The College Football Playoff bracket is centered around No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama in the opening game on January 1st, followed by No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas. Three additional games will be played on January 1st, including two Top 25 showdowns. In the Fiesta Bowl, the 23rd-ranked Liberty Flames will face the 8th-ranked Oregon Ducks, and in the Citrus Bowl, 17th-ranked Iowa will face 21st-ranked Tennessee.
According to the latest College Football Bowl odds from SportsLine Consensus, Michigan is a 1.5-point favorite over Alabama, while the Longhorns are a 4-point favorite over the Huskies. Before locking in your college football bowl candidates for these games and more, be sure to check out the latest college football predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.
The SportsLine projection model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated returns of well over $2,000 on a $100 pick on top-rated college football players against the spread. The model enters bowl season with a profitable 13-9 record with top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed this has experienced great returns.
We’re currently focusing on the latest college football odds for bowl season and locking in contenders for every FBS game. To see all our picks, go here.
Top college football predictions for bowl season
One of the college football players the model is watching during bowl season: No. 10 Penn State (-4.5) wins 10 points with a convincing win over No. 11 Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30. We are building a season. Noon (ET) This is his 10 vs. 2 team matchup, but the head-to-head records vary widely. Penn State is 9-3 ATS, which is his fifth-best ATS record in all of college football. Ole Miss, on the other hand, is just 6-4-2 against the spread and hasn’t covered it in any of its past four games.
The Nittany Lions also fared well as a favorite, going 9-1 in those games and posting a 90% coverage rate, the best in the FBS (minimum of 5 games). PSU ranks in the top 12 in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and the balance that coach James Franklin’s team brings is a big reason for its success. Any Lane Kiffin-coached team has no problem scoring, but the Rebels rank 41st in scoring defense and allowed 300 rushing yards against Georgia last month. With the Nittany Lions (-4) covering nearly 60%, Penn State will be able to eat up yards on the ground and keep Ole Miss’ offense off the field.
Another prediction is that No. 8 Oregon (-16.5) will defeat Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on January 1st. The Ducks feature the most explosive offense in college football. Led by quarterback Bo Nix, Oregon State ranks second in the nation in total offense, averaging 526.6 yards per game.
Nix has been an excellent center for the Ducks all season. He finished the regular season with 4,145 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and just three interceptions. He also added 228 rushing yards and six extra scores. Liberty put up a respectable 22.7 points per game this season, but the Flames didn’t face a dynamic offense like Oregon. In fact, Liberty hasn’t played a ranked team all season, and its defense has given up at least 25 points in six of its past seven games. These are big reasons why Oregon covers the spread in nearly 60% of the model’s simulations. Find out which other teams the model likes here.
How to make college football picks for bowl season
The model also calls out who will win and cover every other FBS game during bowl season, calling for some underdogs to win outright. Only SportsLine has all the picks for every game.
So what players can you pick with confidence in college football? And which underdogs will win outright? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which team wins and covers the spread. All from a proven computer model that has generated well over $2,000 in profits since its inception.
College football odds for bowl season
See complete College Football Bowl picks, odds and predictions here.
Friday, December 29th
Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. Clemson (-3.5, 44.5)
Sun Bowl: Oregon State vs. Notre Dame (-6, 41)
Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa State (-10.5, 57.5)
Cotton Bowl: Ohio State vs. Missouri (+4.5, 49)
Saturday, December 30th
Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Penn State (-4.5, 48.5)
Music City Bowl: Maryland vs. Auburn (-6.5, 47.5)
Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Georgia (-20, 44.5)
Arizona Bowl: Toledo vs. Wyoming (-3.5, 44.5)
Monday, January 1st
LilliaQuest Bowl: Wisconsin vs. LSU (-10, 55.5)
Fiesta Bowl: Liberty vs. Oregon (-16.5, 67)
Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee (-6.5, 35)
Rose Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan (-1.5, 45)
Sugar Bowl: Washington vs. Texas (-4, 63.5)