Boise State vs. Baylor, Cactus Bowl 2016: Schedule, scores, and more

We all understand that bowl season is a bit more volatile than the regular season. Here’s one way of illustrating that.

Over the last six weeks of the regular season, about 18 percent of games were decided within 3.5 points of the spread, and about 25 percent were decided 21 points or further from it.

On the field, Baylor’s 2016 has been one of two halves. A 6-0 start was, as many Baylor starts have been lately, simply a mirage. Life came at the Bears fast in the form of much more talented competition as the team for into the meat of conference play.

The Bears finished the regular season off on an 0-6 run, but earned a Cactus Bowl berth against Boise State and made the most of it, crushing the Broncos, 31-12.

Baylor and Boise State will meet in this year’s edition of the Cactus Bowl, the game that has been around since 1989. For seven years, this game has been played at Chase Field in Phoenix, which is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Football being played in professional baseball stadiums doesn’t always look like the best fan view, but getting to play a bowl in a historic stadium has to be cool for the players.

Baylor fired Art Briles before the 2016 season amid a university sexual assault scandal. Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe took over as interim, and things were going quite well until a Week 8 game against Texas, one the Bears lost 35-34. That was the start of a six-game losing streak for Baylor, before which they were undefeated, to bring their 2016 to a 6-6 record.

The Broncos finished the regular season with a respectable 10-2 SU record, but went just 1-6 ATS over their last seven games down the stretch. Boise State’s Jeremy McNichols was one of the best running backs in the country this season, ranking fifth in the nation in total yards with 1,663 and third in rushing touchdowns with 23.

McNichols was the driving force of an offense that averaged 35.6 points per game this season.

Some of college football’s highest-profile running backs have announced, in rapid succession, that they won’t play in bowl games this winter before leaving school and entering the NFL draft.

LSU junior Leonard Fournette said on Dec. 16 he’d skip the Tigers’ Citrus Bowl against Louisville. Stanford junior Christian McCaffrey said three days later he’d follow suit and not play in the Cardinal’s Sun Bowl against North Carolina. A day after that, Baylor’s Shock Linwood, a senior, said he’d skip the Cactus Bowl against Boise State to focus on his draft prep, too. To some degree, we might be watching this become a trend.

In today’s media landscape (sports and non-sports), self-reflection is unnecessary. You don’t really need to step back and look at what you got wrong or why; you just need to push forward with even more confidence than before.

But does Nick Saban self-reflect? Hell yes, he does! Verne Lundquist? Absolutely! Lamar Jackson? Yep!

All wagers at -110 odds unless otherwise noted. Visit Odds Shark for updated lines throughout each game week.

College football bowl games are a different beast for bettors. Sure, the typical handicapping elements apply. Offense and defense matter. But there are some key elements at play that don’t apply as much during the regular season.

College football’s bowl season is upon us. A full schedule is here.

There are 40 bowl games spread from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, with the National Championship on Jan. 9. Unless you’re watching on multiple monitors and are really committed, you won’t catch all of them. (If that is your plan, more power to you.)

The Big 12 did not have a team selected for the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years. And now Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby seems confused about what to do next.

Speaking to ESPN, Bowlsby said:

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

The Cactus Bowl is set for Dec. 27 in Phoenix, as part of the last few days of regular bowls before the New Year’s Six and College Football Playoff take over the world. It’ll be football in (a climate-controlled stadium in) the desert.