Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State (NCAAF) - 3:30 PM EST Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 3.5/-110 Western Kentucky Rating: 8* Mike's Intra-State CFB Saturday Steamer Play (LOSS) Mike's staying in-state as his 1st 2 plays will be played in the state of Alabama. I love the fact that Western Kentucky has a score to settle for a 27-17 loss to the Panthers in the 2017 Cure Bowl. 2nd-year HC Tyson Helton (9-4 last season) looks for a 6-6 season here with a "W" to make it back-to-back bowl wins after a 23-20 win over Western Michigan in last year's First Responder Bowl. The Hilltoppers (winners of 3 straight) haven't played a soft schedule as they've had losses to Louisville, Liberty, UAB & B.Y.U.. On the flip side of the coin, the game that stands out for me with GSU is that embarrassing 51-0 loss to Coastal Carolina as 4-point home underdogs. My bottom line says it will be a gigantic plus for WKU to have veteran & senior QB Tyrrell Pigrome (a transfer from Big-10 entry Maryland) behind center who brings in a nifty 9/0 TD/INT ratio. WR's Mitchell Tinsley & Xavier Lane have emerged as reliable targets combining for 743 receiving yards & 5 TD's. DC Clayton White will be relying on his leading tackler in FS Devon Key to keep the Georgia State passing game in check. Even though WR's Sam Pinckney & Cornelius McCoy have combined for 1,112 yards receiving, it's hard to trust redshirt freshman QB Cornelius Brown IV whose thrown 9 INT's this season against a softer schedule. 4th-year HC Shawn Elliott is making his 2nd bowl appearance here after losing to Wyoming 38-17 as 7-point dogs in last year's Arizona Bowl. The analytics stress these Panthers don't fare well versus sub .500 teams going 3-9 ATS as a favorite. Let's not forget Conference USA's Hilltoppers took Sun Belt favorites out to lunch (they played in it from 2009-14) going an amazing take-me-back-to-the-window 13-1 ATS as an underdog. WKU is no slouch on defense ranking 21st in the country yielding a stingy 267 YPG. Let's jet down to Ladd-Peebles Stadium (the former Ernest F. Ladd Memorial Stadium) in Mobile, AL to play the WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS (buying to + 5 1/2) as my 8* Intra-State CFB Saturday Steamer Play! Friday, December 25, 2020 Marshall vs. Buffalo (NCAAF) - 2:30 PM EST Premium Pick Pick: Point Spread: 6/-110 Marshall Rating: 9* Mike's First College Football Bowl Play (WIN) Mike's looking to grab some serious momentum in CFB starting this afternoon. I know one thing for sure. The 7-2 SU Thundering Herd find ways of getting up & motivated for bowl games. In their 7th bowl appearance in the last 8 seasons, they've also won 11 of their past 14 post-season dates SU over the longer haul. I'm looking for Marshall's key play-making defender S Nazeeh Johnson to swarm to the football all afternoon. Kudos to HC Lance Leipold in jetting out to a 5-0 SU record before Ball State laid the defensive blue-prints in stopping them 38-29 in the MAC title game last week. Speaking of MAC, these 2 last met in 2004 when both teams were in the Mid-American Conference. Last week, the Bulls looked confused @ times as they were stopped on downs 3 times, missed a FG & coughed up a fumble that was returned for a TD. Buffalo has lost 3 out of its last 4 bowl games both SU & ATS. On the flip side, we have a Thundering Herd squad whose not only won but covered their last 11 of 14 bowls. Their HC Doc Holliday (11th-year here) has been close to perfect going 5-1 SU & ATS in post-season affairs with their only blemish a 48-25 setback to UCF as a 15 1/2-point dog in last year's Gasparilla Bowl. Even though both teams play an overall weak schedule, Marshall's 17-7 win over Appalachian State remains the most impressive to date despite them coming in off 2 losses. My bottom line points out the Thundering Herd's Grant Wells will be the best QB this game has to offer despite a few players opting out. Having the nation's 2nd-ranked run defense that yields just 88.9 YPG (2.7 YPC) is a strength taken to the bank getting this kind of number. I'm looking for a low-scoring game so we'll gladly go to the Cramton Bowl (the field's name) in Montgomery AL for the Camelia Bowl to play the MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD (buying to + 7 1/2) as my 9* First College Football Bowl Play! Mike Handzelek's 2020-21 CFB Bowl Record: 1-1 for 50% Mike Handzelek's 2020-21 CFB Overall Seasonal Record: 26-26 50%
 

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