Vegas Play of the Day: San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017 | 12:53 p.m.

We’ve entered the fourth season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won back-to-back titles in the 2015-2016 and 2016-17 seasons, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015.

Washington State plus-2.5 vs. Michigan State in San Diego Credit Union Holiday Bowl: $550 to win $500

I’m a little taken aback by all the Michigan State love.

The Spartans are drawing 78 percent of the money in tonight’s bowl game at William Hill sportsbook. But why?

There doesn’t appear to be any clear reason. Even the biggest Spartans’ backer would admit to the Cougars having the better offense, and the numbers bear that out with the Pac-12 representative gaining .6 yards more per play.

Defensively, the teams are pretty even. Washington State has given up 5 yards per play on the season to Michigan State’s 4.9.

That means this curious fascination with the Spartans could all come down to reputation and recency. Despite last year’s terrible season, the Spartans are still the more respected program by the betting market.

And they finished the season with two easy to wins as compared to Washington State, which struggled to beat Utah 33-25 and got blown out 41-14 to rival Washington. There’s some concern that quarterback Luke Falk is injured, but nothing concrete to suggest that’s the case.

He practiced all week, and as long as he’s playing, the Cougars should be favored to win here.

Granger (12-9, $12,819), Brewer (20-17, $10,370), Keefer (17-17-1, $9,911), Grimala (8-11, $7,215)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.