This week has been an extremely slow sports week. You'd hope for more games to bet on during the holidays, but that's the cost of having so many games now on Christmas Day. Out of all the major sports (CFB, NFL, NBA, NHL), there are only 12 games total today, with 9 of them being NBA games. I prefer to stay on the gridiron, and that is where I will be taking you shortly...

The first Bowl Game of the day takes place in Detroit, at Ford Field. Central Michigan and Northwestern are ready to battle it out in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at 1pm ET, with the Wildcats laying 12.5 points. Clearly the oddsmakers are giving the BIG10 an advantage here over a MAC team, but I wouldn't be too surprised if this game was within single digits come the final whistle.

Joe Labas has been under center for the Chippewas for the majority of the season, but it looks like CMU will be getting duel-threat QB Angel Flores, their secret weapon, back for this game as well. Expect both QB's to play in this one, and whoever looks the sharpest will probably get the majority of the workload under center. Both of these quarterbacks are underrated; expect Northwestern to struggle slowing them down at times, especially Angel Flores on the ground.

At this point, I feel like we know that Preston Stone simply isn't very good. He's a turnover machine, with nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes this season. Northwestern has some decent running backs, but they won't be at full strength in this one. Expect Caleb Komolafe to struggle at times against a solid defensive unit in the Chippewas. 

Central Michigan likes to pound the rock, which is exactly what we want in a game we're taking a 10+ point underdog. Expect this game to be weirdly close, and back the underdogs from the MAC to cover against Preston Stone and the Wildcats.

The second Bowl Game of the day between New Mexico and Minnesota is a sneaky good matchup. Don't sleep on the Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, one of the many Bowl Games that takes place on a MLB field. Minnesota has one of the craziest active Bowl Game win steaks, as the Golden Gophers have won 8 straight. Will they make it 9 in a row? I'm willing to bet the Lobos play spoiler and end that win streak this afternoon...

Both teams are relatively healthy and have limited opt outs, which makes the line movement from +3.5 to +1.5 for New Mexico very interesting. Minnesota should be able to handle a Mountain West team with ease, right? Especially considering Darius Taylor and Drake Lindsey are active, and PJ Fleck is undefeated at Minnesota in Bowl Games (5-1 ATS). Well, if Minnesota was free, wouldn't you think the spread would be moving in their direction? New Mexico looks like the sharpest play on the slate. Expect the red-hot Lobos, who have sneakily won 6 games in a row, to pull out the cover on Friday afternoon. Jack Layne has been solid for New Mexico since transferring from Idaho last year, expect him to lead the Lobos to a potential outright victory in this one.

The latest Bowl Game of the night should also be the most exciting of the three CFB games today, with the total up to 61.5. The First Responder Bowl in Dallas, between the FIU Panthers and the UTSA Roadrunners, should have plenty of points. There are a ton of opt-outs on the defensive side of the ball for UTSA, a team with high expectations before the season that never really panned out. The Roadrunners will certainly have the QB advantage in this one, as Owen McCown should be starting for UTSA, while FIU turns to duel-threat sophomore Clayton Dees. This will be his first action of the season...

After breaking down the QB discrepancy, you'd probably think I'd recommend laying the points with the Roadrunners, but that just looks too easy for me. What do we know about easy-looking bets? They almost never hit. Although it is unfortunate that Keyone Jenkins won't be available for the Panthers after a solid season, let's not downplay how solid FIU looked to close out the season. They ripped off 4 straight wins, while UTSA barely became bowl eligible in a season full of turmoil.

Grab the points with the Panthers on Friday night, in a game that could potentially see nearly 100 total points. While everyone is talking about the QB discrepancy, I'm expecting the opt-outs on defense for UTSA to be just as significant. Fade the Roadrunners, and back the hungrier underdog in this one.