NCAA Football: College bowl game locks and best bets from your TDG staff

And here we go with the Bowl Season and many games for your gambling pleasure. We are back to help you make some money and recoup all of that money spent on presents over the holidays.

The Bowl games have started! We got through our first weekend of bowl games, and there was some great action worth watching this past Saturday. But as we get deeper into the bowl season, which games are the wisest to bet on?

We’re here to help.

Frisco Bowl

San Diego State vs. UT San Antonio

When: Dec 22
Line: San Diego St -3 per DraftKings

So what makes this game interesting is that SDSU is favored by 3 and at the time of typing this, they are also +100. So taking the favorite and getting plus odds is always intriguing to me. Plus the Aztecs have the greatest punter in the history of college football.

With that said, I’ve really liked the Roadrunners this year. So picking SDSU is hard for me to do, but I like their defense holding down the Roadrunners. I’ll take the Aztecs on Tuesday.

UStreet: My only hope for this game is that SDSU’s offense stinks so we get to see at least 6 punts. Over/under three of those punts longer than 60 yards.

First Responder Bowl

Air Force vs. Louisville

When: Dec 28
Line: Louisville -1.5 per DraftKings

I’m a little surprised to see this one so close and feel pretty confidently that the Cardinals win this game handily. My research into both teams is admittedly limited. But I think the Cardinal offense will move the ball with ease and score a lot of points.

UStreet: A bowl almost as unnecessary as the latest Top Gun film. I have nothing to say about this bowl because I do not know if Air Force is still a triple option team and I refuse to look it up.

Alamo Bowl

Oregon vs. Oklahoma

When: Dec 29
Line: Oregon +4.5 per DraftKings

This is the bowl of schools who thought they were destination jobs. Typically I avoid games where there is a coaching change, but in this case BOTH of their coaches left them for other jobs and both have their 2022 coach ready to go...after this game.

This one will ultimately come down to which team has their heart in it and wants to win. As cliché as that may sound, one of these teams is likely to come into this game not quite riding that edge of competitiveness that is required to beat their opponent. Both teams were in the hunt for the College Football Playoff, both teams fell short and both teams are going to be really interesting next year.

My money is going with Oregon to win this one outright. I might even take Oregon at +165 on the money line.

UStreet: Much like the real Alamo, one of these teams will likely get their ass kicked because they have a terrible game plan and are over-matched and later use it as leverage for an origin story about playing together. I trust that it is easier to be the interim play caller for the Ducks’s system than the Sooner. Oregon wins and covers.

Citrus Bowl

Iowa vs. Kentucky

When: Jan 1
Line: Iowa +3 per DraftKings

As much as it pains me to type this out, I see Iowa not only covering the 3 points here, but likely winning. I’m going to go with the “Kentucky hasn’t seen a physical, Big Ten defense” line of thinking here. Many SEC teams will be able to figure out a “Big Ten defense” but Iowa is really physical and I’m not ready to consider Kentucky in that “elite SEC school” category yet.

Bonus Bet: The over/under on this game is currently at 44. I’d take the under. I’m seeing a 24-17 Iowa win here.

UStreet: Are you interested in watching a painfully boring game between two teams you do not care about? Well, then the Citrus Bowl is FOR YOU. Kentucky played three teams this year with a winning record and lost to all of them. Iowa is Iowa.

Bet the under.

Rose Bowl

Ohio State vs. Utah

When: Jan 1
Line: Ohio State -6.5 per DraftKings

I just fully believe that Ohio State is an elite team this year. They were sniped in week 2 by Oregon and then lost in an emotionally charged to a very good Michigan team. I’m a little wary of Utah, this being their first Rose Bowl and they should have a huge crowd on hand. But if Ohio State decides to play with some passion, they will easily cover.

UStreet: Ah, the Urban Meyer bowl. Fortunately for an Ohio state university, Utah is not like playing Alabama every week. Now it’s entirely possible that the Buckeyes will have spent too much time at a Pint House (because why be average?) drinking one of the several drinks named after Shelley Meyer. If so, this might be closer than expected. Fortunately, Utah is in the Shahid Khan position of being completely over-matched against the competition and Ryan Day is not dumb enough to bench his best offensive player.

Ohio State covers.

I will be putting down a whopping $5 on each of these games listed above. Fingers crossed.

DISCLAIMER: Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.