Big Al McMordie Available Picks

January, 01 2010 1:00pm EST
ATS: Florida State Seminoles +3 (-120)
WIN for +4.17 unit(s)

Florida State Seminoles at West Virginia Mountaineers

At 1 pm, on New Year's Day, our selection is on the Florida State Seminoles + the points over West Virginia.  The "marquee" game on New Year's Day may not be the Rose Bowl between Oregon and Ohio State, or the Sugar Bowl between Cincinnati and Florida, but rather this game -- the Gator Bowl -- between a 6-6 Florida State squad and a 9-3 West Virginia Mountaineer team.  And that's because it will be the final game for 44-year head coach Bobby Bowden.  Ironically, Bowden had a coaching stint at WVU (along with one at Samford) before settling in as the face of the Florida State program.  In his career, he won 388 games, including a 315-97-4 record with the Seminoles.  I, for one, will greatly miss him, as its colorful coaches like him, Lou Holtz, Joe Paterno, Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes that made the College game great for me.
The Mountaineers opened as a 3-point favorite, but the number has ticked down to 2.5 (as of this writing), perhaps reflecting the sentiment of bettors that Florida State will send its coach into retirement with a win.  And I can't argue with that line of thought.  Bobby Bowden usually gets his team ready for the post-season, as evidenced by Florida State's 4-0-1 ATS Bowl run.  And his teams are at their best in Bowl games when they lost their last regular season game (FSU fell 37-10 at Florida at season's end).  In this situation, FSU has covered eight of nine Bowl games when not favored by more than 10 points.  West Virginia comes into today's contest off back to back SU/ATS upset wins over Big East foes Pitt and Rutgers.  And Bowl favorites (or Pk'em) off 2 straight wins and covers over conference foes are an awful 38-62 ATS in the Bowls since 1980.  Finally, ACC Conference teams are a superb 25-13 ATS as underdogs in Bowl games vs. foes off a win including 5-0 ATS since 2008.  Take Florida State.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.  And don't miss my other Winners in College Football today, and throughout the rest of the Bowl season, as we're having another winning campaign.

Big Al McMordie College Football Past Picks

College Football

Texas Longhorns @ Alabama Crimson Tide Thursday January 7, 2010 8:10 pm
At 8 pm, our selection is on the Texas Longhorns + the points over Alabama, as Texas falls into several of my best systems, with records of 44-14, 21-7, 82-42, 55-26, 65-26, 98-62, and 84-40 ATS.  Let's take a look at our 84-40 angle.  It goes against .500 (or better) teams ... read more

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College Football

Cincinatti Bearcats @ Florida Gators Friday January 1, 2010 8:30 pm
At 8:30 pm, our selection is on the Cincinnati Bearcats plus the points over Florida.  This is a great matchup between two teams that have a combined record of 24-1, yet the focus is more on the coaches than the players.  Urban Meyer stunned the sports world when he announced ... read more

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College Football

Florida State Seminoles @ West Virginia Mountaineers Friday January 1, 2010 1:00 pm
At 1 pm, on New Year's Day, our selection is on the Florida State Seminoles + the points over West Virginia.  The "marquee" game on New Year's Day may not be the Rose Bowl between Oregon and Ohio State, or the Sugar Bowl between Cincinnati and Florida, but rather this ... read more

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College Football

Tennessee Volunteers @ Virginia Tech Hokies Thursday December 31, 2009 7:30 pm
At 7:30 pm, our selection is on the Tennessee Volunteers plus the points over Virginia Tech, as Tennessee falls into several of my best bowl systems (which have records of 65-25, 97-61, 68-37, 36-13 and 44-13 ATS). I've believed that Virginia Tech has been overrated for much of this ... read more

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College Football

Navy Midshipmen @ Missouri Tigers Thursday December 31, 2009 3:30 pm
At 3:30 pm, our selection is on Navy + the points over Missouri.  Over the last 19 years, no team has been a better "road warrior" than Navy, as the Midshipmen are an incredible 81-38 ATS when playing away from home, including 5-1 ATS in College Bowl games.  Additionally, ... read more

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College Football

Air Force Falcons @ Houston Cougars Thursday December 31, 2009 12:00 pm
At 12 Noon, our selection is on the Air Force Falcons plus the points over Houston.  The Cougars have quarterback Case Keenum, a Davey O'Brien Award finalist, and the nation's top-rated pass offense (450 ypg), but this is the worst match-up possible for Houston, as Air Force ... read more

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College Football

Bowling Green Falcons @ Idaho Vandals Wednesday December 30, 2009 4:30 pm
At 4:30 pm, our College Football Game of the Month is on the Idaho Vandals + the points over Bowling Green, as Idaho falls into several of my best systems, which have records of 64-27, 18-9, 59-26, 76-40, and 50-25 ATS.  Bowling Green is, ostensibly, the hotter of the two clubs, ... read more

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College Football

Wisconsin Badgers @ Miami Florida Hurricanes Tuesday December 29, 2009 8:00 pm
At 8 pm, in the Champs Sports Bowl, our selection is on the Wisconsin Badgers + the points over Miami Fla.  This is a game where I don't quite understand the pointspread.  By my numbers, the game should be a PK'em, yet Wisconsin has been installed as an underdog of MORE ... read more

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College Football

UCLA Bruins @ Temple Owls Tuesday December 29, 2009 4:30 pm
At 4:30 pm, our selection is on the Temple Owls plus the points over UCLA, as Temple falls into a 64-26 ATS system of mine that plays on certain teams in bowl games off upset losses to end the regular season.  Also, I have a 2nd bowl system that applies to the Owls that's 77-40 ... read more

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College Football

Texas A&M Aggies @ Georgia Bulldogs Monday December 28, 2009 5:00 pm
At 5 pm, our selection is on the Texas A&M Aggies + the points over Georgia.  The Bulldogs come into this game with a porous defense that's given up over 26 ppg this year.  And that's a huge negative indicator for Bowl teams.  Indeed, since 1980, Bowl teams that ... read more

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