Black Shoe Degenerates: Bowl Week 2

Welcome to the second week of bowl season at Black Shoe Degenerates, your weekly gambling column written by the smartest gambling expert you know.

I don’t have much to say this week other than the slate is pretty light. There aren’t many stellar games this week. BUT, let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas, all.

Before we get into this week’s slate, let’s take a look back and review last week’s performance.

Last week’s picks:

ARob’s bowl week 1: 2-3 (46-44-3 this season)

• North Texas +7.5 (loss)
• Fresno State -5 (win)
• Eastern Michigan +1.5 (loss)
• Appalachian State -7 (win)
• UAB/Northern Illinois under 43 (loss)

The Eastern Michigan game was just brutal. A 0.5-point loss is just a matter of picking a bad time to write about the spread. But, the rest of the games I either won definitively or lost definitively. Could be worse.

This week’s picks:

Birmingham Bowl: Memphis vs. Wake Forest, Saturday at noon

My pick: over 73

Both of these teams have offenses that can score at pretty much any time. Wake Forest is inconsistent, but even if the Deacons struggle, they’ll still put up points. On the other side, it seems like Memphis tries to put up 73 on its own every week. Scoring will happen early and often in this one, especially if Darrell Henderson plays. That dude is the TRUTH.

Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Army, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

My pick: Army -5

This is probably just a gut feeling because Ed Oliver isn’t playing. I was really impressed with Army all year, though. They played Oklahoma really tough, beat a good Buffalo team, swept rivals Navy and Air Force, and has won eight straight. Plus, how can you pick against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl?

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. Louisiana Tech, Saturday at 10:30 p.m.

My pick: Hawaii -1

Just like Army, how can you pick against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl? S&P+ has Louisiana Tech winning by two, but it also had SDSU winning outright against Ohio and the Aztecs lost 27-0, so I’m mad at it right now. I’ll take the home team over the team who has to travel almost 4,000 miles.

First Responder Bowl: Boise State vs. Boston College, Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

My pick: Boise State -3

Boise State had a disappointing season by its standards, but is still a really good team. You know what you’re getting with the Broncos. On the other hand, you have a BC team that has lost three straight games and hasn’t looked good since a 3-0 start against trash teams. Give Bryan Harsin time to prepare, he’ll beat you.