CKO = 3-2 ( BOWL RECORD )

CONFIDENTIAL KICK OFF 11* (9-5-1) THIS YEAR IN COLLEGE FOOTS

11 MISSOURI over Northwestern
Late Score Forecast:
MISSOURI 45 - Northwestern 20
(Monday, December 29, 2008)
Long-time Big XII sources report early, fast-paced workouts indicate veteran Missouri has suffered no "hangover effect" from the painful pair of losses to end the regular season. Therefore, compelled to "lay it" with explosive Tigers (42 ppg), who've covered their bowl game each of the last three years, including lopsided 38-7 victory vs. Arkansas in LY's Cotton Bowl. Mizzou's marvelous QB Chase Daniel (74%, 37 TDP), who's pumped up to end record-breaking career in style after 4 ints. last two games, will dissect ill-prepared NW defense that faced no QB ranked in top 30 nationally (Tiger D faced 7!) in a truly down year in Big Ten. Wildcats so-so QB Bacher (14 TDs, 14 ints.; meager 5.8 yds. per attempt) and his small-play attack won't keep pace (surpassed 30 pts. just once). Note, Tigers have won by 13 pts. or more in 17 of past 20 victories.
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

THE SPORTS MEMO = 6-6

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL
NC State +7 vs. Rutgers O/U 52
Monday, December 29, 3 pm ET ESPN - Birmingham, Ala.
Recommendation: NC State

This may be a lower-tier bowl game but the selection committee
got it right when they matched-up two teams that closed out the season on big runs. Rutgers endured a 0-3 start that turned into a 1-5 record.. At that point, with only a win against Morgan State, it did not look like the Scarlet Knights would be going bowling. Yet they caught fire and won their last six games to finish at 7-5. Three of their six wins were against bowl teams; Connecticut, Pittsburgh and South Florida. A review
of their schedule shows that four of their five early losses were also against bowl teams. NC State can certainly relate to Rutgers. The Wolfpack were 2-6 before winning their last four games to finish at 6-6. They ended the season with three straight wins over ACC bowlers;
Wake Forest, North Carolina and Miami-Florida. Without question
both teams got to this point because of their successful quarterback play. Mike Teel, Rutgers’ three-year starter, got off to a terrible start but was able to turn it around, looking like one of the top quarterbacks in the country down the stretch. The Scarlet Knights put up an incredible 46 points per game over their last five wins. Even with the slow start Rutgers season long numbers were a respectable 4.72 yards per rush and 7.78 yards per pass. But in their six-game winning streak, Teel averaged 316 yards per game at a rate of 9.76 yards per pass. NC State can also trace its turnaround to the quarterback position.
Russell Wilson was not the starter to open the season and was injured in his first appearance. When healthy he was simply phenomenal. He earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors and was chosen to the all-conference team. Wilson threw just one interception all year and has a current streak of 226 passes without a pick. He has 16 touchdown passes and no interceptions over his last eight starts. Coupled with an ability to run the ball he kept alive many of NC State’s scoring drives with third down scrambles. Overall he means as much to his teams’ offensive success as any one player in the country. For the season, the NC State offense ran for 4.91 yards per rush and threw for 5.79 yards per pass. However those numbers include three games in which Wilson either was limited or did not play due to injury. Each team has holes in its defense as they both allowed
nearly 5.0 yards per rush and 7.0 yards per pass for the season. These two hot offenses should have a significant edge over the defense.We had the game lined at pick’em in one set of our power ratings we fully expect the result to be decided late in the fourth quarter. Even with Teel on a tear we believe Wilson has the capabilities to match scores and make as many plays. We’ll take the points with NC State and consider
them a live underdog in what should be a great game.



ALAMO BOWL
Northwestern +13 vs. Missouri O/U 66
Monday, December 29, 8 pm ET ESPN - San Antonio
Recommendation: Northwestern

As further evidence that the Big Ten is significantly down this year consider the pointspreads here in the 2008 bowl season. The Big Ten has seven bowl teams and six of them are underdogs. All totaled five of them are underdogs of more than a touchdown and four of them are in the double digit range. In a bowl season in which only six games have double-digit pointspreads the betting marketplace clearly doesn’t respect the Big Ten. Northwestern wasn’t a very good team this year. The Wildcats somehow managed to eke out nine wins in the regular season despite finishing 83rd in true rushing yards per carry and 81st in true passing yards per attempt. Senior quarterback CJ Bacher was awful
at times, finishing with as many interceptions as touchdowns. Senior running back Tyrell Sutton battled injuries all year and gained only 776 yards on the ground. The offense was largely dink and dunk, with only one receiver, Eric Peterman, averaging more than ten yards per reception. The Wildcats had -5 turnover margin and was ranked 85th in the country in turnovers per game. Despite all of these negative numbers, Pat Fitzgerald guided this mediocre team to a fourth place Big Ten finish and their first bowl appearance since 2005. The schedule was the primary factor for success as Northwestern played a ridiculously weak schedule. Only two of their nine victories came against bowl bound foes. They had a +4 turnover margin and beat Iowa early when the Hawkeyes were struggling. They also beat Minnesota on an interception
return touchdown in the game’s final seconds. That’s it when it comes to quality wins in 2008 for the Wildcats. Missouri didn’t exactly step up in class this season either. The Tigers were annihilated against the spread in all four of their tough games in 2008. They lost outright as a double-digit favorites against Oklahoma
State and Kansas. And they were blown off the field in ugly losses to Texas and Missouri. The Tigers covered only two pointspreads in their final eight games of the season and those two wins came against Colorado and Iowa State who combined to post a 2-14 straight up and 4-12 against the spread mark versus Big XII competition. Despite those failings down the stretch, the Tigers’ offense is extremely potent. Quarterback Chase Daniel was the Big XII Offensive Player of the Year as a junior and his senior year was every bit as good. Playmaking speedster Jeremy Maclin and tight end Chase Coffman combined to catch 22 touchdowns and 178 receptions for more than 2,100 receiving yards. Overall, there is no question Missouri has the advantage on offense but the Tigers rarely showed much on the defensive side of the equation. In a game of motivation, Missouri can’t be all too excited about playing in a second-tier bowl. Meanwhile Northwestern has shown the ability to keep it close and will have enough in its offensive arsenal to keep this game within the number against a less than impressive defense.
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

THE GOLD SHEET EXTRA = 2-1

NC STATE
In a perfect bowl world, Rutgers and North
Carolina State wouldu be playing different opponents. The Scarlet
Knights and Wolfpack closed the regular season as two of the
hottest pointspread teams in the land, and in a sense it’s a shame
that they’ve been pitted against one another in the December 29
Papajohns.com Bowl at Birmingham’s venerable Legion Field. But
that’s no reason to shy away from supporting NC State, which has
several tech factors stacked in its favor. Specifically, the extended
pointspread success of HC Tom O’Brien, especially as an underdog.
O’Brien’s recent teams with the Wolfpack and Boston College have
covered 13 of their last 16 and 22 of their last 30 when receiving
points, qualifying NC State as a featured College Coach as
Underdog bowl recommendation. O’Brien is also an accomplished
bowl coach, covering his last six postseason appearances while
coaching BC. And O'Brien's Wolfpack has been growling vs. the
number since midway through the ‘07 campaign, covering 14 of their
last 18 on the board. Plus. don't forget that bowl underdogs (such as
NCS) receiving 7 points or more have offered tremendous value over
the years, including a sterling 52-24 spread mark this decade!
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Pointwise = 2-10


RUTGERS (7-5) vs NORTH CAROLINA STATE (6-6)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 29
3:00 PM EST -- ESPN TELEVISION
AOPR AVS FDS RUSH PASS TRN EDGE TO:
Rutgers ...... 43.0 . 29- 19 ... 20-15 . 130-130 .. 266- 185 .. - 2 . Rutgers
No Caro St . 48.4 . 24- 26 ... 17-21 . 126-144 .. 201- 243 .. +11 . by 8.2 Pts
ANALYSIS
Talk about rising from the dead. Lazarus had nothing on these 2 squads, with
the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers standing at 1-5 thru week 6, and the Wolfpack
of North Carolina State needing a sweep of their final 4 games, to qualify for a
bowl, after opening at 2-6. But here they are, with the Knights sweeping their
final 6 games, & the 'Pack doing likewise in their last 4 outings. For Rutgers,
this marks their 4th consecutive bowl campaign, after being left out in the cold
for the previous 27 years! The insertion of Greg Schiano as head man, in '01,
has done wonders for the former doormat status of the Knights. In '05, they
nearly upset ArizonaSt in the Insight Bowl, & followed with routs of KansasSt
& BallSt in the Texas & International the past 2 years. They've averaged 43
ppg in those 3 post-season affairs, & despite the loss of RB Rice (4,926 RY
past 3 yrs), they figured to continue their upswing. Afterall, QB Teel, along
with 14 other returning starters augured well. But they opened at 0-3 SU, by a
combined 65½ pts ATS. But Teel took the team on his shoulders, winding up
at 3,099 PYs & 23 TDs (20 in his last 5 games), with 1,252 receiving yds by
Britt (2nd best in the nation). And note splendid 8-0 ATS run to wind up (+106
pts in RU's last 5 game). The 'Pack has also been a superb finisher, not only
on the field, but has been pure gold ATS, covering their last 7, including a 43
pt cover vs NoCarolina. They are led by Wilson, who has thrown for 16 TDs,
with only ONE INT. As a matter of fact he enters this fray, on a school-record
226 passes without an interception. Defensively, NCSt ranks just 94th vs the
pass. That, along with overwhelming Knight bowl success, could be decider.
PROPHECY: RUTGERS 38 - North Carolina State 24 RATING: 6




MISSOURI (9-4) vs NORTHWESTERN (9-3)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 29
8:00 PM EST -- ESPN TELEVISION
AOPR AVS FDS RUSH PASS TRN EDGE TO:
Missouri ..... 48.0 .. 43-28 .. 26-24 .. 156-129 .. 340-285.. - 2 . Missouri
N'Western .. 41.6 .. 25-19 .. 20-19 .. 148-128 .. 210-215.. - 5 . by 2.9 Pts
ANALYSIS
For the 2nd straight year, the Tigers of Missouri enter their bowl reward, fresh
off an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma, in the Big12 Title Game. A year ago,
they were ranked #1 in the nation, upon entering their game with the Sooners,
owning the 5th best offense, & 8th best scoring "O", but were routed, 38-17
(18-pt ATS loss). Thus a monumental letdown, & would be a nice "go-against"
come bowl time, right? Wrong. Try a 38-8 pulverizing of a decent Arkansas
team, in the Cotton Bowl (27-pt cover). Led by QB Daniel, who has thrown for
70 TDs the past 2 years, the Tigers enter this one at #6, both in total & scoring
offense, altho it must be noted that he threw 8 interceptions in Missouri's four
losses this year, 4 of which came in their final 2 tilts (29 & 24½ pt ATS losses).
For Mizzou, this marks its 4th consecutive bowl season, & thus far, the Tigers
have fared quite well, winning & covering their first 3, while scoring 38, 38, &
38 pts. Monotonous. Oh, by the way, they rank 100th, in total "D" (were 59th
in '07), as well as ranking 118th in passing "D", while allowing 102 pts in their
final 2 games. For the Wildcats of Northwestern, this is marks their 1st bowl
shot since the '05 Sun (50-38 loss to UCLA, despite a 584-453 yd edge). The
'Cats opened at 5-0, including an eye-opening upset at Iowa, as 9-pt dogs,
before settling in at 9-3, while finishing at #20 in the polls. RB Sutton is key,
but is hardly reliable (wrist injury). QB Bacher, no doubt, is licking his chops at
the prospect of facing the Tigers' porous pass "D", but he is only 14/14 for the
season. Northwestern has reached 200 RYs just once, since its opener, but
ditto, its rush "D". Bucking bowl-proven Tigs sure is frightening. So we won't.
PROPHECY: MISSOURI 38 - Northwestern 20 RATING: 6
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

STATFOX / PLATINUM SHEET = 2-2


12/29/2008 (227) NORTHWESTERN vs. (228) MISSOURI
Northwestern has been a bad bowl team, losing five straight game and
three of its last four by double-digit margins. The last time the Wildcats
matched up against a team from the Big 12 in the Alama Bowl, they were pounded 66-17 by Nebraska. Missouri’s offense in 2008 is even more powerful than that Cornhuskers’ team was, and with several key players, including QB Chase Daniel, playing their final games for the Tigers, motivation shouldn’t be a problem. Remember how good this
team was early in the season? It scored 53.4 PPG in its first five
contests before fatigue must have set in. Now, having the luxury
of resting for three weeks in between the Big 12 title game loss
and this one, they should be firing on all cylinders again. There
is a reason Missouri is favored by so much.
Play on: Missouri -13
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

THE SPORTS REPORTER = 8-4


MONDAY, DECEMBER 29
PAPAJOHN’S.COM BOWL
Legion Field – Birmingham, AL
RUTGERS over NORTH CAROLINA STATE by 11
RUTGERS, 34-23.



ALAMO BOWL
Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
MISSOURI over NORTHWESTERN by 8
MISSOURI, 37-29.
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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Logical Approach = 13-11 ( 6-6 SIDES AND 7-5 TOTALS )


Papajohns.com Bowl - Birmingham, AL - Monday, December 29, 2008

These teams overcame sluggish starts to their seasons to finish strongly. It was hoped that their Bowl matchups would allow a play on each of them but as they are matched against one another a choice between them must be made. Even with their slow starts the teams combined for a stellar 15-5-2 ATS record. Rutgers closed the season on a 7-0-1 pointspread run while State covered each of their final 6 games. Rutgers is in a Bowl for a fourth straight season, winning the last two. NC State is back after a two season absence but had been to 7 Bowls between 1998 and 2005. Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien had great success in Bowls while at Boston College. During his 10 years at BC O'Brien led his teams to 8 Bowls, winning the last 7 in a row and covering in 6 of those 7. Both teams faced North Carolina and South Florida and each went 1-1 with remarkably similar results. Rutgers beat South Florida by 33 and lost to Carolina by 32. State defeated Carolina by 31 but lost to South Florida also by 31. Total yardage stats for the games against the 2 common foes shows Rutgers + 22 (804 to 782) and State + 8 (731 to 723). For the season Rutgers does have edges in the passing game, both on offense and defense, and that may be enough to justify the solid favoritism they have been shown. But in most areas these teams are fairly even and getting at least a TD with a team playing as well as NC State played down the stretch and with a coach as accomplished in Bowl games as is O'Brien tilts the scales towards the underdog. Rutgers' passing game is enough to pull out the straight up win but the expectation is for the points to matter in this contest. Rutgers wins 27-24, making

NORTH CAROLINA STATE a 3 Star Selection
UNDER a 1 Star Selection .



Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, TX - Monday, December 29, 2008

Over the years Northwestern has been a good barometer for the strength of the Big 10 conference. Because of their high academic standards, when Northwestern's football team earns a Bowl bid it's generally a sign that the Big 10 is having a down season. The Bowl results reflect this, both in terms of Northwestern's individual results and those of the Big 10 a s a whole. Over the past 20+ seasons Northwestern has been to just 5 Bowls. Those appearances came between 1995 and 2005. Northwestern is 0-5 straight up and 1-4 ATS in their Bowls, losing by an average score of 47-28. In those same 5 seasons the Big 10's Bowl record is 14-20 straight up and 11-23 ATS. Missouri is in their fourth straight Bowl, having won in 2 of the past 3 Bowls. In each of the 3 Bowls Missouri scored exactly 38 points and this bowl should feature plenty of scoring by both teams as each team's offense is a strength whereas the defenses have been weaknesses. To be fair, Mizzou faced much tougher competition in the Big 12 than Northwestern did in the Big 10. Both teams faced Illinois this season. Missouri opened the season with a neutral site 52-42 win over the Illini in a game featuring nearly 1,100 yards of total offense, nearly evenly divided. Northwestern ended their season with a 27-10 home win over Illinois in a game in which the total yards were again almost evenly divided. Missouri played the overall tougher schedule - their 13 foes were a combined 83-63 S/U and 78-59 ATS. Northwestern's foes were just 69-75 S/U and a poor 55-64-4 ATS. Missouri has outstanding talent at the skill positions including QB Daniel and TE Macklin who should give the NW defense problems. There was only one true offensive powerhouse in the Big 10 this season, Penn State, and Northwestern did not have to face them this season. Given the potency of the Missouri offense and the fact that Mizzou has faced far tougher competition, combined with the poor Bowl record of Missouri, suggests Missouri should be able put plenty of points on the board and ultimately get clear of the impost. To be sure, Missouri will also surrender its share of points but in the end Missouri will distance itself from the Wildcats in a high scoring game. The call is for Missouri to win 48-30, making


MISSOURI a 4 Star Selection
OVER a 4 Star Selection .
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