2015 Bowl Games: Picking all 41 college bowls and championship game against the spread

Dec 30, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Detailed view of a Alamo Bowl logo before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Texas Longhorns at Alamo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon vs. TCU
San Antonio, Texas | Alamodome
Jan. 2, 6:45 p.m. on ESPN

Two teams who love fast-paced offenses, scoring quickly, and finding new ways to get running backs involved in games are featured in this year’s Alamo Bowl – probably the best, least known bowl of the year.

TCU had the makings of a national championship team, but dropping two heartbreakers to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State did in their title hopes. Make no mistake, this is still one of the best teams in the country, and they’ll be out to prove they are against a very deceptively good Oregon team.

Oregon, for their part, was doing their best to replace Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and still play Ducks football. The early-season inconsistencies were fixed a little too late, and Oregon found themselves on the outside looking in.

On offense, these two teams are almost dead even, but as hard as it may be to believe, TCU plays tougher defense than Oregon, and that’s what will carry them to a win in this game. Neither team has an big edge in turnover margin.

Line: Pick ’em

Lay the bet on TCU. They’ll get more stops on defense, regardless of how many points are scored. 

Next: Cactus Bowl