College Football Bowl Game Odds and Lookahead Lines: 4 Bets to Make This Weekend

Odds and lines for college football bowl games are officially posted. Find the most updated College Football odds for the 2023-24 college football postseason as well as predictions for marquee matchups such as Ohio St vs Missouri, Boise St vs UCLA, & Penn St vs Ole Miss.

College Football Bowl Game Odds & Lines

Lookahead College Football odds & Lines for college football bowl games.

Early College Football Bowl Game Bets To Place

Championship weekend is in the rearview mirror, and the month ahead in college football is set. The playoff field has been decided and bowl matchups have been revealed, but the lines can change considerably between now and kickoff with opt-outs still to come.

Let’s take a look at the early odds for bowl season and which bets are worth locking in right now.

Ole Miss (+3.5) vs. Penn State (Peach Bowl)

Penn State has been hit-or-miss in bowl games under James Franklin — the Nittany Lions were well prepared for the Rose Bowl last season but have had some trouble in less significant bowls. This is a New Year’s Six bowl, so the Nittany Lions should be ready to play, but the amount of NFL talent they have on this year’s team could be a concern when it comes to opt-outs.

Drew Allar has struggled against some of the best teams in the country with a full group around him, so losing a player such as Olu Fashanu could be a real challenge against an Ole Miss team that faced numerous big-time opponents in the SEC this season.

Lane Kiffin’s recent track record in bowls isn’t terrific, but the Rebels were a team in free fall entering last year’s bowl game. This season, Ole Miss won six of its last seven games and started to show something defensively down the stretch. That unit should do enough to put some pressure on Allar, while Ole Miss’ strong offense can take advantage of a Penn State defense that might be battling opt-outs.

Boise State (+2.5) vs. UCLA (LA Bowl)

Oftentimes you’ll see brand names lose during bowl season because this isn’t where they wanted to end up and the roster is dealing with more turnover than an upstart team. Boise State might not be an upstart team, but the program seems to have found new life under interim-turned-full-time coach Spencer Danielson. He’s led the Broncos to three consecutive wins, including a victory over an impressive Air Force team and a blowout of UNLV in the Mountain West title game.

With QB uncertainty for UCLA after Dante Moore’s decision to transfer and the Bruins posting brutal offensive performances against every opponent but USC in November, a breakthrough doesn’t seem to be on tap against a Boise State defense playing with energy.

The most interesting battle will come on the ground – UCLA’s run defense has been its saving grace this season, but Boise State’s rushing attack has absolutely ripped through defenses in recent weeks. The Pac-12 didn’t present UCLA with many challenging backfields this season, but this one has the potential to cause problems for Chip Kelly’s squad that just lost DC D’Anton Lynn. 

West Virginia (-3.5) vs. North Carolina (Duke’s Mayo Bowl)

Drake Maye didn’t sound too confident in his chances of playing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, telling reporters it’s something he has to think about, and it wouldn’t make much sense for Maye to play. Meanwhile, North Carolina has collapsed late in the season for the second consecutive year.

The Tar Heels came up just short in the Holiday Bowl last season after their collapse, putting forth a good effort, but no Maye this season could allow the bottom to fall out for an offense that largely let its quarterback down this season. If Maye decides to sit out, this line could move further toward West Virginia after the Mountaineers averaged 35 points over their last seven games. UNC simply might not be able to keep up without its quarterback.

For what it’s worth, Mack Brown was on the record saying he wasn’t looking forward to a mayo bath before this game in 2021. Who can trust a coach who doesn’t embrace the spirit of the bowl?

Missouri (+6.5) vs. Ohio State (Cotton Bowl)

As mentioned already, this is an example of a team that never wanted to be here taking on a team that is thrilled to be here. Missouri enjoyed an excellent 10-win season under Eli Drinkwitz, losing to only Georgia and LSU and playing both ultra competitively. The Tigers couldn’t keep up with those offenses in the end, but an Ohio State offense that had trouble moving the ball for 60 minutes all season and might not have do-it-all WR Marvin Harrison Jr. is more vulnerable than those.

Missouri will have star WR Luther Burden III, in all likelihood, as he’s not draft-eligible and isn’t set to sit out. The Tigers averaged 34.1 points per game and will be motivated to at least keep the game competitive against a national brand. If opt-outs impact a talented Ohio State team, particularly the defense it relies on, this line can narrow a bit. 

Best NFL Betting Promo Codes