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The Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan State Spartans might not be playing in a BCS game this year, but they are certainly going to be playing in the most illustrious of all of the non-BCS bowls on New Year’s Day, as they’ll meet in Capital One Bowl betting action on New Year’s Eve. Head Coach Nick Saban is going to be facing off with one of his former squads, and the action should be tense, so before you make your Capital One Bowl picks in this one, check out our keys to the game.

Key #1: Saban needs to prove that he can coach in a game that isn’t for a championship
Sure, we know that Saban does have the ability to win games that don’t have that much significance in it, but we’re wondering about these last few seasons. Alabama looked very, very flat at times down the stretch this year, especially in the second half of the Iron Bowl against the Auburn Tigers and for a good chunk of the game against the LSU Tigers as well. The last time the Crimson Tide played in a game that didn’t have a direct impact on the BCS Championship race for the Tide, they were crushed by the Utah Utes, a team that they were supposed to be significantly better than. Now, not only is Alabama not playing in the BCS Championship Game, but it isn’t playing in a BCS bowl game whatsoever. Can the Tide stay mentally tough? We know that the Spartans will, as this is their best bowl bid in years. This might be the biggest key to the entire game.

Key #2: A relatively fresh Mark Ingram needs to look like a Heisman Trophy winner
Sure, RB Mark Ingram wasn’t anywhere near as good this year as he was when he won the Heisman Trophy last year, but he is still an incredibly dangerous runner that can rip apart any defense in the country. Ingram was really used a ton last year, as he rushed the ball 271 times and had another 32 receptions in the Heisman Trophy campaign. This year, Ingram was dealing with injuries at the start of the season, but he just wasn’t used as much as he was the year before in general. Rushing for 816 yards was a bitter disappointment for a man that that had double that last year. You want to prove that you’re still one of the best in the nation? Do something that the Wisconsin Badgers and their vaunted rushing attack couldn’t do. Beat up a big, physical Michigan State defense that only averaged allowing 114.0 yards per game this year. The Spartans didn’t allow a single team to score more than 31 points this year, and it’s going to be up to Ingram to make that not stay the case this week.

Key #3: The Spartans cannot be intimidated
If you’re Head Coach Mark Dantonio, you know that you have nothing to lose in this game. Even though you’re easily the higher ranked team, no one is expecting you to win, so even losing by 20 wouldn’t be a bitter disappointment. A win, and you’ve beaten the defending champs. Michigan State has to pretend like this is just any other game. It is a power running team, and even though the Crimson Tide have one of the more vaunted rush defenses in the nation. When the Spartans are ready to take their shots, they should take them and have confidence in QB Kirk Cousins to not turn the ball over. This was a team that averaged 408.5 yards per game against some of the best teams in the Big Ten this year, including that aforementioned win against the Badgers. As long as Michigan State believes in itself, it should be able to compete in the Capital One Bowl.

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One of the best programs over the past few years, the Florida Gators, reaches the end of an era on Saturday afternoon at the Outback Bowl, as Head Coach Urban Meyer is going to step down when this one is over. For Head Coach Joe Paterno, even at 81 years young, he’s still kicking strong and ready to make this college football betting affair the start of something bigger in Happy Valley. The keys to the game at the Outback Bowl are as follows…

Key #1: UF has to really want to win this one for Meyer
Last year, we saw the Gators pull the same type of stunt. Meyer said that he was stepping down at the end of the Sugar Bowl against the Cincinnati Bearcats, and the end result was an absolutely dominating performance against a previously undefeated team. The difference this year is that there isn’t a man named QB Tim Tebow there on the sidelines pushing the team to do its best. Can QB John Brantley do it? Can RB Jeff Demps do it? Can Mr. Do It All Trey Newton do it? We just find ourselves at a loss for where the confidence on the sidelines. We know that the Nittany Lions never have a problem with motivation, as they came to the table last year in the Capital One Bowl against the LSU Tigers and won a game in a brutal rainstorm after failing to make it to the Rose Bowl.

Key #2: Evan Royster has to finish up his career in strong fashion
Simply put, if you have a one dimensional offense against the Gators, you’re in a ton of trouble, especially if that one dimension is the pass and your quarterback is a sophomore with about half of a season of experience. The Nittany Lions weren’t really efficient this year on the ground, averaging just 143.4 yards per game. Royster was really supposed to explode in this, his senior season, but it just never really happened. Amazingly, after running for over 2,400 yards over the course of the last two years, the senior only had 916 yards and six trips to the end zone this year. We’ve seen some huge games out of Royster before, but he hasn’t had a game with more than 85 yards on the ground since November 6th against the lowly Northwestern Wildcats. Now, he’s going against a defense that held teams to just 121.8 yards per game on the ground. The Gators did have some big time letdowns this year against teams that can run the rock like the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide, so this is an attainable task. Royster has to have one of the best games of his career, though.

Key #3: One of the explosive stars for the Gators has to get the job done
NCAA football betting fans keep asking the questions about what the difference is between this year’s team and last year’s squad. Contrary to popular belief though, it’s not just Tim Tebow. The rest of the big time threats for this squad are still here. RB Jeff Demps had a few great plays this year, but he only ultimately averaged 6.0 yards per carry when push came to shove. It’s a great number, but when you consider the fact that there are three carries of at least 65 yards on the year, it would only bring this average down around 3.5 yards per carry. WR Chris Rainey was expected to be used on the ground a lot as well, but his suspension halfway through the season took him out of the fold, too. Trey Burton might be the man that can do this as well. He had 12 total TDs this year and will touch the ball a ton of times in this game as a runner, a receiver, and potentially as a passer. Someone just needs to explode and this offense needs to play quick, something that it hasn’t done all season long, to succeed.

Every single year, the Northwestern Wildcats seem to figure out how to play a few games every year that just make you go “Wow!” College football betting fans hope that one of those games is on New Year’s Day at the Ticket City Bowl. The Texas Tech Red Raiders will basically be playing on their home turf, as this game is played right up the road at the Cotton Bowl. The three keys to this game should help you make your Ticket City Bowl picks to start your New Year’s Day off right!

Key #1: Evan Watkins needs to be a very unexpected hero
When QB Dan Persa went down with an Achilles injury, the argument really could have been made that the season went down the drain with it. This was a Northwestern team that could have played in a significantly better bowl game this year if not for the fact that it really just fell apart with two blowout defeats down the stretch. Watkins was absolutely nowhere near the quarterback that Persa was either in the air or on the ground. Persa threw for 15 TDs and rushed for nine more, completing 73.5 percent of his passes and averaging over 50 yards per game on the ground. Watkins only has 48 total rushing yards, is completing just 53.1 percent of his passes, and has only one score against four picks. The good news is that there has been plenty of time to prepare for this game. This is also a Texas Tech defense that can really be had, especially against the pass. The Red Raiders averaged 306.1 yards per game through the air, ranking second to last in the nation in the regular season.

Key #2: Both of these teams need to establish a running game
Did you ever think the day would arrive that Texas Tech would be the dominant running team in a game? The days of the Air Raid are said and done with, but this is still a high flying Texas Tech offense. The Red Raiders do have two great backs though, in RB Eric Stephens and RB Baron Batch. Batch was hoping to become the first Texas Tech runner to reach the 1,000 yard barrier since before Mike Leach was in charge of this offense, but he fell a couple hundred yards short. These two did combine for over 1,400 yards and ten TDs on the campaign. For Northwestern, this could be a very tricky situation. The team did run for 151.7 yards per game this year, which ranked a reasonable No. 68 in the country. However, if you take Persa out of the equation, you’re losing 519 yards and nine TDs on the ground. The team’s third leading rusher, RB Arby Fields has transferred, while both No. 1 runner, RB Mike Trumpy, and fourth leading rusher, RB Jacob Schmidt are injured and are listed as questionable. The Red Raiders at least have the ability to win this game without a running attack because of their nature, but Northwestern doesn’t stand a chance with Watkins under center. Still, whichever team gets something going on the ground is probably the one winning this duel.

Key #3: The Cats need to put a body on Lyle Leong
WR Lyle Leong is essentially the second coming of WR Michael Crabtree in this Texas Tech offense. The senior did just about everything this year for the Red Raiders, and he is quite often the target deployed right near the goal line in virtually every instance. He only had 64 catches this year, which seems like a pedestrian number, but a whopping 17 of those passes went for TDs. The Cats really had no luck playing defense for the mass majority of the season, and until RB Mikel LeShoure went absolutely bananas against this team on the ground, the pass defense was what really struggled. Allowing 230.5 yards per game through the air in a Big Ten conference that focuses more on the rush than on the pass just isn’t all that good, and if Leong can get loose and continue to find the end zone in this game, the Ticket City Bowl odds are certainly going to be stacked against them.

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The storylines between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Florida State Seminoles are very, very deep for the final game played in 2010 in the college football betting campaign. These two will lock horns in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome as the losers of the SEC and ACC Championship games respectively. But which team will recover and post a win to finish up the calendar year? We have the three keys to the game for your Chick-Fil-A Bowl picks.

Key #1: Christian Ponder needs to prove that he is healthy and ready to go against a stout defense
These Gamecocks were no joke this year defensively, as they held teams to just 356.5 yards and 22.9 points per game this year. However, if you can beat this team, you have to do so through the air. If your name wasn’t the Auburn Tigers, you only averaged about 70 yards per game on the ground against SC this year, which puts the onus on the FSU passing game. Ponder has missed some games this year due to some various ailments, but right now, he is fighting with a bursa sac injury that cost him the 2010 ACC Championship Game against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The senior has probably cost himself a lot of money in the NFL Draft this year, but he did throw for 20 TDs on the campaign and is absolutely a capable signal caller. Ponder does have some explosive receivers at his disposal as well, though none of his top four targets had even 600 total yards on the season. The ball is spread around to four different targets, led by WR Bert Reed, who had 55 grabs for 589 yards and a pair of scores.

Key #2: Mark Stoops has to find a game plan to get into the face of Stephen Garcia
Florida State Defensive Coordinator Mark Stoops has done a tremendous job this year getting his defense back in the saddle after a horrifying few seasons. This was the second best team in the ACC in terms of sacking the quarterback, and there were some fantastic games that this unit played up front. LB Mister Alexander is always terrorizing QBs, and he’s going to be tabbed with getting in the face of QB Stephen Garcia in this one. Garcia has been prone to throwing picks in his career, as he has 11 for the season in 315 pass attempts. The pressure needs to get into the South Carolina backfield in a hurry to keep the corners from having to guard the entire field against WR Alshon Jeffrey. It’s bad enough that Jeffrey can go and get a jump ball anywhere on the field. But to give him more than just a couple seconds to get open really just isn’t fair. Jeffrey caught 79 passes for 1,387 yards and nine TDs this year, and he is really one of the best ball catchers in the entire country. If FSU can’t stop him, it can’t stop this offense.

Key #3: Marcus Lattimore needs to be a workhorse
The Seminoles still have some problems stopping ground games at times, allowing 126.8 yards per game in 2010. Meanwhile, you won’t find a better freshman back in the game than Carolina’s RB Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore really made a name for himself this year against the Florida Gators, when he carried the ball 40 times for 212 yards and three TDs to help SC win the SEC East. The frosh wasn’t just a runner either. He had 26 catches for 364 yards and two TDs out of the backfield. However, when Garcia needs to get some of the pressure off of his shoulders, he turns around and hands the ball to No. 21. Lattimore had 248 carries this year for 1,198 yards and 17 scores, and he is likely to be the big time scorer on the day for the Gamecocks if they are going to beat the Chick-Fil-A Bowl odds.

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The reward for the winner of Conference USA every single year is to come here to the Liberty Bowl for their NCAA football betting bowl bash. This year, the reps from C-USA are the UCF Knights, who are ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in the history of the school this year. They’ll be looking for their first bowl victory in the history of the school when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs out of the SEC. There are three major keys that need to be watched when making your Liberty Bowl picks in this one on New Year’s Eve.

Key #1: AJ Green has to be a hero for UGA
Over the course of the first four games of the season, QB Aaron Murray was awfully questionable. The Bulldogs went just 1-3 in those games, and the buzzards were swarming to get rid of Head Coach Mark Richt. However, in those four games, WR AJ Green was suspended and wasn’t available. The first game he was back in the lineup, Green had a highlight reel touchdown catch against the Colorado Buffaloes. No, Georgia didn’t beat the Buffs, and it dropped to just 1-4 on the season. However, from that point forward, the Dawgs scored at least 31 points in all of their games. Green ended up with 49 catches for 771 yards and nine TDs to lead the team in all three categories. What Green also does is open up the deep game for WR Kris Durham, who averaged 21.1 yards per reception this year. The Knights have a solid pass defense, but they haven’t seen anything like what they are about to get from Green and the UGA passing game.

Key #2: Georgia has to win the battles in the trenches on both sides of the ball
Normally when you think about Conference USA football, you tend to think about teams that are throwing the ball all over the field and aren’t playing much in the way of defense. However, this UCF team is a significantly different story. Head Coach George O’Leary comes from the mindset of the NFL, where running the ball and playing good defense is key, and he has instilled that tenacity in his squad. The Knights are outrunning their foes by over 90 yards per game this year. On the defensive front, DE Bruce Miller isn’t just one of the best linemen in C-USA, but he is one of the best in the entire country as well. He is now a two time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. On offense, RB Latavius Murray and RB Ronnie Weaver have the ability to run the ball all over the place, and they both are able to slam the ball right up the gut at the opposition. Both men have at least ten TDs this year, and they combined for a whopping 278 carries and 1,423 yards on the campaign.

Key #3: One of these freshman quarterbacks has to shine
These two quarterbacks, Aaron Murray and Jeff Godfrey are amongst some of the only freshmen signal callers this year in bowl games. Murray obviously was helped out when Green came back into the lineup five games into the year, but his numbers really show a lot of maturity as the season progressed. He made some mistakes this year, but they were limited, as he only had six picks against 24 TDs. Murray should also become a 3,000 yard passer in this game assuming that he doesn’t get injured. Godfrey was a tremendous newcomer for the Knights this year. He won Conference USA Freshman of the Year this year for good reason. After replacing the injured QB Rob Calabrese, Godfrey threw for 2,042 yards on 68.4 percent completions. He accounted for 13 TDs against six picks through the air, and he ran for another 546 yards and 10 TDs on the ground. Godfrey did a great job managing everything this year, as he not only was a fantastic passer, but he managed to help UCF become one of the three rushers on this team that accounted for ten TDs on the ground. The only other team in the nation that can stake a claim to that? The Wisconsin Badgers, who will be playing in the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champions.

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If you’re a fan of historical value in college football betting action, the Sun Bowl is just the game for you. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Miami Hurricanes have a ton of National Championships between them, and they are going to meet up in the Sun Bowl on Friday. Though neither team is going to be thrilled with where they are playing from their expectations at the start of the year, they should be thrilled to renew an old rivalry from the 1980s and 1990s. The three keys to this game will help determine who will be walking about on El Paso with a ‘W’ for you to make your Sun Belt picks with.

Key #1: Miami’s offensive line has to keep Jacory Harris upright
It’s not always a matter of just getting sacked. The Hurricanes know that they have had all sorts of problems with quarterback injuries this year. Not only has Harris been knocked around a ton on the season, but both QB Stephen Morris and QB Alonzo Highsmith are both injured and are not accessible in this game. Everyone knows that QB Spencer Whipple, the son of Offensive Coordinator Mark Whipple isn’t ready to be playing in a bowl game at this point in his career, as he just isn’t talented enough to keep up with the Golden Domers or any of the other 69 bowl teams. If anything happens to Harris, the Hurricanes might as well just walk off the field. Notre Dame knows that it has a great defensive front, and it will be getting back NT Ian Williams, the heart and soul of the center of the line. Harris threw for 1,756 yards and 14 TDs this year, and he is going to have to make sure that he takes care of the football and takes care of his own health to give his Canes a chance on Friday.

Key #2: The backups for the Irish have to continue to shine
Head Coach Brian Kelly might not be all that thrilled that he had to really scratch and claw to get into the Sun Bowl this year, but he has to be incredibly encouraged about the depth on his team and the pride that the Golden Domers had this year. With QB Dayne Crist, TE Kyle Rudolph, and RB Armando Allen all out of the lineup, there are others that really had to step up their game to keep this men in white and gold going. QB Tommy Rees threw for 905 yards in limited action, and though he did struggle at time with eight picks, he also threw for ten TDs. RB Cierre Wood was virtually unheard of before Allen went down this year, and though he never really put together that tremendous game that made you go “Wow!” the sophomore did have 248 yards in total in his last three games of the year. TE Tyler Eifert stepped in place of one of the best tight ends in the country, and though he didn’t put up remarkable numbers either, he had 23 grabs for 321 yards and two trips to the end zone. These men are going to be critical against Miami, just as they have been all season long.

Key #3: It’s time for “The U” to show us that vaunted defense again
For years and years, what made the Hurricanes so good was their defense. There are generations of Miami players in the NFL on this side of the ball, from names like Ed Reed, Brandon Merriweather, Jonathan Vilma, Antrel Rolle… and the list could go on and on. This year, “The U” had some moments where it was dominating, especially against opposing passing games. This ‘D’ only conceded 146.3 yards per game through the pass this year, good enough to rank No. 2 in the nation. However, there is the feeling there that this team, especially in the front seven, is soft as could be. Allowing 167.3 yards per game on the ground is absolutely inexcusable, especially since the ACC really didn’t provide that much in the way of offensive challenges. Getting torched by the Florida State Seminoles was really the biggest disappointment of the year, and it showed that this was a team that could be taken down and tamed. The Canes really have to step up and get just downright angry at the Fighting Irish to make a statement on defense in this game.

If you’re a fan of defense, you’re going to love making your Meineke Car Care Bowl picks! The Clemson Tigers and South Florida Bulls can absolutely get after opposing offenses, and though neither offense is exactly proficient, this should still be a fantastic contest down on Tobacco Road. There are three major keys to this game that we have to discuss though, before you can beat the Meineke Car Care Bowl lines.

Key #1: Someone has to get a hat on Da’Quan Bowers
You’re not going to find a more interesting matchup in the bowl season than the South Florida offensive line against Clemson DE Da’Quan Bowers. Bowers is one of the best pass rushers in the nation, and he is certainly going to end up cashing in on a huge contract in the NFL in the near future. He has 15.5 sacks this year and has caused teams lose 112 yards on the year. Both numbers are easily the best in the nation. He also used his athleticism to pick off a pass earlier this year. QB BJ Daniels had a massive problem with sacks over the course of his first two seasons, as he has been taken down in the backfield a whopping 52 times in just 18 starts over the course his two years.

Key #2: Someone has to step up and be a star for Clemson
What we have found out this season is that QB Kyle Parker really isn’t capable of being a superstar on the gridiron, and perhaps he should have just stuck in the Colorado Rockies organization, where he might have thrived as a pitcher. Parker only threw for 2,080 yards and 12 TDs this year, and he only averaged 6.4 yards per pass attempt. The two men that really could be stepped up in this one are RB Jamie Harper and RB Andre Ellington. Harper is more of a grinder, but he has the capability to bust a big run when given the chance. He rumbled for 731 yards and six scores. Ellington was more explosive and has bigger play abilities. He rushed for 684 yards and had an average of 5.8 yards per carry. Ellington also has a kick return for a touchdown, and he could be used in every facet of the game to make those big plays happen. Regardless, against a defense that allowed just 308.1 yards and 19.5 points per game, and really held down some of the best offenses in the Big East this year.

Key #3: The Bulls can’t be grounded in the running game
What we don’t want to see out of the Bulls in this one is what we saw too often this year. QB BJ Daniels isn’t a man that should be handling the football 40 times in this game between throwing and passing, and you can bet if he has to do that, USF is in a lot of trouble. Instead, we want to see a lot more out of RB Moise Plancher and RB Demetris Murray. These two touched the ball 274 times between them on the campaign, and they rushed for 1,260 yards and eight TDs between them. The Bulls also run a lot of tricky play with the wide receivers on sweeps and the sorts, and this would help as well. Doing this also takes Bowers out of the game, as he is built a lot like DE Dwight Freeney for the Indianapolis Colts and isn’t all that effective against the rush. The Tigers allowed 120.2 yards per game this year on the ground, and though that ranks No. 24 in the land, we have to remember that a lot of these yards lost came from the sacks that Bowers and the gang picked up.