Houston vs. FSU 2015 Peach Bowl Betting Preview

Posted by Daniel Strum on Tuesday,December 29, 2015 5:29, EDT in

The Houston Cougars and Florida State Seminoles will both look to pick up the season-ending ‘W’ when they square off in the 2015 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 at 12:00 PM ET, live from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Cougars want to reach the 13-win mark for the second time in school history while the Seminoles try to help their senior class become the first in FBS history to win 50 games in a four-year span. Now college football online odds fans, let’s find out who’s going to strike pay dirt!

How To Bet the Cougars vs. Seminoles 2015 Peach Bowl NCAAF Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Thursday, December 31, 12:00 PM ET
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: ESPN
Stream Option: WatchESPN
NCAAF Odds: Florida State -7
O/U: 55.5

Florida State is a 7-point favorite to beat the underdog Cougars after opening as a 6.5-point fave. The game’s O/U Total is sitting at 55.5 after opening at 56.5. The Seminoles are a -275 favorite against the Moneyline while Houston sits at +210.

Why Bet The Houston Cougars Odds at +7

Because the Cougars have proven they can pay with anyone! Houston will ride a two-game winning streak into this contest that includes their impressive 24-13 win over nationally-ranked Temple in the AAC title game on Dec. 5 while covering the spread as a 5.5-point favorite that day.

The Cougars are led by underrated quarterback Greg Ward Jr. (1,041 rushing yards, 19 TDs) and equally underappreciated running back Kenneth Farrow (949 yards, 12 TDs). For his part, Ward has completed an incendiary 68.1 percent of his passes for 2,590 yards with 16 TD passes and just five interceptions. The dual-threat signal-caller also leads all FBS quarterbacks with 16 runs of at least 20 yards.

The Cougars also have a gifted receiver in Demarcus Ayers who led the Cougars with 89 catches for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns. Houston ranked an impressive 11th in the country in scoring (40.6 ppg) while also ranking 19th in points allowed (20.5 points) and 12th in rushing defense (116 yards). Last but not least, the Cougars also finished second nationally with an insane plus-17 turnover margin after recording a whopping 30 takeaways.

Why Bet The Florida State Seminoles Odds at -7

Because they have superior talent on their roster! Florida State has won tree straight including their emphatic 27-2 beat-down of Florida in their regular season finale on Nov. 28 as 2.5-point road faves. Quarterback Sean Maguire will make his first bowl game start after throwing for 1,128 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions after replacing former Notre Dame star Everett Golson for the second half of the season. Golson will miss this contest because of personal reasons. In eight starts, Golson posted a 7-1 record while completing more than 67 percent of his passes for 1,778 yards, with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Noles are led by supremely gifted running back Dalvin Cook, a player that recorded the most 20-yard runs (22) among all FBS running backs this season. Maguire will throw early and often to wide receivers Kermit Whitfield (53 catches for 742 yards, six TDs) and Travis Rudolph (52, 715 yards, six).

The Seminoles are the first team since Alabama in 2011 to hold each regular-season opponent to 25 points or less while finishing fifth in points allowed (15.8 ppg). Florida State averages a solid 32.3 points per game offensively to rank 44th in the country.

My Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

While 52 percent of the betting public like Florida State to get the win and ATS cover, I’m firmly on the side of the 48 percent of bettors that like Houston for the upset. While Florida State has gone 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games, Houston has posted a solid 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games.

The Cougars are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog of eight points or less while Florida State has gone 5-5 ATS over their L/10 games as a favorite of eight points or more. More importantly, the Cougars have shown up in every game this season and I believe they’re going to give Florida State a tough way to go in this matchup.

The point spread for this contest is too high, making the Houston Cougars the pick to cash in!

My final score prediction: Houston 27, Florida State 24