Football Bowl Picks – Georgia vs. Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl
2009 Independence Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs (7-5 SU, 4-7 ATS) vs. Texas A&M Aggies (6-6 SU, 6-5-1 ATS)
Monday, December 28: 5:00 p.m.
Football Bowl Betting Odds: Georgia -7, Total Points 64
Here are some betting trends which may impact this game:
Georgia: 3-1 SU in their last 4 games
Georgia: 2-1 ATS in their last 3 games
Texas A&M: 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games
Texas A&M: 3-6 SU in their last 9 games
Texas A&M: The total has gone OVER in 6 of their last 8 games
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Old school powers who have fallen on hard times will square off in this year’s Independence Bowl, when the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies get together in Shreveport.
First, for Georgia, it’s been a highly disappointing season for the Dawgs, who many believed could be one of the two or three best teams in the SEC. Their problem all year was an inconsistent running game, that in turn forced quarterback Joe Cox into some struggles. On the year, Cox did throw 22 touchdowns, but his 14 interceptions are just way too many, especially for a fifth-year senior. However, he was helped later in the season, as Washaun Ealey emerged at running back. The true freshman was phenomenal down the stretch, rushing for at least 75 yards in the Bulldogs last four games, getting a career high 183 in their most recent win over Georgia Tech.
As for Georgia’s defense, it struggled early, played better late, but had entirely too many miscues in between. When you look at their across the board numbers, the Bulldogs really weren’t that bad, 30th in total yards, 33rd in passing yards. But once you see that they had the 70th ranked scoring defense, it makes a little more sense why they struggled so mightily to win football games.
Texas A&M is the opposite of Georgia in many ways: They don’t play defense and make no bones about it, and try to outscore you through the passing game.
Junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson had a breakout 2009, throwing for 3200 yards and 28 touchdowns, surprisingly with just six interceptions. He has help in the backfield in the form of Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray, who combined to rush for over 1400 yards.
However, while the offense has been good for the Aggies, the defense has been, well, not quite so good. They currently rank in the bottom half of college football in every major category, and 100th or worse in scoring defense, total defense and pass defense. It could be a fun afternoon for Georgia and Joe Cox.
Before I go any further, I want to recommend precaution betting this game. Both of these teams are a little wacky, and there’s no outcome in this game that would surprise me. But, if I had to take a guess, I’d go with Texas A&M. Georgia is the favorite, but I’m not quite sure. They’ve had a propensity to play up and down to competition all year, and coming off a huge win against Georgia Tech, who knows if they’ll even be interested in playing this game. Add to the fact they’ve given up lots of big plays this year, and this just seems like a big national coming out party for Johnson and the Aggies offense.
I’m taking the Aggies to cover this point spread and possibly win straight up in the betting odds. Although honestly, nothing would surprise me in this one.
Football Bowl Pick: Texas A&M +7
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