How to bet bowl games amid coaching, roster changes and letdowns

It’s one thing to develop a computerized power-ranking system that factors in rushing yards per game, strength of schedule and average margin of victory. 

But since the nation’s oddsmakers haven’t yet created a program that can read minds, setting point spreads for a slew of college bowl games is an exercise akin to palm reading. 

There’s been coaching defections, led by Brian Kelly’s high-profile shuffle from Notre Dame to LSU. 

There have been transfer-portal entries, including Auburn quarterback Bo Nix’s move to Oregon. 

Elite players bound for the NFL Draft have withdrawn from playing in bowl games, most notably Heisman Trophy finalists Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh and Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III. Both backed out of the Dec. 31 Peach Bowl.