The Orange Bowl is one of many bowl games this season that should produce a fantastic finish. VT and Cincy are evenly matched. It's one of the BCS's top Bowls. And it will be broadcast on FOX. If you don't already have Orange Bowl tickets, you should consider buying a few, because even Vegas is having a tough time deciding who will win the game. If you do wish to gamble on the game, make sure you do it legally. That said, here are my picks for a couple of bowl games with the smallest point spreads.



Orange Bowl

Virginia Tech – Cincinnati

Spread: Cincinnati by 1.5

Bet on: Cincinnati

Why? Cincinnati will beat the Hokies by more than a point and a half because they have a vastly superior offense. The Bearcats are ranked 50th in the nation in total yards per game at 375.3, while the Hokies are ranked 107 in that category, averaging a modest 296. Cincinnati averages 27.3 points per game, whereas VT only scores 22.2 points per game. Defense should be a factor here as well, but the difference between how good the Hokies are on D (13th nationally, 17.5 points per game) versus how good the Bearcats are (26th, 20.2) is not significant enough to outweigh Cincy's edge on offense.

Why Not? Boston College was no pushover this season, but the Hokies sure shoved them in the last game of the season to win the ACC title game. To many fans, this is a reason to think that VT is peaking at just the right time. However, you've got to think that the Vegas odds setters know you saw that game (and only that VT game), and consequently know you're going to bet on VT in the Orange Bowl because of it. You know what I think? VT's game versus BC was simply bait for easy marks. I also think you might want to check out http://www.stubhub.com/orange-bowl-tickets for some Orange Bowl tickets, because this game looks like it should be close.

Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii-Notre Dame

Spread: Hawaii by 1.5

Bet on: Notre Dame

Why? Vegas is trusting that you're going to bet against Notre Dame for four main reasons: 1. You love to hate the Irish. 2. Notre Dame's nine-game bowl losing streak is highly publicized. 3. Hawaii is at home, whereas Notre Dame travels almost a quarter for the way around the world. And 4. You love to hate the Irish. 75% of those reasons are based on emotion alone, a sucker's reason to place a bet. In real life Hawaii's home field edge is no better than any average team, as evidenced by their losing to San Jose St. and Cincinnati on the island this season. Also, Notre Dame has a better defense than Hawaii. UND gives up an average of 22.3 points per game, whereas Hawaii gives up 27.3 (a 5 point Irish advantage). On offense, Hawaii is better (24.9 ppg) than Notre Dame (22.7ppg) but the differential is only 2 points in favor of Hawaii. Strictly by the scoring numbers, Notre Dame should win the game, so avoid using your emotions on this one.

Why Not? Notre Dame has no wins this season over teams of any quality, and they do have some very exploitable holes on both sides of the ball. If the Irish can't pass and it's a low scoring game, the Warriors could win this one.