It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is coming and my college football teaser picks are cashing. I had two easy winners last week as Fresno State and Appalachian State both covered the original spread even though I needed both teams to just win outright. Appalachian State ran over Middle Tennessee State on the ground in a 45-13 win, and Fresno State grabbed a 31-20 victory over Arizona State.
Week 1 Teaser: Loser
Week 2 Teaser: Winner
Week 3 Teaser: Winner
Week 4 Teaser: Winner
Week 5 Teaser: Loser
Week 6 Teaser: Loser
Week 7 Teaser: Loser
Week 8 Teaser: Winner
Week 9 Teaser: Loser
Week 10 Teaser: Winner
Week 11 Teaser: Winner
Week 12 Teaser: Loser
Week 13 Teaser: Winner
Week 14 Teaser: Loser
Bowl Week 1 Teaser: Winner
College Football Teaser Betting Odds
Six-point teaser option at -110 betting odds
Minnesota +11.5 vs. Georgia Tech
Duke +10.5 vs. Temple
Motivation is a big thing in bowl season, and there is no better motivator than PJ Fleck. Fleck has more energy and fire than any other coach in college football, and you could see what a bowl game meant to his new players after they defeated Wisconsin in the season finale to win Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
Related: College Football Betting Guide
The Golden Gophers are a middle of the pack team according to S&P+, but they are ranked 16 spots higher than Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have an efficient offense, yet they have been brought down by a defense that has had a hard time stopping opponents.
This is Paul Johnson’s last game as the head coach of Georgia Tech, so his players will be fired up. Georgia Tech is a triple option team though, and a team that is disciplined and motivated can snuff out the triple option pretty easily. Additionally, the location of the game ensures that there will be far more Minnesota fans than Georgia Tech fans, and I think the Golden Gophers will win outright.
Duke has a good chance to beat Temple too. The Blue Devils looked abysmal at the end of the season so a lot of people have jumped off the bandwagon, but they know how to win away from home. They won four road games this season and knocked off quality teams like Army, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, and Miami.
The Blue Devils also have a quarterback that needs to have a big game to help his NFL draft stock in Daniel Jones. Draftniks are calling Jones a potential first-round selection, but he has thrown for less than 160 yards in three of his last four games. He will be motivated to shine in this one.
David Cutcliffe has been able to get his team up for bowl games. The Blue Devils have won two bowl games in a row, and they stayed within one score of both Arizona State and Texas A&M in 2013 and 2014.
Temple is playing under an interim coach for this bowl game prior to Manny Diaz taking over on a full-time basis at the end of the year. It’s hard to gauge how motivated teams are under a placeholder, so I’m willing to roll the dice here even though Temple is ranked higher than Duke in S&P+.
