BRIDGE PLAYYYYOFFS

BP 1-2 .. 31-24 YTD
SM 2-0 .. 59-54 YTD

CHAMP WK RECAP:

BRIDGE PLAYS
OREGON -3 
TULANE -5 
J.VILLE/W.KY UNDER 58.5 

SMALLER
GEORGIA +3 
UNLV/BOISE UNDER 58.5 

BP Whiffs really stunk .. we thought the ankle situation would slow down 2ND LT.HUFF in some meaningful way and idk he had probably the single most efficient QB performance of the entire CFB season going 11/15 for 176 and 23 carries for 167 yds .. 38 plays 243 yds 3 TD's .. I guess he plays much better with one of those Forrest Gump braces on his leg .. and his co pilot Tre Stewart rushed for another 200 yds and 3 TD's .. ok total bust but we nearly still won because of WKY's total inability to score .. came down to a last couple mins 4th n Goal at the 10 yd line and we were good by the hook .. Rich Rod puts Smothers in for one play and when every single person in the stands would know he's gunna likely run it they all bite on the reverse and he moonwalks in to go up 52-12 .. sheesh .. 

Tulane total whiff and wow I thought after last year they'd be dialed in and have advantages especially thru the air .. but they were TOTALLY thrown off by the road spot late game west point the black uni's the cadets going wild the freezing temps and when the D couldn't get a stop really just one of their endless H1 mistakes probably cost them the game .. can't convert on 4th and get the bad hold on the FG... then the missed FG .. then the kick ret fumble .. then an Int .. they weren't anywhere near mentally or physically tough total meltdown UTSA's D fared so much better in the same stadium .. and Army no prob in what I thought would at least be a tricky spot with their real big game on deck for them and not used to playing the week before that one .. total whiff .. good job Army WOW!!

Oregon read not bad but I gotta say Penn State sitting in the old 'totally not expecting to play their biggest game in 10 years cancel the week off and rush together a game plan vs #1 team' spot .. they were a much tougher out than I expected .. you saw a few plays that were duds and a few just a hare from Tyler Warren from maybe housin it .. very tough to contain Oregon's offense but they stopped em to give em a shot and offense was hummin enough .. Like PSU to clean it up in the playoff they're dangerous .. 

UGA woah buddy .. destined to be a defensive game in THE BENZ .. and you knew Kirby had the coaching advantage in that kinda game .. but woah nellie Dawgs D was on gave UT run game NOTHING 51 yds .. 31 after negative sack yds .. made ewers make all kinda mistakes .. is the dawgs offense better w Stockton too goin forward?.. bit of luck we got his level of play .. again backup QB's ready to roll has been a thing team Kirby and maaan was it huge in that one .. saved the day .. 

UNLV/Boise cmon what did you expect .. 

Bowl season so not doing Bridge play / smaller stuff might even middle on quite a few games as I'm going along .. Remember some tenants of bowl season none of which are in stone but have to be considered in our decision making .. 

Is there a reason the team wants to play in this game? ..

Journey to a bowl game realized?  .. Sam Houston, Uconn, Vandy .. Nebraska eesh?!
And/Or This time we win it? .. Uconn, JMU .. 
Team unites to claw their way in? .. Oklahoma, Florida, Coastal, ECU, UTSA, Baylor! .. cal?.. eek idk
BIG momentum lead into next year? .. S.Carolina, Florida, Nebraska?.. Syracuse!! Baylor??!!
Fell just short == Unfinished business? .. Colorado .. BYU .. doh! .. Miami??!! .. JMU??
Team just LOVES bowl games? .. Minny, Army, Navy .. Duke?!, K-St?? .. Rutgers?.. T-TECH?!!!! .. Miami Oh?!
Home field or just about? .. S.Bama, Coastal, Baylor, Florida, Miami
Coach / Players rally team? .. SJSU, Ken in Hawaii w quite a few seniors on the tm .. Memphis, Henny last hurrah?? .. Jville LT.Huff last hurrah?? .... PAVIA 
Let's go beat those F'ers .. Navy, Memp, Bama, Illinois, Duke, Uconn, Baylor, ECU!

Reason to not be interested in showing up?
Players not happy .. Fresno didn't hire Tim Skipper .. note Skippy is coaching the bowl and maybe the guys play for him? .. lotta guys in the portal lol .. 
Mass Exodus .. N.Texas .. Fresno .. W.Kentucky .. Wash State .. Pitt .. Arkansas?? .. Coastal eek .. Marshall eeek!! 
Missed our goal .. deflated .. UNLV? .. WKY, .. Iowa State?.. Bama ?...Miami?.. Marshall!! ULL?? .. 
That was our last game .. seeya!! .. Michigan .. GA-Tech?? .. 
We never show up to these .. Ga.So? .. Kiffin? ..
Team has no QB? .. Marsh, Coastal??, eek idk

Not listing every team in the situations plenty of situations to go around .. Mass Exodus but do they still play the game? We saw it w JMU last yr but still a loss .. get it back this year, program first bowl win? .. QB gone but is the backup the likely starter / trying out for next year and rocks out? .. last year we saw it w WKY, UTSA, Ohio, .. Tulane mensah gone maybe but Ty Thompson steps in and rallies em?? .. 

LOT TO THINK ABOUT!!!

BRIDGE BOWLS

SAM HOUSTON +7

Keeler out and mass exodus to the portal was noted but I've seen the SAMMY insiders saying the guys are rallying to the cause and are showing up .. I expected this because Sam Hoo is a really proud program and these guys went on a long journey to get to this bowl game and important detail for this situation I think is the proximity of the bowl game to year end .. Dec 19 is right around the corner and guys will enjoy Xmas and the holidays hopefully after a trip to New Oreleans playing in the Ceasars Dome .. like just nooo wayyyy I was thinking the team doesn't rally and complete the mission .. I don't have much intel on G-Southern I sorta expect them to show up, havent seen any kinda mass exodus although their coach is on a few hiring lists for good reason .. However, recall last couple years their performance getting OBLITERATED last year by Ohio when all signs pointed to them and same 2ya signs point to them big time and fairly down n out Buffalo squad rallies to edge them out bad game for G-SO in both .. GIMME THE FREE TD with the team that I think is definitely showing up vs a legit MAYBE team .. both sides firing on all cylinders I still don't hate the play and decent shot if G-SO not interested that we pull off a win .. GOOD LUCK!

ON THE RADAR - TULANE

Mensah in the portal but are we sure he ain't playing this big game consolation prize spot?.. He might be gone but I coudl absolutely see this team rally to this one even if we realllly like UF's mojo heading into the bowl game Tulane I think can hang w these guys if Mensah ends up surprise playing but we don't know for sure where Ty Thompson is as a QB and very possible he can actually play .. I also suspect G5 xfers can really boost their stock by showing they can play with the big boyz if they want to hit the portal .. also the game is not THAT far off w potential xfers finding their next team right away .. plus Hottest name in coaching says he's staying on with his team and maaan what a case to rally in this spot after a huge deflating missed our goal loss @Army .. I was thinking hit UF at -9.5 but missed it .. get some more info on Tulane and take a chance on Ty-Thompson we might very well have a highly motivated quality team ready to play this game .. we'll see .. 

BRIDGE BOWLS

PENN STATE -8 (BM)

Was just praying we'd get -7 or better here It'll be another play if we do .. the concern of last game was exactly what we saw SMU OL is just not up to the challenge facing off vs the stronger DL's and we saw Jennings struggle all night .. Clem found a way to let them back in w offense stalling .. SMU pulled off a wild seat of your pants great comeback down 24-7 at the half only to find a way to lose with 16 seconds left its just not the sorta team I think can handle a better defense better offense in a true road maybe nasty elements environment I think they get rolled on here ... I was all over Oregon -3 and watching that game all I could think was these Nitney's are a real tough out, very surprised how they showed up in a spot where I just didn't think they'd have a great game plan and despite some quality play there were some mistakes and plays they were just a hare off and it cost em .. but despite not having much of an answer to oregon's offense and handing out a free TD w the pick 6 they had a shot to tie at the end and well it came up a little short .. Better game plan w very well rested team in true home field spot where they have major advantage I think vs Ponies OL and give them all kinda trouble .. not to mention Ponies might be a real fish outta water in this big environment .. GO NITNEYS .. 

BRIDGE BOWLS

DUKE / OLE MISS UNDER 53.5 (FAN)

News of Maalik Murphy hitting the portal and some tweet says he's not playing the game seems like confirm enough for me to just stab this under now .. we know the backup if he plays can't remember his name but he's not a big arm thrower short passer / scrambler and points will take a hit to the clock I suspect .. We haven't seen much activity from Ole Miss into the portal but I think that is definitely coming soon w the big miss from their playoff run .. they have a very underrated D and we'll see if Golden can get them to show up even with some big names out I still like them to have something .. and same for Manny and his DC this is a great test for them and if they can keep a few guys on the roster I don't think they'll be a total pushover .. if we lose this I suspect it'll be Ole Miss with a giant number into the 40's maybe and could see them struggle to do that.. the real shame of this is that I just so wanted to pound Duke ML with a team I suspected was maybe showing up in tact vs Kiffin maybe blowing the whole game off with recruiting not caring at all about this one .. shame .. good luck!

Thanks Bridge! GL this bowl season buddy

BRIDGE BOWL

JAMES MADISON -7.5

W.Kentucky just a flood of xfers its the entire roster and just the way that season ended feels like it would be really difficult to get up off the mat and play in this game .. 8 days from now .. team rallying to the spot and playing in the bowl is the only way I see this not being a total disaster .. on the flip side we have a really proud and strong program who was in that situation last year and did end up getting their transfers to play .. almost certainly at the request of curt cignetti who i'd imagine didn't want to take the opportunity away from his guys or the program .. alas here we are I can't see this being the situation for the Hills .. and as for JMU, they're still searching for that first ever bowl win in program history and its one I hit real early on -6 or so and back to hit it again now that the WKY roster has been reallly throttled .. even if we get WKY guys playing I think its a tough ask to get the big motivation out of them and well even if they show up motivated we see what can happen like in the champ game .. horrific in every way .. hate to lay points but I will in this situation and played it again where I'm posting it ... -7.5 ..  GO DUKES .. 

ARMY / MARSH NOTE .. 

Would be a little careful at this point hitting Army for the big number maybe wait till after the Navy game .. it sure looks like Marsh is just ducking out completely but entire OL i tact, both RB's still in and while ton of guys on D are out they had quite a few guys playing till the end of the season .. the QB situation looks dire but would surprise anyone if Cole Pennington steps out the portal to play this one for old time sake .. there's also quite a few 'final year' guys playing and a fan base that demands success every bowl season totally supportive of the team .. also the biggest most prestigious bowl theyve ever played in .. 

I bagged Army right away at -8.5 and -9.5 .. we could all see this being ARMY / HOUSTON of a few years ago .. I'd say let's not go chasing the line for now its moved already .. feels like any chance for Marsh to hang around they need to HOLD THE BALL as long as possible and feels like Army will try to do the same thing .. maybe we look at the under or first half under as DEF a chance the levy could break in this one .. 

Thanks for your effort & input. 

Bridge

@TRAIN69

 Yeah yer right but 2nd string is really heavy rotating string like 10 guys or .. was just a note of caution there .. but holy smokes their portal keeps going red hot even today I can;t blame anyone for taking Army - 2 tuddy's at this point I put a friggin atomic BOMB on em when it came out less than 10 and booooy o just hoping our QB doesn't get hurt in this Navy game .. 

The part I'd adjust on your final score is Marshall's 17 .. you will need Pennington to step back outta the portal and take over .. I could see that think he manned the bowl last year vs UTSA but 250 yds on 45% comps eek .. -30 yds w all the sacking they did on em no TD's guess they found other ways to get the 17 pts last yr .. I could see em getting blanked if he doesn't come back and some point in the game this turns into that houston bowl .. 70-zip .. plus I think QB final game and couple others you know they wanna go out w a big monster win .. either way if Marsh has Cole P or just some geek off the street im thinking first half they gotta hold that ball long as humanly possible i'd take a chance on H1 under maybe .. as of now they got their RB's and the OL in tact .. we'll see if that lasts lol .. good luck train!!

Jackson Dart already said he is Playing in Ole Miss game, think lots of guys stay and play but just my 2 cents

BRIDGE BOWL

IOWA STATE / MIAMI OVER 54.5

Not doing BP/Smaller but i'll note this is def not a bomb play there's a major risk here with Clones QB Rocco .. just a soph and no doubt a hot property if he jumps in the portal .. but that said I'm seeing whose jumped in already on the clones and its nothing major outside of backup QB JJ Kohl .. hence the major risk if Rocco bails ... but my sense is that Kohl left because Rocco is planning to stay on .. Kohl was an iowa recruit and if he was effectively handed the keys next year then idk why he'd bail out in this spot .. could boost his stock way up as a starter I'd imagine .. 

Anyway play assumes its a Rocco / Ward showdown, we've heard that Cam is suiting up and surprisingly I don't see very many Canes in the portal thus far .. def gunna be some pros leaving but if Cam is playing then its a great chance for his rec targets to be showcased one last time .. good reason to play also .. Ive also heard at least one of the clones WR's is playing think we're still waiting to hear about Higgy .. but both of them gotta look at the sitch too if they have Rocco they can also light up the Canes secondary .. anyway this is one we gotta put the puzzle together with incomplete info but really feels like both teams in a situation with players seeking some satisfying redemption to otherwise disappointing endings .. 

Anyway not a big play as noted just a flyer and certainly some risks noted but feels like we get the matchup we're looking for this really could blow by mid 50's total .. good luck!

oh no kidding I thought I saw Dart was out .. eek .. well they'll beat em up I guess but Dukies gotta figure out what to do w their situation which is looking pretty dire

^^^^

@UGACLP1995

good call I had heard he was out but looks like he's in it to win it now .. very unfortunate for duke they were one I was thinking could get guys to show up and pick off an ole miss team that might be in a little trouble in this game .. we'll see what dukies D can show up with you know Manny is gunna at least have a plan here .. gulp .. real hard to imagine Duke scoring much here tho Ole Miss might have to do all the leg work .. still don't hate the under in a real one sided situation like that .. Good luck!

BRIDGE BOWLS

TEXAS TECH +1.5

Made my 'check it out early' list because Red Raiders have OBLITERATED their bowl opponents the last 3 years .. we thought Mike Leach would show up to beat the team that owes him money .. nope .. Lane Kiffin doesn't oft show up for these got smoked .. Beat up a Cal team that fought hard to eek into a bowl .. it makes sense that TTECH would value a bowl game gives the players a chance to get outta Lubbock and this program went thru a long period of time where bowl games weren't the norm .. wanna attract guys to your program here's a good way to turn heads, beat the crap outta someone in the bowl game .. 

We're hoping they do that again .. the wonder is whether there are too many key injuries on Tech this team did fall apart during the year esp on D .. they lost OC kitley and maybe good thing they dropped their DC .. but not a ton of guys opting out or hitting the portal they lost the notable 5 star WR FR but rest of the unit looks in tact and so does the OL and most of the D looks okay .. the main thing is coach gets them to want to win big again and most of our battle will be fought along those lines .. 

Arkansas jumped on the radar early on with MASSIVE number of portal outs, opt outs and guys going pro not expected to play .. and I mean massive numbers .. they will / should have Tylanol Green but very depleted WR/TE room .. likely down 2 starting OL's and a few backups so that unit is on thin ice if they lose anyone else .. 5 starters out on D maybe one more that's injured in CB Robinson and just a crap load of backups hit the portal, not a great situation asking your starters to put up all the leg work in a bowl game they might prefer to live without .. we'll see .. I was surprised TTech got any points I hit this off the bat +2.5 and ML and again now +1.5 as the floor keeps kinda falling out for Arkey .. 

One bet to look at here is the win by margin .. not every book has those up yet but I hit a couple already for TTech winning by a few scores .. one of the games I'd def consider the margin call odds considering the ark situation and tech's history of blowot bowl wins .. good luck!

BRIDGE BOWLS

TULANE +14.5 (CIRCA)

Think the circus book saw Ty Thompson hit the portal but according to other news he's still playing in the bowl game .. this team has not lost much to the portal and has quite a few solids on their roster and that the coach has returned is big news .. Think there's alot to like about Florida but this is also a classic G5 vs Goliath matchup and funny feeling they can get the bad taste out their mouth with this game .. we're also getting a nice line here with the perception that Mensah leaving was going to doom them but Ty Thompson says he's using this game to showcase his skills and I'd imagine the team rallies to this spot .. anyway dropped a bomb on 14.5 because I think the line will swing very quickly back under 2 TD's .. shop around for best line .. 

BRIDGE BOWLS

TEXAS STATE -9.5 (BM)

Taking the last of the 9.5's the line came out over a TD and now we've floated up to pretty much 10's everywhere besides BM had it -109 and think Fan you can lay some extra odds .. don't think it lasts .. the profile for N.Texas is really dire and its a situation on offense with key players QB Chandler Morris and WR DT Sheffield gone .. this team lost a number of RB's early in the season and a decent one is still on hand in Shane Porter so some hope in that unit .. the OL is really in trouble with quite a few injured during the year and technically 3 starters remain from their final few games but its basically guys that had to step up and best outlook is you might have 5 guys available who played snaps this year but unit is throttled and very used to blocking for a guy like Morris that can hit any number of cheat codes when pressure comes in .. Saving grace maybe a fairly in-tact defense they weren't the worst thing ever early in the ssn but down the stretch things caught up to em and got rolled on esp on the ground .. I count 2 DL's playing major snaps in the last few games so don't wanna lose either of them for this one lol .. The one other saving grace maybe that Morris ends up playing because his dad is the OC on the Bobs .. but I think more likely case here is Morris signs on with the Bobs before the game even starts assuming there isin't some awesome offer coming his way which could happen .. either way its hard to imagine he waits around till friggin Jan 3rd to play this one .. the long time off I think only could hurt N.Texas w maybe more guys considering a move .. 

Texas State has had a few guys hit the portal their awesome RB Mahdi legit major dude but they have 2-3 more guys that can tote it and the sitch to like w them is Jordan Mccloud reportedly final year and maybe he can get some waiver and xfer but think he's approaching this like his last game .. and one bowl game last yr w JMU really wanted it so think we can count on him to make a memory in this one with fairly low pro prospects for him .. Portal been good to the Bobs WR unit in tact Joey Hobert maybe a shot to get drafted but could be his last game .. OL in tact too very good one .. most of the D is lookin live they did lose major game wrecker Ben Bell earlier this yr and have some questionables but its fairly in tact .. Kinne looking like he's staying on and that is def keeping the BOBS Show together and looking strong heading into this one .. long layoff for them might even help with some injuries and practice .. 

Would take this sooner than later think the 9.5's will be gone soon and if more of UNT falls apart and Morris confirms he's moved on this def feels like its going to -13.5 with just no reason to expect UNT to have a way to fight in this one .. good luck!

Great thread, good luck 

best of luck to you also 

BRIDGE BOWLS

TULANE +14.5
PENN STATE -8
TEXAS TECH +1.5
TEXAS STATE -9.5
SAM HOUSTON +7
JAMES MADISON -7.5
DUKE / OLE MISS UNDER 53.5
IOWA STATE / MIAMI OVER 54.5

COASTAL / UTSA NOTE .. 

Word of caution on UTSA / Coastal .. it looks like the Chants are getting throttled in the portal and they kinda are roster is on a sheet of thin ice .. but something real funny about the 2 QB's leaving you have Vasko the starter who won the last bowl game I can't imagine he'd leave thinking he'll be showered in portal riches and a locked in starting job he might win a job at the G5 level, best bet by faaar for him was to stay put .. you got Noah Kim whose been a career backup, he doesn't want to actually start a game and showcase himself in a bowl game at home on the Teal Turf??? .. Coastal has a POTENTIALLY good QB in the wings Tad Hudson 4 star ESPN top 150 QB left UNC last year behind some good QB's and clearly Coastal gave him a check to xfer there and came in after spring ball .. my gut says the others knew they couldn't compete w this guy or they'd stick around .. doesn't mean Tad comes in and rocks out in this game but .. its a bowl game at home and coach can't roll out a total dud here, like promise Kim he gets X number of drives and if he's hot keep him in .. nope they're ROLLIN W TAD for the big home game bowl .. 

Rest of the roster is in deed thin but its not quite as bad as the portal might make it look .. some questions at DL I count 2 that played this year ready to go .. def need Brayden Bennett playing in this game he's their best RB and probably best REC target .. 

UTSA had a major resurgence in 2nd half of the year and they absolutely look like a team that should be favored in this game .. but they have plenty of guys injured or portaling this year .. wouldn't say this is the BIG post season matchup we can count on everyone available playing / big effort .. Big ? at RB and a few of their studs banged up down the stretch .. there's quite a few guys on D that would get major looks which are still on the team as of today could be more outs for them .. 

I'd def consider Coastal for a ML or some other play to get odds there's every reason to show up to home field bowl game and we need a few things to go our way namely the QB can play .. but this is a great situation for them if we get a little lucky .. and no chance I'd lay points w UTSA in this situation!!! ..