College Football Bowl Picks: Making ATS Predictions For Every Bowl Game

Picking against the spread in any football game is difficult enough. Doing it for college football bowl games, where there are myriad factors that could affect a game, is even more difficult.

Making picks for every game before bowl season even starts? Well, that’s just dumb. But that’s not going to stop us from bringing that bowl season content to the table, friends.

The bowl season officially begins Friday, Dec. 17 at noon ET with the Bahamas Bowl in, well, the Bahamas, and it comes to an end with the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.

In between, there are more than 40 games for fans and bettors to sink their teeth into, and NESN.com/bets will have you covered with daily betting previews to help you find an edge. Unfortunately for us, though, as we don’t have that luxury when making these picks days or even weeks in advance.

Without further ado, here are our full against-the-spread picks for every bowl game on the board with lines coming from DraftKings Sportsbooks (lines as of Dec. 17).

DEC. 17

Bahamas Bowl
Toledo (-10) over Middle Tennessee State

Cure Bowl
Coastal Carolina (-12) over Northern Illinois

DEC. 18

Boca Raton Bowl
Appalachian State (-3) over Western Kentucky

New Mexico Bowl
UTEP +11.5 over Fresno State

Independence Bowl
No. 12 BYU -6.5 over UAB

LendingTree Bowl
Eastern Michigan (+8.5) over Liberty

LA Bowl
Utah State (+7) over Oregon State

New Orleans Bowl
No. 16 Louisiana (-4) over Marshall

DEC. 20

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Old Dominion (+9.5) over Tulsa

DEC. 21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Wyoming (-3.5) over Kent State

Cafe Frisco Bowl
No. 24 UTSA (-1) over San Diego State

DEC. 22

Armed Forces Bowl
Army (-3.5) over Missouri

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Dec 17, 2021

DEC. 23

Frisco Football Classic
Miami (Ohio) (-3) over North Texas

Gasparilla Bowl
UCF (+6.5) over Florida

DEC. 24

Hawaii Bowl
Memphis (-6.5) over Hawaii

DEC. 25

Camellia Bowl
Georgia State (+4.5) over Ball State

DEC. 27

Quick Lane Bowl
Western Michigan (-5.5) over Nevada

Military Bowl
East Carolina (+3) over Boston College

DEC. 28

Birmingham Bowl
No. 21 Houston (+3) over Auburn

First Responder Bowl
Air Force (+1.5) over Louisville

Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State (-8) over Texas Tech

Holiday Bowl
UCLA (+1) over No. 18 NC State

Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Minnesota (-4) over West Virginia

DEC. 29

Fenway Bowl
Virginia (-2) over SMU

Pinstripe Bowl
Maryland (-1) over Virginia Tech

Cheez-It Bowl
Iowa State (-1.5) over No. 19 Clemson

Alamo Bowl
No. 14 Oklahoma (-4.5) over No. 15 Oregon

DEC. 30

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
South Carolina (+9) over North Carolina

Music City Bowl
Purdue (+4.5) over Tennessee

Peach Bowl
No. 11 Michigan State (-3) over No. 13 Pitt

Las Vegas Bowl
Arizona State (+7) over Wisconsin

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DEC. 31

Gator Bowl
No. 23 Texas A&M (-4) over No. 20 Wake Forest

Sun Bowl
Washington State (+2.5) over Miami

Arizona Bowl
Central Michigan (+9) over Boise State

Cotton Bowl (College football playoff semifinal)
No. 4 Cincinnati (+13) over Alabama

Orange Bowl (College football playoff semifinal)
No. 2 Michigan (+8.5) over Georgia

JAN. 1

Outback Bowl
No. 21 Arkansas (+2.5) over Penn State

Citrus Bowl
No. 22 Kentucky (-3) over No. 15 Iowa

Fiesta Bowl
No. 5 Notre Dame (-2) over No. 9 Oklahoma State

Rose Bowl
No. 11 Utah (+6.5) over Ohio State

Sugar Bowl
No. 8 Ole Miss (PK) over No. 7 Baylor

JAN. 4

Texas Bowl
Kansas State (-2.5) over LSU