The regular season was not very kind to me in terms of my college football teaser picks. I finished the year 7-7 and in the red after Memphis failed to come through in the AAC Championship. Despite holding a 17-point lead at halftime against a team playing with its back-up quarterback, the Tigers failed to cover 10.5 points against UCF and ended up losing by 15. It was a laughable effort from a team that continually shot itself in the foot throughout the season, but my performance throughout the season was just as laughable. Here’s hoping that will change this bowl season.
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
College Football Teaser Pick
Six-point teaser option at -110 betting odds
Fresno State +1 vs. Arizona State
Appalachian State -0.5 vs. Middle Tennessee State
I don’t typically play a lot of favorites during bowl season. You don’t know which teams are going to treat the bowl game seriously, and there are usually a lot of things going on behind the scenes because of coaching changes and the early-signing period in recruiting. However, I can’t pass up the value in both Fresno State and Appalachian State.
Fresno State is a much better team than Arizona State. The Bulldogs are ranked 10th in S&P+, while the Sun Devils are a middle of the pack team (54th in S&P+). They have one of the best defenses in the nation, and Marcus McMaryion has been very good in his second year under Jeff Tedford.
The Sun Devils won’t have one of their top weapons available either. Star wide receiver N’Keal Harry is skipping the bowl game to focus on the NFL Draft, and that will leave Manny Wilkins without his best option.
One other thing. This game is in Las Vegas, and usually one of the two teams spends the week leading up to it checking out some of the finer things Sin City has to offer. My money is on the school considered to be the top party school in the nation.
Appalachian State has a lot to prove ahead of this bowl game. The Mountaineers have won three straight bowl games, and they will want to show they can win without head coach Scott Satterfield, who took over as the new head coach at Louisville last week, and the players want to pick up a win for interim head coach Mark Ivey.
There is a massive disparity between these two teams ahead of this game. While Appalachian State was ranked 13th in S&P+, Middle Tennessee State was right in the middle of the pack at 61st. The Mountaineers have been known for their preparation and fundamentals since making the jump to FBS, and this is their chance to prove it.
