In this article, we will look at Top Bowl Matchups Betting Picks in the 35 bowl games that are not part of the College Football Playoff, just in case you want to try your sports betting luck in some of these contests.
In college football, all the postseason buzz seems to be saved for the College Football Playoff, expanded to 12 FBS teams for the first time.
The desire for an undisputed national champion in Division I will finally be satisfied.
Playoffs have been a part of the FCS, the lower-division teams, for decades, but the big money associated with bowl games made a similar move for the FBS teams more difficult.
Television revenues have increased, resulting in a shift from a voted national championship to one decided on the field. This began with the BCS Championship game, evolved into a four-team playoff, and now features a 12-team bracket. Quarterfinals and semifinals are part of a larger bowl schedule.
Top Bowl Matchups Betting Picks for 2024/25 Season
Betting Analysis
Bowl games that don’t lead to a national championship have gotten harder to handicap accurately in an era with a playoff path to a title. Why? Some teams head to bowl games when they think they deserved a shot at the CFP.
In some cases, these teams have all kinds of anger to work out, and so they take the field highly focused and blow out their opposition (such as when Georgia lost the SEC Championship and ended up missing the CFP altogether.
They demolished Florida State in the Orange Bowl. In other cases, the team that feels like they were disrespected comes out flat because they feel like they’re playing a team that’s beneath them. We saw this back in 2019, when SMU felt like they had earned a New Year’s Day bowl but ended up in the Boca Raton Bowl, on the campus of Florida Atlantic, their opponent.
In a 24-second flurry just before halftime, the Owls scored two touchdowns to take control in what would turn into a 52-28 laugher.
In other cases, teams lose coaches to other schools and players opt out, either to prepare for the NFL or to enter the transfer portal, between the end of the regular season and their bowl game. This can shift outcomes significantly, so you’ll want to watch for those movements before locking in wagers on games.
With those thoughts in mind, let’s look at some of the top matchups on this year’s bowl schedule.
^Pop Tarts Bowl: Miami Hurricanes -182 vs Iowa State Cyclones +135
When: December 28, 3:30 pm ET
These are two teams that just missed out on the College Football Playoff. Miami would have earned a berth in the ACC Championship and a slot in the CFP if they had not lost at Syracuse in their regular-season finale. Their quarterback, Cam Ward, is a Heisman Trophy finalist, and he leads a high-octane offense. As long as he and some of the other Hurricanes don’t opt out for the draft before this game, it should be a terrific showdown.
Iowa State also had a shot at the CFP, but they played their worst game of 2024 in the Big 12 Championship, coughing the ball up three times in the second half of their loss to Arizona State. Quarterback Rocco Becht should have plenty of room to operate against a porous Miami defense. Expect this game to turn into as much of a track meet as a team located in Iowa can generate.
^Gator Bowl: Ole Miss Rebels -676 vs Duke Blue Devils +400
When: January 2, 7:30 pm ET
Duke finished their 2024 campaign with a respectable 9-3 record, and one of those losses came at home in overtime against SMU. The Blue Devils generated five takeaways in that game, but they couldn’t turn any of them into points in a head-scratching loss. They get another shot at respectability in Ole Miss. Will the Rebels come out ready to dominate after getting snubbed by the College Football Playoff? After all, they did beat Georgia this year…but they also lost to Florida. Ole Miss could suffer a number of opt-outs as well. Duke has nothing to lose in this game, and while Lane Kiffin always has the Rebels prepared, his rhetoric about deserving a spot in the playoffs could lead to an entitled mentality for his team, and Duke could be prepared to take advantage.
^ReliaQuest Bowl: Michigan Wolverines +275 vs Alabama Crimson Tide -410
When: December 31, 12:00 pm ET
Michigan used a grinding and physical defense to shock Ohio State, likely saving the job of first-year coach Sherrone Moore. That didn’t get Michigan into the Big Ten Championship, or the CFP, but it did earn them this matchup with Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost three games this year, and two of them were damaging to their playoff resume (Vanderbilt and Oklahoma). Nick Saban was usually able to get his team amped in the aftermath of playoff snubs, so it will be interesting to see if Kalen DeBoer has similar success, or if the Tide have a lot of opt-outs as players consider the NFL draft. Watch out for Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, as he is one of the fastest players in the nation.
^Birmingham Bowl: Vanderbilt Commodores +106 vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets -141
When: December 27, time TBA
The Vanderbilt Commodores are going bowling for the first time since 2018. One of the wins that earned them bowl eligibility was that home takedown of Alabama. According to head coach Clark Lea, no Vanderbilt players are expected to opt out of this game. Georgia Tech famously pushed Georgia to eight overtimes before falling to their in-state rivals on the road. Haynes, King and the Yellow Jackets also upset Miami in ACC play, so this is a matchup of two teams that tested some of the sport’s biggest programs.
^Holiday Bowl: Syracuse Orange -319 vs Washington State Cougars +222
When: December 27, 8:00 pm ET
We have two high-octane quarterbacks in this bowl game – Kyle McCord, formerly of Ohio State, now leading the Orange against Washington State signal-caller John Mateer. Now that the Pac-12 has become the Pac-2, at least for now, the Cougars seem to play a little bit angrier than they did before their conference imploded. These teams both have motivation to finish the year strong heading into 2025, and both rosters seem to be immune from opt-outs. So expect a high-scoring day in sunny California.
^Citrus Bowl: South Carolina Gamecocks -441 vs Illinois Fighting Illini +295
When: December 31, 3:00 pm ET
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers is just a redshirt freshman, but he has South Carolina on the map going into 2025. His team knocked off Clemson on the road in their regular-season finale, and Sellers’ numbers in the second half of the regular season will have him on the Heisman Trophy watch list heading into next fall. With a win here, the Gamecocks would hit 10 wins for the first time since 2013, when Steve Spurrier patrolled the sidelines, and for just the fifth time overall. Illinois also has a shot at double-digit wins for the first time in 23 years. South Carolina will be favored based on their season – and based on the fact that the Citrus Bowl is close enough to the Carolinas to make this a “home” game for the Gamecocks.
^Alamo Bowl: BYU Cougars +113 vs Colorado Buffaloes -150
When: December 28, 7:30 pm ET
It is unusual to see teams from the same conference squaring off in a bowl game, but the growth of the Power 4 conferences may lead to more showdowns like these going forward. These teams did not meet during conference play, and BYU is one of just two teams to beat SMU this season. Colorado’s loss to Kansas knocked them out of a Big 12 Championship berth and a shot at the College Football Playoff. However, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders will enter the game with plenty of motivation to burnish their resumes – as long as they don’t opt out for the draft.
^College Football’s Player of the Year: Ashton Jeanty 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BjtzgnI6RD
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 13, 2024
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