After waiting all year it is finally here.  Since the beginning of December I have been counting down the days.  I’ve made my lists, I’ve checked them twice, I’ve looked to see who’s been hitting the overs and who’s been covering the spreads.  Finally, it’s starting to look a lot like College Bowl Season.

The College Bowl Season presents problems for the handicapper, the bettor, and the sportsbook.  The problems stem from a variety of reasons.  First and foremost is that most of the teams playing have very little history between each other.  In a game based on matchups, one has very little information to go on.

Everyone has their own tricks and tips on how they make their own picks; for some it’s from experience.  That’s the experience of many a Saturday afternoon, glued to the TV watching game after game with picture in a picture, only taking a break to use the bathroom and hit the refrigerator.  For others it’s based on the numbers and the trends, like those found at LasVegasSportsLine.com.  For others it’s a combination of the two.

Picking the College Bowl Season is different than picking the regular season.  During the regular season there is usually a history between the teams.  You can use the previous years matchups as a base then use a litany of other materials such as, like opponents, how the team plays on the road/at home, previous weeks performance, who’s playing well, who’s having a tough year, who’s injured, and what player was suspended for violating what ever team/league policy.

Aside of all the above mentioned criteria the College Bowl Season brings with it a whole new variety of items to be considered.  The biggest of these items tends to be the 3-4 week layoff.  There are a number of different approaches to what kinds of teams are affected the most and what types are affected the least.  One theory is that the more physical teams are affected the most because there is no way to prepare for the physical aspect other than game conditioning.  Another is that the more skilled teams will suffer because game time timing will be off.

When looking to handicap the games yourself there are a variety of items you can look at to help make your choice.  Some of the items that I personally like to look at are like opponents.  Sometimes it’s also not enough to see how they fared against like opponents but other factors, like who was home and who was away.  Who was injured or playing injured, or where there any weather considerations, to name a few.

Some of the other items I like to look at are, do the teams star players rise to the occasion of playing in a big game.  This can also be a time to look at the strength of schedule each team has played.  What type of team speed does the team have and on what side of the ball; despite a layoff team speed usually doesn’t take a hit.  Team speed can also make up for various defensive mistakes.

Now that you’re armed with all of the top secret information getting techniques, you’re ready to begin.  For a limited time SportingBetUSA is offering a chance to win $100,000 on a 13 team parlay.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays Everyone!

Nick Rizzo

Questions and comments can be directed to NickR@LasVegasSportsLine.com