Poinsettia Bowl Game Preview and Pick Against the Spread: Louisiana Tech vs. TCU
Written by Matthew Regaw
Tue, 20 Dec 2011
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
The Western Athletic Conference champ Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will go up against the No. 18 TCU Horned Frogs in this year's edition of the Poinsettia Bowl. This will be the first bowl game of the season that will feature a ranked team.
The Horned Frogs opened up as 11 point favorites when the college football bowl odds were released. The line has since been bet down to 9.5 points in some locations, although there are a few tens that can still be found. With 74% of the betting public on the Horned Frogs, this move is generated by smart money coming in on the Bulldogs. One of the reasons they are backing the Bulldogs is because TCU may have little motivation for this bowl game.
After all the Horned Frogs have gotten used to playing in BCS bowl games, but this year they failed to reach the minimum requirements for a BCS bowl game for a non-AQ champion. The Horned Frogs made an impressive late run that including a victory against Boise State, but it was not enough to get a BCS bid due to their ranking. A year removed from beating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl, TCU will now try and get excited to play Louisiana Tech. If the Horned Frogs are not careful, they could get caught napping in this game.
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are one of the hottest teams in the country and come in to this bowl game on a seven game winning streak. Even when the Bulldogs have lost, it has been by six points or less, making the points very attractive in this contest. Redshirt junior quarterback Colby Cameron leads an explosive offense that is averaging 30.6 points and 397.5 yards, which is one of the best in the country. With an array of deadly weapons at wide receiver, the vaunted TCU defense will be put to the test.
The Bulldogs have beaten some quality opponents this season to include an impressive SEC road win. They are 13-3 against the spread when playing a team with a winning record and 5-0 ATS in their last five non-conference games. The Bulldogs are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games following a win and 6-0 ATS in the last six games as an underdog.
The Horned Frogs are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games, 0-4 ATS in their last four neutral site games as a favorite, and 0-4 ATS in their last four neutral site games.
TCU sophomore quarterback Casey Pachall will have troubles dealing with the ball-hawking Bulldogs secondary. WAC defensive player of the year Adrien Cole will cause problems up front, and the Horned Frogs could lose this game outright.
Bet on the hot team that is happy to be playing in this game getting the points.
Poinsettia Bowl pick against the spread: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs +10