My 2012 Holiday Bowl picks between the UCLA Bruins and the Baylor Bears are all set and ready to go here at Cappers Info. The Holiday Bowl kickoff starts at 9:45 p.m. ET at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA, and I’m going to be your expert college football handicapper that points you towards the winning bet for the UCLA vs. Baylor game.

2012 Holiday Bowl
Baylor Bears (7-5, 8-4 ATS) +3
UCLA Bruins (9-4, 8-5 ATS) -3
Over/Under 82.5

Holy total, Batman! I knew that this was going to be one of the highest scoring bowl games of the entire season, but to think that a number that opened at 77 has already risen by almost a touchdown to Arena Football type of numbers is a bit outrageous, even for a game with two teams in it that just seem to score at will all the time and get scored upon just as often. Still, I think that we are at the point of outrageousness, thinking that a game with a 42-38 score is still a field goal away from getting to the number in this one. There’s a good chance that you’re going to want to wait until the last second to put this play in, because this ‘total’ isn’t going anywhere but up from now through the 9:45 p.m. ET kickoff tonight.

Baylor’s defense has come up with at least a few palatable efforts of late. Since allowing 42 to Louisiana Monroe, 70 to Duke, 49 to TCU, and 56 to Texas, the defense hasn’t allowed more than 45 points in a game. The team has averaged conceding “just” 32.3 points per game, and the only game in the bunch that didn’t come against a bowl team was the 41-14 win over Kansas. The offense has been wildly inconsistent this year as well for the Bears, scoring 47 or more seven times but being held to just 21 twice as well. It is going to take a heck of a lot more than 21 to get to this number, which is the second highest number of the season behind the record-setting 88 that was listed on the college football odds on the final week of the regular season.

It has become a part of UCLA’s nature to play these high scoring games as well. Though six straight games have exceeded the ‘total’, including the last two games of the year against Stanford, none of those ‘totals’ were listed higher than 72. The only reason that 72 game against Arizona eclipsed the number is because of the fact that Arizona allowed 66 points. The Wildcats were held down to just 10. In the end, it would be fun to try to root for this one to feature 12 touchdowns, but it just doesn’t seem logical to think that that will be the way that it plays out. I’ve got to bet with my head and not my heart, and my head is telling me that this should be a game played comfortably into the high-60s or the low-70s and will still be classified as a wild shootout in spite of the fact that it will stay ‘under’ the number.

Baylor vs. UCLA Picks & Tips: Under 82.5

The 2012 Holiday Bowl picks are set to go here at Cappers Info, and we are ready to make our free bowl picks for all of the games on the schedule. Check out the Baylor vs. UCLA picks and predictions for what should be a remarkable game.

Holiday Bowl Picks: Baylor Bears vs. UCLA Bruins
Date: Thursday, December 27th, 9:45 ET
Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Holiday Bowl Betting Odds: UCLA -3
Baylor vs. UCLA Live TV Coverage: ESPN

All of the betting action over the course of the last few weeks has come on the Bruins, and that is definitely something notable for a team that was once lined at +1.5 in this game and has flipped all the way to -3. There is no doubt that both of these teams are going to get some points on the board in a hurry, but we do have a bit of a concern as to whether the Bears are going to have success against a somewhat underrated UCLA defense. This unit did hold the Arizona Wildcats down to just 10 points and the Utah Utes to 14. The USC Trojans – albeit in a driving rainstorm – only scored 28, while the Stanford Cardinal in two games tallied a somewhat modest 62 total points.

Baylor has some major problems on the defensive side of the ball as well. This club allowed 56 to the Texas Longhorns, 49 to the TCU Horned Frogs, 42 to the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks, and 70 to the West Virginia Mountaineers, and that isn’t even the start of their issues. The Bears rank second to last in the nation in total defense at 513.9 yards per game and 117th out of 124 team in scoring at 38.2 points per game allowed. Granted, we are fully aware that this offense behind QB Nick Florence is averaging 578.8 yards and 44.1 points per game, ranking first and fifth respectively nationally. That being said, this is still going to be an uphill climb against a team that certainly is one of the better teams in the bowl season this year not in the BCS.

The Bruins have done a heck of a lot to improve over the course of the last two years. Head Coach Jim Mora Jr. came to LA and sat down both of his veteran quarterbacks in favor of freshman QB Brett Hundley, and the results have been outstanding. Now, instead of being an offense that really only went as far as RB Johnathan Franklin carried it, the team has some dynamic to it, and Hundley can get the job done both with his arm and his legs. Franklin though, did rush for 1,701 yards this year and has the ability to rumble for over 200 on this defense given the opportunity. We think that he will do just that in what amounts to be a victory for the two-time Pac-12 South champs on Thursday night.

Baylor vs. UCLA Pick: UCLA Bruins -3
Holiday Bowl Score Prediction: UCLA 49 – Baylor 31