Streaking Georgia to play sour note in Music City Bowl

LAS VEGAS - Utah's 10-6 win over USC in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day improved my college bowl record to 4-0 heading into Thursday's Seattle Bowl. It also got me back in black (at +3 units for the season), but there are still a lot of games to be played between now and the Rose Bowl Jan 3..

Friday's schedule begins with the Galleryfurniture.com, matching TCU and Texas A&M. It's hard to get excited about a bowl game sponsored by the short-lived sponsor of the former Jim Beam Stakes and current Spiral Stakes. It's even hard to make a choice between laying 6 1/2 points with Texas A&M or taking the points with TCU, so we'll pass on the game and concentrate on the later games.

Boston College (+4 1/2) vs. Georgia

Boston College has been a difficult team to figure out this season. Pittsburgh is the only bowl team Boston College has defeated (Georgia has beaten Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia Tech), but the Golden Eagles' best performance came in a 18-7 loss to No. 1 Miami-Fla. in a game in which they trailed only 12-7 in the final minute - and then Miami returned a fluke interception for a touchdown to escape with a victory. The Eagles were without star running back William Green in that game, and I expect them put forth a similar effort in the Music City Bowl, in what might be Green's last game as a collegian. Georgia has won three consecutive games down the stretch, which is why the Bulldogs are favored by 4 1/2. I think, however, that the SEC had a down year and that Georgia will be caught by surprise by the physical play they will encounter from Boston College. B.C. succeeds at its upset attempt this time.

Play: Boston College for 11 units.

Texas (-12 1/2) vs. Washington

In bowl games, I definitely look to the underdog first, especially when the line is double digits. The matchups in this game, however, favor Texas on both sides of the ball. Washington is coming off a blowout loss to Miami-Fla., and Texas has the talent to do the same. Major Applewhite will get the start at QB over Chris Simms, who had four turnovers in Texas's Big 12 Conference title game loss to Colorado. So the Longhorns should be efficient through the air while relying on Cedric Benson to move the ball on the ground. It shapes up to be a methodical whipping. On the other side of the ball, the Texas defensive line should be able to shut down Washington. But even if Husky QB Cody Pickett has some success through the air, Washington doesn't want to get in a shootout with the gunslingers from Texas. Either way, Texas rolls by more than two touchdowns.

Play: Texas for 11 units

Starting bankroll: 1,000 units.

Bankroll entering bowl season: 963 units.

Bowl record: 4-0 (through Tuesday's Las Vegas Bowl) for a net profit of 40 units.

Current bankroll, going into Thursday's Seattle Bowl with Georgia Tech +5: 1,003 units.