2019 College Bowl Picks – Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl & Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl: Another College Football regular season is in the books, but the action is far from over. There are more than 40 bowl games still to come, and while the College Football Playoff matchups and the rest of the New Year’s Six game will get most of the attention, there is money to be made in the ancillary bowls, as well. The games begin December 20, and the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl and Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl will get things started.
2019 College Bowl Picks: Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl & Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo (-5) vs. Charlotte
We have a couple of hot teams meeting in this one with Charlotte putting a five-game winning streak on the line against a Buffalo team that has won five of its last six. It will be the first bowl appearance for the 49ers since becoming an FBS team, but they are going to have their work cut out for them. Charlotte has struggled on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 32.5 points per game and 190.8 rushing yards per game. The latter of which is going to be a major issue against the Bulls.
Buffalo’s offense is led by running back Jaret Patterson, who has rushed for 1,626 yards and 17 touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per attempt. Patterson should be fed early and often in this one, and the 49ers aren’t going to have an answer. Throw in a Buffalo defense that ranks 12th in the country in sacks and seventh in yards allowed, and the 49ers first bowl appearance isn’t going to end well. The Bulls should win this one comfortably.
Prediction: Buffalo Bulls (-5) Cover the Spread
Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl: Utah State (-9) vs. Kent State
A pair of entertaining quarterbacks will be at the center of this matchup. Kent State’s offense revolves around dual-threat weapon Dustin Crum. Crum has thrown for 2,333 yards, 18 touchdowns and just two picks while adding 560 rushing yards and five touchdowns. On the other side, Jordan Love leads the Utah State attack, and despite throwing nearly as many interceptions (16) and touchdowns (17) this year, he has garnered interest from NFL scouts based on his raw arm talent.
Both sides are allowing more points than they score this year, and both defenses are yielding well over 400 yards of offense to opponents. When shaky defenses meet talented quarterbacks, you have the recipe for a shootout, and that’s exactly what I’m expecting in this one. In what should be a back-and-forth affair that could come down to which team has the ball last, I’ll take the Golden Flashes and the nine points, especially with Love’s tendency to make a bad decision or two over the course of a game.
Prediction: Kent State Golden Flashes (+9) Cover the Spread
