Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions
This year’s Orange Bowl is being played in Dolphin Stadium on New Year’s Day, as the Cincinnati Bearcats matchup against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Cincinnati is playing in its eleventh bowl game all-time (6-4 record) and has been good in the bowl game play lately, winning three straight bowl games, including last year’s 31-21 game over Southern Miss in the Papajohns.com Bowl. The Virginia Tech Hokies are no stranger to the bowl apprearances (7-14 record) and major bowl games as well, as the team has played in three Sugar Bowls and two Orange Bowls. This will be the second straight Orange Bowl appearance, as VT lost a 24-21 decision to Kansas in last year’s bowl game.
5dimes.com oddsmakers currently have the Cincinnati Bearcast listed as 2 point betting odds favorites against the Virginia Tech Hokies in this year’s Orange Bowl with the games over/under posted at 42 total points.
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Here are some betting trends to consider for this year’s Orange Bowl:
Hokies are 14-4 ATS in their last 18 Thursday games.
Hokies are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games as an underdog.
Hokies are 39-15-1 ATS in their last 55 games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game.
Bearcats are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Thursday games.
Bearcats are 4-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
Bearcats are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games on grass.
The 95th Rose Bowl looks to be one of the more exciting bowl games of this postseason, as the 5th ranked USC Trojans battle the 6th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on New Years Day. The Trojans are participating in their fourth consecutive Rose Bowl, their 33rd ever, and have played in a BCS game in each of the past seven seasons. USC has an incredible 30-16 record in bowl games in school history. The Trojans have won eight straight against Big Ten teams. Penn State has it’s own success concerning this game, currently sporting the nation’s No. 2 bowl winning percentage of 67%. The Nittany Lions, who also have an 11-1 record this year and are playing off their third Big Ten title, second in the last four years, have a 26-12-2 historical record in bowl games, and the team leads all Big 10 teams in bowl wins, appearances and win percentage.
The Georgia Bulldogs and the Michigan State Spartans will matchup in this year’s Capital One Bowl in Florida on New Year’s Day. Georgia is making its 12th bowl appearance in a row, and the team is playing in its 44th bowl game in school history. The Bulldogs have a 24-16-3 historical record in bowl games, and they have appeared in 18 different bowls, more than any other squad in the nation. Michigan State is playing in their 19th bowl game and are looking to improve their 7-11 record in overall bowl game play. They are participating in the Capital One Bowl, formerly known as the Florida Citrus and Tangerine Bowls, for the second time, as the team was victorious in the year 2000. Georgia and Michigan State have met on the field just one time in history, as the Bulldogs got the win in the 1989 Gator Bowl.
The Clemson Tigers of the ACC conference will play against the Big 12 conferences Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on January 1st 2008. Clemson is 15-15 all-time in bowl appearances, and this is the Tigers’ fifth straight bowl game and they have lost each of their last two. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are also an even .500 in bowl games with a record of 22-22, though their last game was a close 17-14 loss to Auburn in the 2007 Cotton Bowl. Clemson and Nebraska’s only prior head-to-head game was the 1982 Orange Bowl, which Clemson won by a score of 22-15.
The South Carolina Gamecocks and Iowa Hawkeyes are set to play in the 23rd annual Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on January 1st 2008. Head coach Steve Spurrier has finally took his team to a New Year’s Day bowl game. The Gamecocks did not make a bowl appearance last year, and they were beaten by Texas and Florida the two previous post seasons. Iowa lost its first eight bowl matchups before winning four of their past five. The Hawkeyes did not get a bowl invite last year. This game marks the first-ever meeting between Iowa and South Carolina.
The 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl will feature the LSU Tigers squaring off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on December 30th 2008. LSU has played in 39 previous bowl games and has a 20-18-1 record in those games. Last season, the Tigers were victorious against Ohio State to win the national title, the second time in the last five years that the team had won that title. The Yellow Jackets are 22-14 in bowl games, but just 2-4 in post-season games against SEC foes. Georgia Tech has a 12-6 series lead over LSU, and the teams last played in the 2000 Chick-fil-A Bowl, a game that ended in a 28-14 win by the Tigers. Prior to that bowl game, all 17 bouts took place before 1964 when the Yellow Jackets left the SEC conference.
The Kansas Jayhawks and the Minnesota Golden Gophers both have 7-5 overall records, and they will play in the Insight Bowl on December 30th 2008. Kansas is playing in a bowl game for the second straight year for the first time in school history and for the fourth time in the last six years under head coach Mark Mangino The team has been victorious four of its last five bowl games overall. The Golden Gophers are playing in a bowl game for the eighth time in the last 10 season, and the team is 5-7 all-time in post-season play. The most recent bowl game for Minnesota was also in the 2006 Insight Bowl. Kansas and Minnesota have split six previous meetings, and the teams haven’t played since the 1973 season.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are ready to make their first bowl game appearance in 26 years, as they match-up with the Boston College Eagles in the 2008 Music City Bowl. It wasn’t a great finish to their season, but the Commodores were able to make their way into a bowl game for just the fourth time in history and the first since getting beat by Air Force in the 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl. Boston College has a 13-6 record in bowl games and have the nation’s longest bowl winning streak at eight games. The Eagles and Commodores have played twice, in 1962 and 1963, with the Eagles being victorious both of those games.
Pittsburgh and Oregon State are ready to do battle in El Paso for the 2008 Sun Bowl Title on December 30th 2008. It has been a good season for the Beavers, who are playing in their eighth bowl game in the last 10 seasons. Oregon State has won each of its last four bowl games under coach Riley, including 39-38 decision against Missouri in the 2006 Sun Bowl. This is Pitt’s 25th all-time bowl game and its first under fourth-year coach Dave Wannstedt formerly of the National Football League. The Panthers are just 10-14 all-time in the post-season games, including a 35-7 losing affair against Utah in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Pitt and OSU have met only one other time and the Panthers won that game by a score of 38-13, in the 2002 Insight Bowl.
Houston is playing in a bowl game for the 19th time, going all the way back to 1952 when they program beat Dayton by a score of 26-21. More recently the teams has not had much post-season success, losing eight straight bowl games since routing Navy in 1980. In a bowl game for the fourth straight year, the Cougars lost to TCU in last year’s Texas Bowl by a final score of 20-13, moving the team to 7-10-1 in the bowl games overall. As for the Falcons, they played in this bowl last year against Cal and were on the losing end by a score of 42-36. The loss was the second in a row for the Falcons in bowl appearances, moving the team below .500 at 8-9-1. These teams met earlier this year for the first time ever, with the Falcons getting a 31-28 win over Houston back on September 13.
