College Bowl Picks 2023-24: Latest Odds and Predictions Against the Spread
Some of the best matchups of the college football bowl season will come from the Group of Five contests.
A majority of those programs will not deal with the slew of opt-outs and transfers that you see from Power Five teams.
Bowl victories also mean a lot more to the Group of Five programs, especially ones who rarely play this time of year.
The Miami (Ohio) RedHawks are no stranger to bowl season and are familiar with being an underdog.
Chuck Martin's team won the MAC Championship Game outright as an underdog and it has the potential to do the same on the first day of the postseason in the Cure Bowl.
The Texas State Bobcats are making their first-ever bowl appearance in the First Responder Bowl against the Rice Owls.
That games means way more to Texas State as a program because a win would finish off the team's best season since elevating to the FBS level.
Updated Bowl Schedule and Odds
1 of 3
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday, December 16
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (-3) (11 a.m. ET, ESPN)
New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State (-3) vs. Louisiana (2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Cure Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State (-5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State (-3) vs. Fresno State (5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
LA Bowl: UCLA (-3) vs. Boise State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Independence Bowl: California vs. Texas Tech (-3) (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Monday, December 18
Famous Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion (-2) (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Tuesday, December 19
Frisco Bowl: UTSA (-9.5) vs. Marshall (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Thursday, December 21
Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida vs. Syracuse (-3) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Friday, December 22
Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF (-5.5) (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Saturday, December 23
Birmingham Bowl: Troy (-7) vs. Duke (Noon ET, ABC)
Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (-1) (Noon ET, ESPN)
Armed Forces Bowl: James Madison (-3) vs. Air Force (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Idaho Potato Bowl: Georgia State vs. Utah State (-2.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama (-16) vs. Eastern Michigan (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Las Vegas Bowl: Utah (-7) vs. Northwestern (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Hawai'i Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (-9.5) (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Tuesday, December 26
QuickLane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota (-3.5) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
First Responder Bowl: Texas State (-4) vs. Rice (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas (-12) vs. UNLV (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Wednesday, December 27
Military Bowl: Virginia Tech (-7.5) vs. Tulane (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Duke's Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia (-3) (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Holiday Bowl: No. 15 Louisville (-7.5) vs. USC (8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M (-3.5) vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Thursday, December 28
Fenway Bowl: No. 24 SMU (-11.5) vs. Boston College (11 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami (-3.5) (2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 18 NC State vs. No. 25 Kansas State (-3.5) (5;45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Alamo Bowl: No. 14 Arizona (-4) vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Friday, December 29
Gator Bowl: No. 22 Clemson (-7) vs. Kentucky (Noon ET, ESPN)
Sun Bowl: No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame (-10) (2 p.m. ET, CBS)
Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa State (-7) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Cotton Bowl: No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 7 Ohio State (-1.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Saturday, December 30
Peach Bowl: No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Penn State (-4) (Noon ET, ESPN)
Music City Bowl: Auburn (-2.5) vs. Maryland (2 p.m. ET, ABC)
Orange Bowl: No. 6 Georgia (-14.5) vs. No. 5 Florida State (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Arizona Bowl: Toledo (-1.5) vs. Wyoming (4:30 p.m. ET, CW Network)
Monday, January 1
ReliaQuest Bowl: Wisconsin vs. No. 13 LSU (-10) (Noon ET, ESPN2)
Fiesta Bowl: No. 23 Liberty vs. No. 8 Oregon (-16) (1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Citrus Bowl: No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee (-8) (1 p.m. ET, ABC)
Rose Bowl: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan (-1.5) (5 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Texas (-4.5) vs. No. 2 Washington (8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Miami (Ohio) (+5.5) vs. Appalachian State
2 of 3
Miami (Ohio) was one of the best teams against the spread in the FBS this season.
The RedHawks were 10-3 ATS and 3-1 as an underdog with three outright wins, including the MAC Championship Game.
The MAC champion won straight up as a 14-point underdog versus the Cincinnati Bearcats, as a 7.5-point underdog against the Ohio Bobcats and a 6.5-point underdog in its championship matchup with the Toledo Rockets.
That's a road win over a Big 12 side and victories over two of the best teams in the MAC.
That statistic alone should buy you a lot of trust in the RedHawks for their Cure Bowl showdown with the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
App State reeled off a five-game winning streak to reach the Sun Belt Championship Game, but it did give up a good amount of points during that run.
The Mountaineers conceded over 20 points three times during that winning run and the Troy Trojans ran all over them for 49 points in the Sun Belt Championship Game.
App State has been susceptible to high concessions in bowl games as well. It allowed at least 27 points in four of its seven bowl appearances, so at least the over seems like it has a good chance of hitting.
Miami's best wins came against two of the best MAC teams, as we saw in the Sun Belt title game, App State can struggle with the top Group of Five squads.
The RedHawks should be trusted once again as an underdog, and with a win and cover, they could finish the season as the best FBS team against the spread. Only three other teams have 10 wins ATS this season.
Rice vs. Texas State (-4)
3 of 3
Texas State's motivation outweighs the majority of meanings that teams have across bowl season.
The Bobcats will play in their first bowl game as a FBS program and they should take immense pride in winning their contest with Rice.
Rice is one of the best teams ATS in college football at 8-3-1, but it failed to cover in two of its final three games and it will not have starting quarterback J.T. Daniels available due to injury.
Rice struggled just to reach six wins and become bowl eligible. It lost four of five games from October 7-November 11 and it conceded over 30 points in all of those defeats.
In fact, the Owls have only one victory this season in which they conceded more than 30 points.
That should be the magic number for the Texas State offense to hit on December 26 to come away with a win and cover.
The 7-5 Bobcats finished the regular season with a 52-point outburst against the South Alabama Jaguars.
They earned all seven of their victories by scoring at least 35 points, so the math seems to be very simple if you back Texas State in the First Responder Bowl.
Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), or calling/texting TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
