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There are four bowl games on the schedule today as we get to the final section of bowl season. The day is highlighted by a match-up between the 10-2 Florida Gators and the 9-4 Virginia Cavaliers. Florida finished the season ranked ninth with their only two losses coming to LSU and Georgia, two teams in the College Football Playoff. Florida is favored by over two touchdowns here.
We also having Illinois facing California in the Redbox Bowl and Mississippi State facing off against Louisville in the Music City Bowl. That second game could be a high scoring affair. While none of these teams are particularly highly ranked, they do create some good match-ups as the teams are equally talented.
College Football Betting Tips:
Redbox Bowl – Illinois vs. California: Cal is going to be without quite a few players here as the team looks to protect players from injury. That is going to cost them some key starters on defense which could change the nature of this game. The Cal defense is their strength, especially, against the run but they will be without a number of linebackers in this game which is going to hurt.
Especially against a team like Illinois that rely heavily on the run. I think this game is going to be much more important for Illinois too as they are playing in their first bowl game since 2014. They finished the season with two ugly losses after a season filled with impressive wins, but I am thinking they pick up here. The last two some them deal with the loss of QB Brandon Peters who may be back for this, but if he’s not redshirt freshman Matt Robinson showed improvement.
Music City Bowl – Mississippi State vs. Louisville: Mississippi State had a very weird season, but I think they are a much better team then we saw this season. A big part of that was the sheer number of suspended players they had this season. Safety Marcus Murphy, linebacker Willie Gay and defensive tackle Lee Autry are all expected to play in the bowl game after missing eight games each for a violation of team rules. That is going to make a big difference on the defensive end for this team. The team is 3-1 in games that they have played and 3-5 in the ones that they missed.
The Cardinals are one of the weaker teams in football against the run and I think MSU to run heavily here. The SEC’s leading rusher was running back Kylin Hill who is playing in his final game for Mississippi State. He wants to end his college career with a win here and I think his team will help him do just that.
Orange Bowl – Virginia vs. Florida: The Gators have an absolutely dominant defense that is going to make life very difficult for Virginia QB Bryce Perkins. He’s had a very good season, but he’d need to be absolutely perfect to win this one.
I just don’t see that happening. The Gators defense is too dominant and their offense is too complete. While the team will rest some players here, the depth here is strong, and running back Lamical Perine should have a great game here.
