Mid-Week Bowl Game Open Thread

So far in the OTE Confidence Pick’em, things are looking up. I missed on Georgia State and Arkansas State, but I’d wagered 5 and 13 points, respectively. While that sounds like an old-timey measurement of 18, it’s not even that important.

But this week, do I have points riding. Ohhhh do I have points riding.

Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl

Akron Zips (7-6, 6-2 MAC) vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (10-3, 8-0 C-USA)

Tuesday, 6pm | ESPN | FAU -22

MINUS TWENTY-TWO. That is the largest bowl game betting line in history. Do not bother fact-checking me, since I didn’t check my facts in the first place. I have now created news. Florida Atlantic and Lane Kiffin’s new 10-year contract (!!!) have made history.

ESPN Picks: 95% Florida Atlantic
My Pick: Florida Atlantic, 45-17 (41 points confidence)

DXL Frisco Bowl

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-6, 4-4 C-USA) vs. SMU Mustangs (7-5, 4-4 AAC)

Wednesday, 7pm | ESPN | SMU -4

Chad Morris is no longer the coach of SMU, and that means we get Sonny Dykes...coaching against the programs whose successes he parlayed into bringing us BEAR RAID at Cal. That’s about as exciting a storyline as we’ll get in this one.

ESPN Picks: 83% SMU
My Pick: Louisiana Tech, 35-31 (11 points confidence)

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

Temple Owls (6-6, 4-4 AAC) vs. FIU (Golden) Panthers (8-4, 5-3 C-USA)

Thursday, 7pm | ESPN | Temple -7

There will be lots of lawn mowers at this game. Like...a LOT of lawn mowers. It’s disappointing that this iteration won’t be played at 11am on a Monday, because that’s really what the St. BitPeter’s Jack MagicBeefBurg Coin’O’Brady’s Bowl should be all about.

Anyways, this one’s got Butch Davis and Geoff Collins, two coaches whose careers have taken...very different trajectories. Their teams will do football things, and this will probably end in some stupid 19-15 score.

ESPN Pick: 71% FIU
My Pick: FIU, 20-16 (11 points confidence)

Bahamas Bowl

UAB Blazers (8-4, 6-2 C-USA) vs. Ohio Bobcats (8-4, 5-3 MAC)

Friday, 11:30am | ESPN | Ohio -7.5

I would like to get #NotMyBahamasBowl trending on Twitter, please. Consider the evidence:

• The loss of Popeyes as a sponsor, thus depriving us of debates over third-tier chicken chains.
• This game is supposed to give us offense. The first two years: Western Kentucky (9th in S&P+ Offense) and Central Michigan (88th), giving us an amazing 49-48 shootout. 2015 had the same feature, when Western Michigan (22) and Middle Tennessee (54) gave us a 45-31 affair.
• 2016? Old Dominion (63rd) and Eastern Michigan (58), resulting in a boring 24-20 game. This year, UAB rings in at 89, while Ohio is 33 but does that on the ground. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

If this game does not end at least 40-30, I say we revolt.

ESPN Pick: 52% Ohio
My Pick: Ohio, 28-24 (4 points confidence)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Central Michigan Chippewas (8-4, 6-2) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (7-5, 5-3)

Friday, 3pm | ESPN | PICK

Josh Allen is back, and he’s ready to sling some fuckin’ TDs and get that NFL paycheck. So that’ll be a fun thing to watch for. But you know what’s better? Wyoming football in the snow. And where better to have snow than Boise in December?

SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE

ESPN Pick: 55% Central Michigan
My Pick: Wyoming, 31-27 (5 points confidence)

Here’s your thread for bowl games for the week. Vote in the polls for each game (close around gametime) and behave in the comments.

Be sure to check out all our Big Ten bowl game previews in the 2017-18 Big Ten Bowl Games stream!