Moneyline picks are by far my favorites to make here at the Kota Sports Gambling Network. Tuesday’s totals? Not so much, because this has been the trickiest day of all for me. Moneyline Monday almost always results in plus money for me, but I can’t have more than three successful Tuesdays since I started writing here.
But with so many bowls on the slate for today (and hopefully, they’ll all be played), I’ve got to at least take a stab at these options. Here are my best plays for December 28.
HOUSTON-AUBURN U51.5, -110
Auburn’s been an under team for an overwhelming part of the season. During SEC play, the under went 2-6 in Auburn’s contests. The Tigers simply weren’t a good offense with Bo Nix, and now he’s off in Eugene preparing to play for Oregon. Houston struggled to contain Cincinnati’s explosive offense, but Auburn is no Cincinnati, and the Cougars should be able to do the job on defense here.
AIR FORCE TTO 28, -110
Louisville gave up 52 points and over 300 rushing yards to Kentucky in its season finale. Air Force runs the ball even better than Kentucky, so the Falcons shouldn’t have too many problems putting up a lot of yards and a few scores on this defense. Louisville is inconsistent and Air Force will run clock, so I don’t want to count on the Cardinals doing much of the scoring here.
MISSISSIPPI STATE-TEXAS TECH O58.5, -110
Texas Tech cannot stop the pass worth anything. All Mississippi State ever does is pass, as the Bulldogs rank third in the nation in throwing the ball. There’s also the fact that Mike Leach has been suing Texas Tech for the past decade and would love nothing more than to stick it to his old employer. Mississippi State might try to hit this number by itself.
NOTRE DAME-PITTSBURGH U126.5, -110
Notre Dame still doesn’t have a win over a Division I team away from the Joyce Center. That should change tonight against a weak Pittsburgh squad, but that still doesn’t mean the Irish are a good team. Nor does it mean that I expect the Irish to play all that well in this contest. I think this turns into a low-scoring game with the score likely to sit in the 50s for both squads.
WEST VIRGINIA-MINNESOTA U45, -110
Minnesota is in a bowl for one reason: it plays outstanding defense. The boat has sank a couple times on offense for P.J. Fleck, but on defense, the Gophers are dynamite and managed to get Iowa into the Big Ten title game because their defense shut down Wisconsin and cost the Badgers the Big Ten West (which might have been a good thing for Wisconsin, all things considered). West Virginia’s attack is only middling, and the Mountaineers did virtually nothing against the likes of Oklahoma State, the only team with a comparable defense to Minnesota on the WVU schedule.
