Every week during the season, Will Harris will check with the computers (using Insider's PickCenter) and wise guys to evaluate the upset possibilities in college football's most compelling games and give his picks for which teams will come out on top.
We had a successful season picking games against the spread this season (81-54 in the regular season and conference championship games) and have now set our sights on picking every bowl game.
For a look at our picks for the first six games, click here. In this edition, we'll pick the winners for the eight games spanning from Dec. 24 to Dec. 28. And keep checking back for our selections all bowl season long.
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks versus Ohio Bobcats
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl (Dec. 28)
Louisiana-Monroe is favored by seven points.
Handicappers always want their side's offensive strength matched with the other side's defensive weakness. Conversely, we want the opposing team's offensive strength matched with our team's defensive strength. In this game, that principle points squarely to the favored Warhawks on both sides of the ball. Louisiana-Monroe began the year as a pass-first team with some balance, fueled principally by Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Kolton Browning and a nifty group of receivers. But now that workhorse back Jyruss Edwards and a key backup have been lost to injury, this is absolutely a passing team, one that's eclipsed 300 passing yards four times in its past six games yet has failed to top 80 rushing yards in four of those games.
