Poinsettia Bowl betting has Utah and California meeting on Wednesday, December 23rd in a game set to be televised on ESPN. Even though Utah has the better overall record, California is the favorite in college football betting lines. Poinsettia Bowl betting favors California by a field goal in this game. The Bears finished the season at 8-4 but they were routed by Washington in their finale. The key for California in this game could be the return of running back Jahvid Best. He missed the last part of the regular season but all indications have him being ready for this Poinsettia Bowl betting matchup. This is the seventh straight year that California has gone to a bowl game under head coach Jeff Tedford.
Utah finished the season at 9-3. They were the BCS darlings last year but lost a lot of players. This year’s team did very well to win nine games and their reward is a matchup against California in Poinsettia Bowl betting. The Utes have been a great college football betting lines choice in bowl games as they have won eight in a row including the big upset last year of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Utah is actually 6-1 against the college football betting lines in their last 7 bowl games. Utah has also played well at neutral sites as they are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. The Utes are a great underdog versus college football betting lines as they are 26-7-1 ATS in their last 34 games as an underdog. Another factor to consider in Poinsettia Bowl betting is that the Utes are 26-12-1 ATS in their last 39 non-conference games. The only concern for those Poinsettia Bowl betting on Utah is that the Utes are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. the Pac-10.
California has been solid against teams from outside the Pac-10 as the Golden Bears are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games. The problem for those looking for Poinsettia Bowl betting on California in is that the Golden Bears are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games in December and that they are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite.
Seven of the last nine Utah games overall have gone under. Five of the last six California bowl games have gone over. Ten of the last 14 California games vs. non-conference teams have gone over the college football betting lines.