Stanford-TCU a toss-up

The Stanford Cardinal is a 2.5-point underdog against Texas Christian University in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 28 (6 p.m., ESPN), but given Stanford’s strong performance in recent bowl games, you might not want to bet against them.

The Cardinal “finished the season very well,” said Johnny Avello, sports book director for Wynn Las Vegas, who added that it won four of its past five bowl games “against good competition.”

Last December, Stanford edged North Carolina in the Sun Bowl. The year before, the team routed Iowa in the Rose Bowl.

But the TCU Horned Frogs are talented, too, Avello noted. TCU had only three losses this season, including both its games against powerhouse Oklahoma, one of the four teams contending for the national championship. (TCU played Oklahoma in the regular season and in the Big 12 title game.)

Stanford’s record is 9-4. Two of the Cardinal’s losses were to the USC Trojans, during the regular season in September and this month in the Pac-12 title game.

Avello said TCU appears to be the slightly better team and will have the edge of playing in its home state. The game will be in San Antonio, about a four-hour drive from the TCU campus in Fort Worth, which is more convenient for TCU students than for Stanford students. That advantage is worth about 1 point in the spread, Avello said.

Meanwhile, the four teams competing for the NCAA football championship are Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Oklahoma. At Wynn’s sports book, Alabama is plus-210 (bet $100 to win $210, plus your stake back), Georgia is plus-260, Clemson is plus-270 and Oklahoma is plus-280.

There’s “no clear favorite or longshot,” Avello said. “Alabama is good but not the dominant team they were in the past.” Renowned Alabama head coach Nick Saban, however, could give Alabama an edge, he added. “Who knows what magic he can work?”

Both playoff games take place on Monday, Jan. 1: Georgia is a 1-point favorite over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl; Alabama is a 2.5-point favorite in the Sugar Bowl, according to Wynn’s sports book.

Typically the Pac-12 winner plays in the Rose Bowl, but this year that game was designated for the College Football Playoff. The USC Trojans won the Pac-12, but instead of playing at home in Los Angeles, they’ll be playing in the Cotton Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Arlington, Texas on Friday, Dec. 29 (5:30 p.m., ESPN).

Ohio State is a 7-point favorite over USC. “Ohio State thought they should be playing for the national championship,” Avello said, but didn’t make the four-team playoff, so they may have lost some motivation. And USC finished the season strongly.