College Football Odds and Picks: Gamble-Tron, Bowl Edition

Welcome back, and Happy almost Holidays to all of our gambling friends out there, pretend or otherwise! We’re back for our annual exercise in futility. No, not rooting for the Cougs in the Apple Cup. Instead, we’re gonna try picking bowl games. This has always been an tradition fraught with peril under normal circumstances, as it often came down to the “who wants to be there?” factor, which wasn’t easy to gauge! We also found a little zen in the cover photo, which is from one of the many great Christmas markets in Köln, Germany. Team Kendall ventured up there a couple winters ago, and it was magnificent. Kinda wish we were able to go back! Where was I? Oh year, bowl games.

Trying to predict these things is even more difficult now, as the transfer window and players skipping the game altogether have made a lot of teams largely unrecognizable from the form the took in the regular season. It’s enough to make a guy throw up his hands and toss the responsibility to the dogs. So that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!

We were mining back through some old bowl prediction posts the other day, and recalled that we’d featured the Kendall kids from time to time. That led us into the way, way back machine, where we unearthed this old gem.

As you can see by the video’s title, we had to take some creative license here and call for a re-rack. Also, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THOSE LITTLE KIDS WHEW DID THEY GO?!

Better.

We upped the production value a little for 2015, as the Cougs were making their own bowl appearance!

Including one more from 2015 because the then-4 year-old seemed to want a piece of the brown liquor.

Fast forward to 2018 and another continent, where the kiddos were once again on the Cougs, but were also somehow confused as to who the Cougs were playing, and the then-7 year-old had a thoughtful - if also misplaced - take.

So now here we sit, nine years since we started this, and five years since the kids made some predictions of their own. So we thought we’d get the band back together once again. Except for now, instead of a three-person band ala Nirvana, we’ve added a fourth member in Cousin Makenna to make us more like Foo Fighters!

It’s kind of good that it seems odd to write a bowl predictions article without WSU taking part. Also kind of stinks! Then again, given WSU’s abject awfulness in bowl games over the past decade, it’ll be kind of nice to not endure another end-of-season two-game faceplant. But we shall persist!

Due to school nights and post-school schedules we’re knocking out the first two games of bowl season today, and we’ll be back with Part II next week.

Independence Bowl

Cal vs. Texas Tech (-3)

L.A. Bowl

Boise State vs. UCLA (-4.5)

As you could tell from the first video - seeing as how he was sequestered in the kitchen, Buda the Handicapping Hound wanted in on the action. So we indulged the pup, laying out a treat in front of each team’s logo. Whichever logo treat Buda eats first is his pick against the spread. Let’s see!

Buda is also clearly upset at the teams that ruined the Pac-12.

So there you have it. We have completely shirked all responsibility for our bowl gambling obligations, as any good parent and pet owner would. Stay tuned for Part II, coming this week!