Top College Football Bowl Picks of the Week – December 19th

The 2017 college football bowl season enters its second weekend as Christmas approaches. We saw Boise State, Georgia State and Troy win in fairly convincing fashion, while Marshall and Middle Tennessee eked out upset wins in their postseason tilts. As we move closer and closer to the New Year’s Six games, we see the teams start to get better in terms of their season finish and the games get a little more predictable (although not much — the variables of the long preparation time and the distraction of traveling across the country in a party atmosphere make these picks an adventure sometimes). Let’s look at some college football betting picks for you to consider in the next round of bowl games.

Top College Football Bowl Picks of the Week – December 19th

Birmingham Bowl trophy: One sword, no pants https://t.co/5MICXo7iD0

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) December 19, 2017

Thursday, December 21

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (8:00pm ET, ESPN) Temple vs Florida International

Butch Davis emerged as the first-year head coach down at FIU and did a terrific job building a program that played solid defense and did enough on offense to earn bowl eligibility. Geoff Collins took over for Matt Rhule at Temple and had the Owls competitive in the American Athletic Conference’s Eastern Division. The Owls have the stouter defense — but will they have the same focus playing so far from home? College Football Bowl Prediction: FIU 27, Temple 20

Friday, December 22

Bahamas Bowl (12:30pm ET, ESPN) UAB vs Ohio U.

Hmmm… a midday game in the Bahamas? It will be interesting to see how many of the players look awake for that opening kickoff. UAB had a terrific first season back on the football field, picking up eight wins and posting the 25th best run defense in the nation. Ohio has a strong running game, averaging 5.6 yards per carry and posting 40 touchdowns on the season, though, so we’ll see who has the greater sense of will in this bleary matinee. I see the pounding of that Bobcat offense winning out as the Blazers’ defense wears down. College Football Bowl Prediction: Ohio 27, UAB 20

Saturday, December 23

Birmingham Bowl: Texas Tech vs South Florida (12:00pm ET, ESPN) Texas Tech vs South Florida

Two teams with video-game offenses will collide in Birmingham. Quinton Flowers leads a terrific Bulls offense under the guidance of Charlie Strong (whose name has remained mysteriously off the boards in this crazy off-season of coaching changes). Texas Tech also scores points at warp speed — but neither team plays much defense. If you can get an over-under at 65 or so for this game, I’d still consider taking that over, because I see the points coming all day long. College Football Bowl Prediction: South Florida 48, Texas Tech 44 Dollar General Bowl (7:00pm ET, ESPN) Toledo vs Appalachian State Expect to hear these two names — Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield and Toledo’s Jason Candle — emerging next year when the college football coaching carousel starts turning again. The edge here goes to Toledo, though, because of the advantage that quarterback Logan Woodside gives them down the field. Appalachian State just won’t be able to keep up the scoring with them. College Football Bowl Prediction: Toledo 34, Appalachian State 23 Sunday, December 24 Hawai’i Bowl (8:30pm ET, ESPN) Fresno State vs Houston Houston was up and down this season, but they did impress with a win over South Florida — the Bulls’ only loss of the season until they fell to Central Florida. The Cougars held South Florida to 24 points in that game. Fresno State also plays stout defense, though, as they permitted more than three touchdowns only once in conference play. I see Fresno State playing up to this challenge. College Football Bowl Prediction: Fresno State 27, Houston 24 Tuesday, December 26 Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (1:30pm ET, ESPN) West Virginia vs Utah Utah’s coach Kyle Whittingham has recorded wins in 10 of the 11 bowl games that he has coached. That’s pretty impressive — and given the fact that West Virginia, which relies on a high-powered offense to get its wins, will be missing starting quarterback Will Grier, I like the Utes to make it 11 and 12 for Coach Whittingham. College Football Bowl Prediction: Utah 30, West Virginia 20