The college football bowl season has officially kicked off with a pair of games being played on December
17. This marks the beginning of a two-week stretch with plenty of college football action and some terrific matchups.
MTSU and Coastal Carolina were the first two winners on December 17, and more teams are set to join them on Saturday. Betting on college football is always popular, but the action really heats up during the bowl season.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are the betting favorites to win the College Football Playoff, but there is still a ton to play for over the next few weeks. Some teams are going to be playing games under an interim head coach, while certain players will be looking to boost their NFL Draft stock.
Both underdogs covered the spread in the first two bowl games, and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues over the next few weeks. There are six games on the schedule for December 18, and four of the games have a spread of seven points or less.
Some California Teams Favored
The USC Trojans will not be playing in a bowl game this season, but there are still a handful of teams from California that were chosen. It’s strange not seeing USC in a bowl, but that program has fallen on some hard times in recent years.
Fresno State is an 11.5-point favorite over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl set to take place on December 18. A few days later, the San Diego State Aztecs are slim two-point betting favorites over UTSA in the Frisco Bowl.
The one team from California that is not a betting favorite is the UCLA Bruins, as they are 1.0 point underdogs against N.C. State in the Holiday Bowl. UCLA will have a pretty nice advantage in this matchup, though, as the game will take place in San Diego.
Who Wins the Rose Bowl Game?
The Rose Bowl Game is the biggest name during the bowl season, even if it doesn’t have any input on which team will win the College Football Playoff. It will be the Pac-12 taking on the Big 10 Conference yet again, but there will only be one conference champion involved.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are 6.5-point favorites over the Utah Utes in the Rose Bowl Game that will once again be played on New Years Day. Ohio State did not win the Big Ten Conference but were still considered for the CFP until the final few moments.
Utah dominated Pac-12 teams near the end of the season, and that will give them some momentum to take on the mighty Buckeyes.
CFP Semifinals Are Biggest Draw
All eyes will be on the two CFP semifinal games when they take place on New Year’s Eve from different locations. Both games feature spreads of more than a touchdown, which could lead to some games that aren’t very close.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are 13.5-point betting favorites over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first semifinal. In the other game, the Georgia Bulldogs are eight-point favorites over the Michigan Wolverines.
