College Football Bowl Games Best Bets for December 17-19
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Jason Lake
- December 10, 2024
Top NCAAF Pick: Georgia Southern –6 (–115) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Is it bowl season already? Dang. We were doing so well with our college football picks here at the top-rated sportsbooks, mostly because there were so many situations where the home dogs (97-81-4 ATS the past 60 days, or 54.5%) were the obvious choice. Now we have to go to neutral corners for these bowl games.
That doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of our surroundings. There are four early bowls coming up on the NCAAF odds board; we’ll look at the three tastiest, starting with a highly volatile situation in the Big D.
Memphis Tigers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (Frisco Bowl) Odds
Tuesday, December 17, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at Toyota Stadium
Okay, technically they’ll be playing the Frisco Bowl in Frisco, but that’s basically Dallas; Toyota Stadium is home to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.
This is a good situation in theory for Memphis (10-2 SU, 6-5-1 ATS), as they’ll be facing a West Virginia team (6-6 SU, 5-7 ATS) that barely qualified for bowl season, and will be led by offensive coordinator Chad Scott after the Mountaineers fired head coach Neal Brown.
In theory. The Tigers have already moved from a pick’em to –2.5 in early betting, so we’re looking at the total instead, which has moved less dramatically from 56.5 at the open.
The long-term forecast at AccuWeather calls for mostly cloudy skies Tuesday, then several days of rain starting Wednesday; there’s a non-zero chance the Frisco Bowl gets a little soggy, and Scott may already want to simplify the game plan for WVU by running the ball more often.
NCAAF Pick: Memphis/West Virginia Under 55.5 (–115) at BetOnline
California Golden Bears vs. UNLV Rebels (LA Bowl) Odds
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 – 09:00 PM ET at SoFi Stadium
Here’s something close to a home game for Cal (6-6 SU and ATS), even if they represent the Bay Area – and even if UNLV (10-3 SU, 7-5 ATS) is basically next door.
We’re supposed to give the Bears the same side-eye as West Virginia: a Power 4 team that snuck into bowl season against a decent mid-major opponent. And now the college football odds have Cal as 4-point faves, up from –1.5 at the open.
No sale. That’s a tight line now that the sharps have weighed in, so let’s keep it boring and hit that Under again. The 51.5-point total hasn’t moved since the open; yes, they’re playing indoors, but Cal (Under 7-4-1) is much better on defense, ranking No. 36 on the F+ Ratings at BCF Toys compared to No. 65 on offense. And this time, it’s UNLV coming in with an interim head coach (WR coach Del Alexander) after Barry Odom left for Purdue.
NCAAF Pick: California/UNLV Under 51.5 (–110) at BetOnline
Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Sam Houston Bearkats (New Orleans Bowl) Odds
Thursday, December 19, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at Caesars Superdome
No getting around the point spread this time: The Eagles (8-4 SU, 8-3-1 ATS) are just too good to pass up, and Sam Houston (9-3 SU, 6-6 ATS) is that bad. BCF Toys has Georgia Southern ranked No. 75 overall according to F+, well ahead of the ‘Kats at No. 99.
This isn’t even the full version of Sam Houston we’ll be seeing at the Superdome. They’ve got a ton of injuries on defense, and head coach K.C. Keeler is bolting for Temple, leaving offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen to handle things against Georgia Southern.
Bet accordingly, and may the prolate spheroid be with you.
NCAAF Pick: Georgia Southern –6 (–115) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
