Rose Bowl Wagering: Michigan State vs. Stanford. On Wednesday, January 1st 2014 we have the first of the five BCS Bowls and this game with the #4 Michigan State SPARTANS (12-1, 8-0 Big Ten) playing #5 Stanford CARDINALS (11-2, 7-2 Pac-12) with the game kicking off at 5:10 pm ET on ESPN TV and coming to us from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and another game weather should not be a factor.
For those who Bet on College football they have to know that this bowl game is the Granddaddy of all the bowl games, the Rose Bowl and this year’s game may be the quickest game to end of all bowl games regarding the amount of time it takes to play the game. Why, because of the matchup of teams. Hard to believe but the statistics from SBG Global indicate that this is the Stanford’s team 14th appearance in the Rose Bowl and its second consecutive as last year they defeated Wisconsin 20-14. In those appearances the Cardinals are 6-6-1 in the 1st 13 Rose Bowls they attended, and yes there are ties. For the Spartans this is their 5th appearance and the first since back in 1988 when they beat Southern Cal 20-17. This game may belong to the quarterback that can make the big play!
At the Sportbook the opening odds favor Stanford at -5 ½ with the total 42 ½ and they are another running orientated team who won the Pac-12 beating Arizona State in a game in which their RB Gafney had three first half rushing touchdowns while their defense held the Sun Devils of Arizona State to just 14 points and 311 yards in total offense for the game. Their defense also held nine of the opposing teams to 100 yards or less rushing in those 2013 season games. They call it their bend don’t break defense and they are in BCS 14th in total defense.
One concern for the Spartans in this game is the long layoff period from the end of the season until this 100th Rose Bowl game. The Spartans are similar to Stanford in that they both like to physical, bruising football as they did in past eras. The Spartans team is about running in the middle and presenting on defense an attacking team, so as they say in Michigan it’s time to pack your big boy pants as this game will not be for those faint at heart. The Spartans sophomore QB played his best game in the Big Ten Championship game and was the MVP against Ohio State as he threw for 3 TD’s completing 24 of his 40 passes. He was not there QB at the start of the season, but now he’s the man. This BCS Game will be a very exciting event and we wish the best to the Cardinals and the Spartans.