College Football Bowl Odds 2024: Betting Tips for Top Games on Friday's Schedule
One of the biggest mismatches of the college football bowl season in terms of player availability takes place in Friday's Armed Forces Bowl.
The Oklahoma Sooners come into Fort Worth with a slew of opt-outs and key players in the transfer portal, most notably quarterback Jackson Arnold.
The Navy Midshipmen have a full complement of players to choose from, and that advantage combined with the uniqueness of the option offense could wreak havoc on the Sooners.
Key player absences will affect the four other games on Friday's bowl slate.
For example, the Syracuse Orange have ballooned up to a 17.5-point favorite in the Holiday Bowl because most of the key players on the Washington State Cougars roster are in the transfer portal.
Friday Bowl Schedule and Odds
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Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma (-2.5) vs. Navy (Noon ET, ESPN)
Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Tech (-3) vs. Vanderbilt (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech (-2) vs. Arkansas (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Holiday Bowl: No. 21 Syracuse (-17.5) vs. Washington State (8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Las Vegas Bowl: USC vs. Texas A&M (-4) (10;30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Oklahoma vs. Navy (+2.5)
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Oklahoma was initially favored by more than a touchdown against Navy.
However, the Sooners were hit hard by transfer portal entries and are now down to a 2.5-point favorite.
Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold is off to Auburn and three wide receivers have already committed elsewhere in the portal.
Oklahoma's had issues at wide receiver all season due to injuries, but now it will not have three of its four-leading pass-catchers due to transfers.
On the other hand, Navy does not have any key transfer portal entries and will bring its full squad to Fort Worth.
Navy's offense should not skip a beat, and if Oklahoma's defense is not motivated because of all the ins and outs within the program, the Midshipmen could torture the Sooners with their option offense.
Navy is the better betting option because of who is available to the program, and there's a good chance the Midshipmen control the game with their ground attack and give OU's retooled offense little time to find a rhythm.
No. 21 Syracuse (-17.5) vs. Washington State
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Syracuse holds the honor of being the largest favorite across the remaining bowl games.
The Orange, like Navy, will bring their full complement of players to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.
Washington State, though, is in the middle of a mass exodus. Quarterback John Mateer already committed to Oklahoma and head coach Jake Dickert took the job at Wake Forest.
Ten starters, including the starting quarterback, top two leading rushers and second-best pass-catcher, entered the portal from Wazzu's roster.
It's difficult to imagine where the motivation lies for the Cougars in a game they are just trying to get through so they can get on with re-building the program for 2025.
As for Syracuse, the Holiday Bowl will be used as a celebration after 9-3 regular season in Fran Brown's first season as head coach.
Syracuse can reach the 10-win mark for the second time since 2002 with a win. That victory should come in emphatic fashion against a depleted Wazzu side.
Texas A&M (-4) vs. USC
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Texas A&M rode with Marcel Reed at quarterback for the second half of the regular season.
Reed's success inside the offense led to Connor Weigman transferring to Houston, a move that isn't a burden on the Aggies' bowl preparation.
The Aggies are in a better spot than the USC Trojans, who lost quarterback Miller Moss to the transfer portal and running back Woody Marks to an opt-out to prepare for the NFL draft.
USC will start Jayden Maiava at quarterback. He played in the last three regular-season games, but the Trojans' disadvantage will be in the ground game.
Marks is a 1,000-yard rusher and it could be difficult for USC to generate a ground game without him on the field.
A&M's biggest opt-out is defensive end Nic Scourton, but no key offensive players are expected to miss the contest.
That could be a big boost for the Aggies to start strong, while USC may be stuck figuring things out in the ground game for most of the night.
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