Four more games are on tap for college football fans Wednesday. The bowl season is starting to heat up with more power conference teams squaring off against each other.

Here’s a breakdown of the Dec. 30 bowl games and our predicted ATS outcome.

Auburn faces a tough road ahead. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1GBt6uz
Auburn faces a tough road in games ahead. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1GBt6uz

Birmingham Bowl

Auburn (-3) vs. Memphis

The Skinny: Memphis may have been one of the best teams in college football at the end of the season. Then, it dropped two of its final three games, and lost its coach. The Tigers have a legitimate pro at the quarterback position and beat Mississippi earlier this season. Auburn started the season with playoff aspirations, and then hit rock bottom during the middle portion of the schedule. However, the Tigers did finish playing better and weren’t bad against the spread.

Why Auburn will cover: The Tigers started out on the wrong foot this season, only to get a little bit back on track. Auburn covered in four of the final six games after being atrocious against the spread at the beginning of the season. Because of that recent action, the Tigers will control the ball against Memphis and will show why the SEC is dominant over Memphis. This game isn’t beneath Auburn and it will attempt to get on the right foot for a stronger campaign next season.

Why Memphis will cover: This game means something to Memphis. Sure, it doesn’t have its head coach, but don’t dismiss pride in this matchup. Memphis has legitimate players that could play in the SEC. Memphis flexed its muscles against Mississippi earlier this season and it will show again why it can compete at the highest level.

Score: Auburn 45, Memphis 34. Auburn uses this game as a springboard to next season and won’t look past Memphis.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs face an over/under of seven. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1H8r1mw/Ron Kickuchi
The Mississippi State Bulldogs face an over/under of seven. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1H8r1mw/Ron Kickuchi

Belk Bowl

North Carolina State vs. Mississippi State (-6.5)

The Skinny: The Wolfpack will attempt to the run the ball against a Mississippi State that doesn’t stop the run very well. That matchup bodes well for North Carolina State, but Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott masks plenty of deficiencies on Mississippi State. North Carolina State won’t have much luck stopping Prescott, but this game will come down to the Wolfpack’s ability to move the ball against Mississippi State.

Why North Carolina State will cover: North Carolina State will run the ball at will. The Wolfpack average more than 200 yards per game on the ground, while Mississippi State allows more than 170 yards per game on the ground. The Wolfpack can keep the ball away from the Bulldogs for the majority of the game and have the big-play potential t to score points.

Why Mississippi State will cover: The SEC vs. the ACC. Enough said. The Wolfpack were playing in a far inferior conference and with this being Prescott’s finale, the Bulldogs will be very motivated to get past the Wolfpack. It doesn’t matter what the matchups are, since Prescott will do anything to get a victory in this game.

Score: Mississippi State 31, North Carolina State 14. This game is all about Prescott, so don’t pick against him in this game.

The Louisville Cardinals face an over/under of 7.5 wins this season. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1JQEsfA
The Louisville Cardinals face an over/under of 7.5 wins this season. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1JQEsfA

Music City Bowl

Texas A&M vs. Louisville (-4.5)

The Skinny: The betting public has moved this game considerably since the opening line. The Aggies actually opened as 2.5-point favorites. The Cardinals have since moved to more than a field goal favorite. Louisville has consistently gotten better throughout the season, while the Aggies have moved in the opposite direction and still can’t seem to stop anybody.

Why Texas A&M will cover: Oddsmakers had this game right in the first place. The Aggies have plenty of talent and they’re used to playing quality opponents on a weekly basis. The offense will move the ball at will against the Cardinals offense, and Louisville will be unable to get off the field on defense.

Why Louisville will cover: The Aggies just don’t have it this year. The offense isn’t near as good as it has been in the past and the defense, which looked to be turning the page on bad performances earlier in the season, just doesn’t do enough to win games. And the Cardinals have shown consistent improvement throughout the season, making this more of an opportunity for the Cardinals to play well.

Score: Louisville 27, Texas A&M 24. This game moved too far in the direction of Louisville. The Cardinals win, but this is much closer than what the betting public believes.

The USC Trojans will face an over/under of 8.5 wins. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1MyAXOh
The USC Trojans will face an over/under of 8.5 wins in college football games this season. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1MyAXOh

Holiday Bowl

USC (-3.5) vs. Wisconsin

The Skinny: The Trojans have stability at the coaching position and will likely try to use this game as a springboard to next season. The Badgers fell on some hard times this season, but showed it can compete against some of the better teams during this season. This game will likely come down to motivation, since the edge would likely go heavily in USC’s direction.

Why USC will cover: Talent. That’s the biggest reason for the Trojans to cover this one by a wide margin. USC owns a heavy edge in the talent department and that will be on full display in this game. Forget about the Trojans looking past this game. USC will look to rally around its new permanent coach and will easily defeat the Badgers.

Why Wisconsin will cover: The Badgers will have far more motivation than the Trojans. Wisconsin will look to show why the Big 10 was a better conference than the Pac-12 and will run the ball down the throat of the USC defenders. You saw what Stanford did to the Trojans twice this season. That’s the gameplan for the Badgers and it will keep the USC offense off the field.

Score: USC 35, Wisconsin 14. This game gets out of hand early. The Trojans are barely over a field goal favorite, but this should be much more than that.

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