College Football Bowl Picks 2024: Odds and Predictions for Underrated Games on Slate

Some of the best college football bowl games are the ones you enter with no expectations for.

A handful of postseason contests involving Group of Five teams may not have your attention right now, but the end of those games, you'll be left wanting more of both sides.

The transfer portal plays a huge role in which G5 teams can put on a good show during bowl season.

While transfers can be a detriment to some programs, others will keep their rosters together and work on building toward next season.

Some power-conference clashes have intrigue as well despite them pitting mid-tier teams from each league against each other.

A handful of those programs will use the bowl game as a springboard into next season, where they hope to reach the College Football Playoff.

North Texas vs. Texas State (-10)

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SAN MARCOS, TX - OCTOBER 29: Texas State Bobcats players Ismail Mahdi (21) and Jordan McCloud drop back on a pass play during game featuring the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and the Texas State Bobcats on October 29, 2024 at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, TX. (Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

The third-to-last non-playoff bowl to kick off carries intrigue because of the matchup.

The North Texas Mean Green and Texas State Bobcats square off in a rare clash between in-state foes at the First Responder Bowl.

On the surface, a battle between teams with a 6-6 and 7-5 record, respectively, may not be appetizing, but both teams love to put up points.

Texas State's last two regular-season games ended with scores of 45-38 and 52-44, while North Texas played in 40-28 and 48-27 contests in November.

North Texas will be at a disadvantage without quarterback Chandler Morris, who is in the transfer portal, but the Mean Green still have the potential to put up points on an average-at-best Texas State defense.

The Bobcats have some of the best motivation in the non-playoff bowls to win because they are participating in their second-ever bowl game.

The over/under of 68 is the highest of bowl season at the moment, and if that's the case even without North Texas' quarterback, it should turn into a strong showcase of both offenses.

Prediction: Texas State 41, North Texas 27

Western Kentucky vs. James Madison (-6.5)

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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 21: Antoine Booth #31 and Tyler Brown #29 of the James Madison Dukes celebrate as they leave the field after a win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Dukes won 70-50. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The Boca Raton Bowl should produce a good amount of points as well.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and James Madison Dukes each won eight games in the regular season.

Western Kentucky loves to air it out behind quarterback Caden Veltkamp, who will play despite entering the transfer portal.

JMU regularly scored in the 30s and put up 70 points on the North Carolina Tar Heels in September.

The Dukes come into Wednesday's contest with the more complete roster, while a few of Veltkamp's top targets may not play for the Hilltoppers.

The absence of some starters for WKU will not affect the potential high-scoring nature of the contest, though.

Western Kentucky tends to play in high-scoring bowls. Its last four postseason games featured scores of 39-21, 59-38, 44-23 and 38-35.

Prediction: James Madison 35, Western Kentucky 27

Boston College vs. Nebraska (-2.5)

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LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 23: Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) hypes up the crowd going into the fourth quarter during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE. (Photo by Nathanial George/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Nebraska Cornhuskers should be under a close microscope during their bowl matchup with the Boston College Eagles.

Dylan Raiola has a chance to give the Huskers some much-needed momentum heading into his second season as starter.

Nebraska entered the season with high expectations, but it went 6-6 and landed a spot in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The third season under Matt Rhule will come with a ton of expectations, and if Raiola is still at the helm, a playoff berth will be the goal set in preseason.

Boston College is fascinating as well because it moved on from quarterback Thomas Castellanos in November.

The Eagles finished with three wins in four games and will also try to use the Pinstripe Bowl as a launching point into 2025 behind quarterback Grayson James.

If anything, the game should be a level matchup between power-conference foes, which is something you can't say about other bowls affected by the transfer portal and NFL draft opt-outs.

Prediction: Nebraska 30, Boston College 28

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