Top Five Sneaky-Good Bets For Lesser College Football Bowl Games
It’s bowl season, which means it’s your last chance to make some money on college football before next August.
While there is sure to be a lot of money coming in on the marquee matchups, the real opportunity to take advantage of the books lies in some of the lower-tier bowls.
With that being said, here are the five best bets in lesser bowl games:
All odds courtesy of Oddsshark.
Utah State vs. North Texas OVER 68
The New Mexico Bowl (2 p.m. ET, Dec. 15) has a chance to get real loose. Utah State enters the game ranked third in the nation in scoring offense at 47.2 points per game while the Mean Green check in at 21st in the nation with 36.4 points per contest. Bowl games have a tendency to lean OVER to begin with and this game has shootout written all over it. Pick: North Texas 44, Utah State 41.
Middle Tennessee State (+7) vs. Appalachian State
Appalachian State enters the New Orleans Bowl (9 p.m. ET, Dec. 15) without head coach Scott Satterfield who left to take the head coaching job at Lousiville, but even without their coach, the Mountaineers are one of the best Group of Five teams in the country. On the other side, this will be the final run for Blue Raiders head coach Rick Stockstill and his son, quarterback Brent Stockstill. The father/son tandem have enjoyed a lot of success this season and a win would give MTSU nine wins for the first time since 2009. We don’t know if they’ll win, but we can’t see App. State pulling away in New Orleans. Pick: MTSU +7
Wisconsin (+4) vs. Miami
These two teams met a year ago in the Orange Bowl and the Badgers rolled over the Hurricanes, 34-24. Both teams entered 2018 ranked in the top 10 and both fell well short of expectations, landing in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl (5:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 27). The Hurricanes had one of the best defenses in college football this season and one of the worst offenses. Whether it’s Malik Rosier or N’Kosi Perry at quarterback, Miami has struggled to move the ball and we feel they’ll have issues doing so against the Badgers. Take the points. Pick: Wisconsin +4
North Carolina State vs. Texas A&M OVER 58.5
Both the Wolfpack and the Aggies can put up points, so expect some fireworks when the two meet in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl (7:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 31). NC State (35.6) and Texas A&M (34.7) both rank in the top 25 in the country in points per game, so we’d expect this total to hit no less than 65 and it has serious potential to get wild. Pick: Texas A&M 41, NC State 35.
Purdue (+3.5) vs. Auburn
This boils down to one thing: motivation. The Boilermakers will be fired up that head coach Jeff Brohm spurned Lousiville, his alma mater, and elected to remain in West Lafayette as head coach. A win in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (1:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 28) will give them seven wins on the season and put them on the right path for 2019. Auburn, on the other hand, began the year in top 10 only to finish the season at a disappointing 7-5. The Tigers have little desire to be in Nashville. Pick: Purdue +3.5
