2014 College Football Christmas Eve Football Report

We will start with the Bahamas Bowl between Central Michigan and Western Kentucky. As the name suggests, this one is being played in the Bahamas - and it is being played on, basically, a college soccer field that has been converted - you will be able to see the track & field lanes surrounding the playing field. I made the number WKU -3 and the Toppers are -3' - so as you may expect there is not a lot of interest in the side from this view. Do have a lean towards the Over, as the teams will want to put on a good show and because neither defense is much good. Line has moved up three points from the opener so there are plenty of others that are looking for a high scoring game as well.

We round things out with the Hawaii Bowl. This one has the "distinction" of having a losing team playing in it, as Mt West division champs Fresno State are 6-7 coming in. Research shows that there have been two recent teams to make the post season with a losing record, with Illinois losing 14-20 (+3) in 2011 and Ga Tech winning 21-7 (+7) in 2012. Not enough of a sample size to get a clear picture, but it is notable that neither game was a blowout, and that factor is probably the deciding one in keeping this from being a star rated play. With that said, to me the side choice comes down to two factors: 1) both of these teams played, and hosted, Hawaii - with Rice winning by 14 and Fresno only 7. However, the best reason to go with Rice here for us is the fact that they are 7-2 in their last nine games with the only losses coming to Marshall and La Tech. One of the reasons they have won seven of nine is the ability to get to the opposing QB, and FSU has struggled with pass protection all season long. We will lay the small number here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of us at Triple Threat Sports!

Have a Great Day!