WRNL Bowl-a-Thon: Round 8

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Tuesday, December 30th at 3:00 PM ET. LP Field, Nashville TN. ESPN

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-5) @ (23) LSU Tigers (8-4, 4-4 SEC)

Line: LSU -7.5

Notre Dame buoyed itself enough early to withstand an epic end of season collapse to get to their 34^th bowl game. LSU finished 7^th in the SEC and looks to win their 24^th bowl game in 46 tries.

The Numbers:

Notre Dame finished the year pretty average. Offensively they were the 41^st ranked scoring offense with 33 ppg. They passed the ball (16^th) better than they ran it (83^rd) and finished 37^th in total offense. The defense wasn't great all year ending the season 84^th in scoring defense (23 ppg). They were 64^th against the run, 86^th against the pass and 71^st in total defense.

LSU, contrastingly, was actually pretty good at one phase of the game, but the one side was not offense, where they averaged 27.6 ppg (76^th). If it matters at this point, they were 29^th in run offense while finishing almost at the bottom of FBS schools in passing at 116^th. So, that's not good, but when you have the 3^rd ranked scoring defense in the nation, you can get away with a sub-par offense. The Tigers finished 38^th against the run, 4^th against the pass and 8^th overall, allowing only 305.8 yards per game.

One Random Fact:

Did you know Rudy lives in Vegas? Yep and he says that Joe Montana is a dick.*

The Vegas Edge:

The Irish underachieved this season from a bettor's perspective going 5-7 ATS. LSU was a much better 8-4 on the year. The total for this game is 52.5. ND went 7-5 against the total and LSU was 4-8. Notre Dame is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 bowl games. And went 0-5 ATS in their final 5 games of the season.

The Sweatpants Verdict:

Notre Dame is starting a QB making his first start of the year. Against this LSU defense. Good luck with that. I'm pretty high on the Tigers in the pick em contest. LSU 33 - 17

CyClown Says:

I don't believe either of these teams are worth a damn, but then again yesterday may have exposed me as not knowing that much at all, so...Tigers?

*Sources may or may not have confirmed this

Belk Bowl

Tuesday, December 30th at 6:30 PM ET. Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC. ESPN

(13) Georgia Bulldogs (9-3, 6-2 SEC) @ (21) Louisville Cardinals (9-3, 5-3 ACC)

Line: Georgia -7

The Belk Bowl got an upgrade from the AAC to the SEC this year. This brings the Bulldogs to Charlotte for their 49th bowl game. Louisville takes up the ACC invite for their 19^th bowl game.

The Numbers:

Despite losing one of the, if not the best back in college football, Georgia still finished with a top 10 offense. They averaged 41.7 ppg good for 8^th in the country. They were 13^th in run, 89^th in passing and 30^th in total offense. FEI+ ranked them the 8^th offense overall. Unlike last year, Georgia's defense was pretty good as well. They finished the 25^th, 78^th, 2^nd and 18^th defense in scoring, rush, pass and total defense.

Louisville and the return of Bobby P maintained the Strong defense and held their own on offense. Finishing the year 44^th in scoring they put up 32.6 ppg. They also finished 85^th in rush, 50^th in pass and 71^st in total offense, but the wins were driven by the defense. They allowed just 20.5 ppg (18^th) during season and ranked 3^rd against the run, 31^st against the pass and 6^th overall on the defensive side. FEI+ ranked them the 5^th best D in the land.

One Random Fact:

Mark Richt was born in Omaha, Nebraska. No wonder he's so nice, boring and loves 311.

The Vegas Edge:

Both these teams went 7-5 ATS on the year. As a favorite between 7 and 13.5 Georgia went 2-2 and the Cards went 1-0 as the dog in the same range. Not surprisingly the Dogs were 9-3 against the totals and Cards went 5-6-1. The total is 57.

The Sweatpants Verdict:

I'm pretty high on the Dogs in this one. I think they are better all around than the Cardinals. The number doesn't scare me either, but if it hits 8 I'd be leery. Georgia 31 - 20

CyClown Says:

This is not so much what I think will happen (I really lost confidence after yesterday) and more of what I hope happens. Louisville 34 - Georgia 12

Foster Farms Bowl

Tuesday, December 30th at 10:00 PM ET. Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA. ESPN

Maryland Terrapins (7-5, 4-4 B1G) @ Stanford Cardinal (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12)

Line: Stanford -14

The former Fight Hunger Bowl is now all fowl (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist). Maryland in their maiden voyage through the B1G finished in 6^th place and is playing in the school's 26^th bowl game. Stanford finished 7^th in the Pac-12 and will play in their 25^th bowl game.

The Numbers:

Maryland was just kind of a team this year. They ranked 67^th in scoring offense (29.1 ppg), 106^th in run, 74^th pass and 110^th in total offense. On defense it was more of the same. They gave up an average of 28.9 ppg, ranked 100^th in rush defense, 80^th in pass defense and 96^th in total defense.

Stanford was similar to Maryland on offense. Averaging 25.7 ppg (88^th), they were 74^th, 60^th and 77^th in run, pass and total offense. Their FEI+ ranking was 50, 4 slots higher than Maryland. On defense they excelled. The 2^nd ranked scoring defense, they only gave up 16 ppg. They were 11^th in run and 7^th in pass good for 5^th in total defense.

One Random Fact:

You can't get Foster Farms ground turkey at Costco any more. That really sucks!

The Vegas Edge:

Both teams went 6-6 ATS this season. The Terps were 6-5-1 against the total and Stanford was a crazy 2-9. The under is 6-2 in Stanford's last 8 non-conference games. The total for this game is 48.

The Sweatpants Verdict:

I just don't see Maryland doing anything in this game. The Stanford D is really good. Arizona State and Oregon were the only teams to score over 20 on them. Maryland is neither of those teams. I will say the two TDs worries me a bit. But Stanford should have their way with the Terps. Stanford 28 - 13

CyClown Says:

Screw Maryland and the B1G.