The #9 Michigan State Spartans will take on the #16 Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2010 Capital One Bowl at the Florida Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day with a start time of 1:00pm EST on ESPN. Online sportsbooks have opened with Alabama as a 9.5-point favorite in college football lines vs Michigan State with an over/under betting total of 51.5. The money line at sportsbooks has listed Alabama as a -380 favorite in 2010 Capital One Bowl odds and Michigan State as a +310 underdog. Florida vs Penn State in the Outback Bowl will be aired also at 1:00pm EST on ABC while the Gator Bowl, Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl will be played later on Saturday and can be seen on ESPN.
Michigan State reached a level of glory not seen in East Lansing since the 1960’s as they finished 11-1 straight up and 7-5 against the spread in college football lines with 7 of their games going UNDER the total. The Spartans finished in a three way tie for the Big Ten title with Ohio State and Wisconsin. Michigan State ranks 38th for offensive scoring and 25th for points allowed on defense and won its final 3 games of the season. Heading into 2010 Capital One Bowl odds as underdogs, the Spartans have failed to get the money in 3 of their final 4 games as they lost betting value with the more news that they made. Kirk Cousins showed marked improvement at QB with a 67% completion rate and a 20/9 TD/INT ratio.
Edwin Baker balanced out the attack with 1,187 yards rushing and a 6.1 YPC average with 13 TD’s. Alabama began the season as the defending BCS champion and ranked #1 by nearly everyone as a repeat was expected. Instead the Tide wilted under the week to week pressure of being a marked and targeted team. The defense still was solid and ranked 5th for points allowed but also blew a big lead in the season ending 28-27 home loss at Auburn. Greg McElroy was solid but unspectacular at QB with 2,767 yards passing and a 19/5 TD/INT ratio. The Tide finished 9-3 straight up and 7-5 against the spread in college football odds with just 4 games going OVER the total.
2010 Capital One Bowl Picks: Alabama Crimson Tide -9.5
Bishop Whitmore is Editor in Chief of VegasSportsOdds.com and has been in the sports entertainment industry for the past 10 years consulting for various media outlets and sportsbooks. View daily sports reviews, poker strategies and casino rooms from Bishop Whitmore at VegasSportsOdds.com.