College Football New Years Six Bowl Games Preview: Betting Odds & Best Bets
Orange Bowl – No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson
Friday 30th December – Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, Florida – 8 p.m. ET
Game Lines:
Moneyline: Tennessee +175 | Clemson -210
Spread: Clemson -6
Points Total: 61 | Over -110 | Under -110
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Clemson
Spread: Clemson -6
Points: Under 61
Virtually all of my picks for this matchup would be reversed if Tennessee had a healthy Hendon Hooker. Clemson’s defense should be good enough to stifle the Vols’ offense without their starting quarterback, even with the talent they have at wide receiver. For Clemson, it seems this is Cade Klubnik’s team now, who provided sparks for the Tigers when DJ Uiagalelei struggled this year. AJ Shipley is a menace on the ground, who will power Clemson to an Orange Bowl win.
Matt’s Pick of the game:
The Vols have had one of the best passing attacks all year but without Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman it’s tough to see them keeping up with Clemson, but six points is a big spread and not something I’d be comfortable betting. The line started at four points this week and has gone all the way to six, which suggests there isn’t any confidence in Tennessee amongst bettors. The under is the most attractive bet for me here, with players missing and inexperienced quarterbacks on both teams.
Points Total: Under 61
Sugar Bowl – No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 9 Kansas State
Saturday 31st December – Caesars Superdome – New Orleans, Louisiana – 12 p.m. ET
Game Lines:
Moneyline: Alabama -250 | Kansas State +200
Spread: Alabama -6.5
Points Total: 56 | Over -110 | Under -110
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Alabama
Spread: Alabama -6.5
Points: Over 56
Don’t hate me, but I think Alabama would comfortably beat anyone in the Big 12, including TCU (that’s not to say TCU aren’t deserving of a spot in the playoffs after their excellent season). Kansas State defeated the Horned Frogs in a wild Championship game, but Bryce Young and Will Anderson will be too much on both sides of the ball for the Wildcats, before going on to become top-five picks in the NFL Draft.
Matt’s Pick of the game:
When the news that Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. had decided to play in the Sugar Bowl broke, Kansas State fans would have felt their stomachs drop. Those two players have enough game-breaking ability on each side of the ball that they can win this game for Alabama themselves. That’s not even considering the talent gap between the two teams on the rest of the roster. Kansas State has been a good team and has had some huge wins this year, but Alabama should be too good for the Wildcats.
Points Spread: Alabama -6.5
CFB Playoff Semi-Final, Fiesta Bowl – No. 3 TCU vs. No. 2 Michigan
Saturday 31st December – State Farm Stadium – Glendale, Arizona – 4 p.m. ET
Game Lines:
Moneyline: TCU +240 | Michigan -300
Spread: Michigan -7.5
Points Total: 58 | Over -110 | Under -110
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Michigan
Spread: Michigan -7.5
Points: Under 58
TCU has had an excellent season and fully deserves to be here, but they ran out of steam towards the end of the Big 12 Championship, and a dominant Michigan will be a step too far. Max Duggan and Kendre Miller have the potential to cause issues for the Wolverines’ defense, and Blake Corum is a big miss at running back for Michigan, but as displayed in their dismantling of Ohio State, Michigan can dominate anyone even without their star RB.
Matt’s Pick of the game:
It’s brilliant to see any team having their first-time playoff appearance, and TCU has been a great story in Sonny Dykes’ first year as head coach. On top of that, Max Duggan was exceptional all season and Kendre Miller will be causing NFL defenses trouble someday. The issue is, Michigan are just a better team. Their run game is borderline unstoppable and they have one of the best defenses in the nation, and their 25-2 record in the past two seasons is mighty impressive. The way they decimated Ohio State in the Shoe was a huge warning for the other CFP teams, and I expect them to do something similar to the Horned Frogs.
Points Spread: Michigan -7.5
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CFB Playoff Semi-Final, Peach Bowl – No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Georgia
Saturday 31st December – Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, GA – 8 p.m. ET
Game Lines:
Moneyline: Ohio State +220 | Georgia -275
Spread: Georgia -6.5
Points Total: 62.5 | Over -110 | Under -110
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Georgia
Spread: Georgia -6.5
Points: Over 62.5
Ohio State snuck into the fourth playoff spot after all other contenders imploded in the last week of the regular season or on Championship weekend. They can take solace in the fact that LSU actually played quite well on offense against the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship, and moved the ball down the field with Jalen Daniels putting up 30 points on one ankle, but Georgia has the talent to overwhelm any team on both sides of the ball. When the offense struggles, their defense shows up. When the defense struggles, the offense shows up. I can see Georgia giving Ohio State the same treatment Michigan gave them earlier in the season.
Matt’s Pick of the game:
There can’t be many college football fans on the planet that can see Ohio State winning this game. Georgia is 31-1 in its last 32 games under Kirby Smart and they’ve beaten better teams than this Buckeyes team in that time. They basically get a home atmosphere in the Peach Bowl with it being played in Atlanta and the national champs should get a chance to go back-to-back.
Points Spread: Georgia -6.5
Cotton Bowl – No. 16 Tulane vs. No. 10 USC
Monday 2nd January – AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas – 1 p.m. ET
Game Lines:
Moneyline: Tulane +110 | USC -130
Spread: USC -2
Points Total: 63.5 | Over -110 | Under -110
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: USC
Spread: USC -2
Points: Under 63.5
I would love the Green Wave to pull off the upset here, but I just can’t see it happening, and am pretty surprised the spread is so close. Despite squandering their chance for a shot in the playoffs against Utah, it’s still be an excellent first season for Lincoln Riley and Heisman Winner Caleb Williams. The only reason I can think why the spread is so close, is Vegas thinking William’s hamstring injury may still be lingering and causing him issues. That said, I’m expecting a pretty comfortable USC win here.
Matt’s Pick of the game:
I’m with Sam on this one, the spread is incredibly close considering the talent gap here, even if Caleb Williams isn’t fully healthy, or even if he’s not playing, Lincoln Riley and his Trojans should have enough for Tulane. USC has had a horrible record in bowl games in recent times, and they will be desperate to fix that in year one of the Riley era.
Points Spread: USC -2
Rose Bowl – No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 8 Utah
Monday 2nd January – Rose Bowl Stadium – Pasadena, California – 5 p.m. ET
Game Lines:
Moneyline: Penn State +110 | Utah -135
Spread: Utah -2.5
Points Total: 52.5 | Over -110 | Under -110
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Utah
Spread: Utah -2.5
Points: Over 52.5
Utah played party pooper in their demolition of USC in the PAC12 Championship Game, and cemented the conference’s long-running status as the conference of cannibals. If Utah could’ve avoided a couple of head-scratching losses (see Week 1 against a poor Florida team), they’d have found themselves in the playoffs preparing for Georgia this week. Penn State has done what they regularly do, which is quietly have a very good season whilst Michigan and Ohio State dominate BIG 10 headlines. The Nittany Lions are missing star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and wideout Parker Washington, as they prepare for the draft. They do have another budding star at running back in freshman Nicholas Singleton, and 6th year quarterback Sean Clifford has seen it all, but I’m backing the Utes to take this one.
Matt’s Pick of the game:
Cam Rising and Sean Clifford have both been through a lot as quarterbacks for these two teams and if Cam Rising is leaving as is expected, this is the last game both of these two will play. I think Clifford and the Nittany Lions pull off an upset here, despite having some key players out. The Rose Bowl is always a special event in the college football calendar, and I expect this game to be an incredibly exciting end to bowl season.
Penn State Moneyline
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