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The Washington vs. Baylor line was coming in at -10 in favor of the Bears. This is your Alamo Bowl betting preview and I am Carrie Stroup. You can bet this game at Sportsbook.com, where everybody bets. Get up to $250 FREE CASH. Mention Me Carrie Stroup to get your bonus.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Baylor -10 & 80
Opening Line & Total: Bears -9 & 78.5
Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III will likely play in his final collegiate game when his Baylor team travels four hours south to face Washington in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday night.
Griffin III will probably forego his senior season after tearing up college football as a junior. He has thrown for 3,998 yards, 36 TD and just 6 INT this year. His team is also red-hot, with five straight victories (4-1 ATS) and should have a pro-Baylor crowd in the school’s home state. The Huskies also have a great QB in Keith Price, but they have lost three of four because of a woeful defensive unit that has allowed 33.3 PPG (99th in nation) and 426 total YPG (94th in FBS).
Washington ended a nine-year bowl win drought with a 19-7 upset win over Nebraska in last year’s Holiday Bowl. The Huskies should also be able to put up a ton of points against a Baylor team allowing 35.7 PPG (109th in FBS). QB Keith Price (29 TD, 11 INT) has led his team to eight 30-point outputs, but Washington has failed to surpass 21 points in three of its past four games. RB Chris Polk, who rushed for 177 yards and a TD in last year’s Holiday Bowl, has been consistently excellent all season. He has 1,341 rushing yards (112 YPG, 5.1 YPC) and 11 TD this year, thanks to nine 100-yard rushing games, including two in a row. Baylor allows 199 rushing YPG (102nd in FBS), holding just two opponents to less than 150 yards (Stephen F. Austin and Texas Tech).
Baylor got drilled 38-14 by Illinois in the 2010 Texas Bowl and hasn’t won a bowl since 1992. Despite the lopsided loss to the Illini, Griffin III still had 350 total yards of offense. He has piled up 300+ yards of offense in every contest this season, except for the Texas Tech game when he left early with a concussion. But the Bears offense isn’t all about Griffin III. RB Terrance Ganaway ranks 15th in the country in rushing yards (112 YPG) and has scored 17 times this season. In the past two games against Texas Tech and Texas, Ganaway tallied 400 rushing yards on 65 carries (6.2 YPC), showing his great durability. Washington’s rush defense (143 YPG, 55th in FBS) is much better than its pass defense (284 YPG, 116th in nation), as the Huskies have held half of their opponents this year to less than 70 rushing yards. But they also surrendered 446 rushing yards to Stanford, 309 to Nebraska, 252 to USC and 212 to Oregon, showing Washington can be run over by good teams.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
