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College Football Player Props & Best Bets, Odds for Saturday: Top Bowl Game Predictions

Allen Byron

Updated on December 23, 2023 at 3:41 PM EST • Read time: 4 minutes and 39 seconds. Find more information on Twitter and Google News.

A custom graphic of College football best bets
College football best bets

On Saturday, college football fans can enjoy seven bowl games before Christmas Eve. We provide our top college football player props and best bets for Saturday’s bowl games, using the best NCAAF odds from top college football betting sites.

Player decisions to opt out, changes in coaching staff, and activity in the transfer portal have been the main talking points of this bowl season, leading to a wide variety of interesting betting options.

In the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday, Troy is favored to win by a touchdown over Duke, even though Duke has been ranked in the AP top 25 for much of the season.

Similarly, James Madison is set to make its inaugural bowl game appearance at the FBS level, but is expected to have a decreased betting market support against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. This is largely due to opt-outs and coaching changes, despite their impressive 11-1 record.

In our analysis of all college bowl game odds, we present college football player props and top bets for Saturday’s seven-game lineup, with odds sourced from our preferred college football betting sites. Confidence in picks is rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.

College football best bets for Saturday

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College football schedule and odds for Saturday

(Odds via DraftKings)

College football player props for Saturday

Chevan Cordeiro Over 1.5 passing touchdowns vs. Coastal Carolina (-115 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

San Jose State is among the top 10 FBS schools on a winning streak of six games or more. Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro has played a crucial role in this success, throwing multiple touchdown passes in five of those wins. As he returns to his hometown of Hawaii, Cordeiro is expected to be a key player in the offensive strategy and has a high likelihood of throwing at least two touchdown passes. The Over on San Jose State’s team prop of 3.5 touchdowns is favored at -165 on DraftKings.

Coastal Carolina had a tough defensive outing in their latest game against James Madison, giving up 56 points and 481 total yards. Dukes quarterback Jordan McCloud had a standout performance, throwing for 324 yards and five touchdowns.

In the game, the Chanticleers came in ranked 11th in pass success defense and 118th in rush success. Despite giving up a 16% big-play percentage against inside zone runs this season, we anticipate Cordeiro and his receiving corps to have a strong showing with the majority of the team intact for this matchup.

DraftKings and bet365 both have -115 odds for Cordeiro to throw for multiple touchdowns.

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Braylon McReynolds Over 94.5 rushing yards vs. Eastern Michigan (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

The 17-point spread in this game is one of the largest among remaining bowl games, indicating that South Alabama will likely rely less on passing in the second half against Eastern Michigan.

South Alabama has the unique advantage of playing this bowl game on their home field, giving McReynolds a good chance for success. The team’s starting running back La’Damian Webb averaged 119.5 rushing yards per game in his final four home games, surpassing 95 yards in each of them.

McReynolds has only rushed for 161 yards this season, playing in just three games since the beginning. Despite this, with Webb sidelined due to a toe injury, the coaching staff is likely interested in evaluating McReynolds as a potential future player. We anticipate that he will have a workload similar to his performance against Texas State, where he had 19 carries for 79 yards.

We are giving this play a three-star rating due to uncertainty surrounding the involvement of running back Kentrel Bullock, who has recently returned from injury. Despite this, Eastern Michigan’s defense has struggled against the run, ranking 109th in rush success and 114th in line yards. As a result, we anticipate the Jaguars’ offensive line dominating the Eagles’ defensive front throughout the game.

We are placing this bet on DraftKings because our other top sports betting apps have a slightly higher -115 juice for the same bet.

College football game picks for Saturday

Air Force ML vs. James Madison (+107 via BetRivers) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

James Madison leveraged its role as host of “ESPN’s College Gameday” to advocate for the NCAA to reverse its decision barring the Dukes from a bowl game. However, the excitement of playing in a bowl has diminished significantly as several defensive players have entered the transfer portal.

Six defensive starters from JMU have entered the portal, with five of them having played over 432 snaps this season. Furthermore, the majority of Dukes players have little to no experience facing a triple-option attack, making the task of practicing and preparing for it for weeks a challenging and unenjoyable one.

At the same time, Air Force revisits the location of their dominant 30-15 victory over Baylor in the bowl game last year, where they rushed for 276 yards and controlled possession for more than 40 minutes.

Despite being listed in the transfer portal, Dukes quarterback Jordan McCloud is still expected to play in the game. However, JMU is facing a challenge as head coach Curt Cignetti has departed for Indiana, adding another obstacle to the team’s preparation.

Therefore, we anticipate that the reliability of Air Force and its program will prevail, aided by a defense that ranks second in EPA/pass and in the top 11 in third and fourth-down success, which will help contain James Madison’s offense.

BetRivers is the sole top sports betting site that provides odds greater than +105 for betting on the underdog.

Northwestern +6.5 vs. Utah (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Northwestern enters this game with a lot of momentum, having won three in a row (including away victories at Wisconsin and Illinois) and covering the spread in six consecutive games. Head coach David Braun, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, leads a motivated Wildcats team that has not appeared in a bowl game since 2020. In contrast, Utah has lost their last four bowl games.

The Utes, known for their physical and defensive style of play, have faced setbacks with over a dozen players entering the transfer portal or opting out. Among them are starting safeties Sione Vaki and Cole Bishop, who have collectively logged over 1,200 snaps. Additionally, defensive lineman Jonah Elliss is sidelined with a season-ending injury.

This Utes defense is not as strong as in previous seasons when they made it to the Pac-12 Championship Game four out of the last five years. We anticipate that Northwestern’s offense, which is ranked in the top 20 for finishing drives, will capitalize on this.

We can choose between three top sportsbooks that all have a line of +6.5 with standard -110 juice – BetMGM, bet365, and Caesars.

The top college football bets were placed on Thursday at 6:33 a.m. ET.

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Written By:
Allen Byron
Mike started in the sports writing industry in July 2019, and gained a lot of followers in his first year after finishing with the No. 2 overall record in an annual NFL betting competition, which made picks against the spread, and from an Over/Under and moneyline perspective. Mike is an avid fan of the NFL, MLB, tennis, and all college sports. In his opinion, March Madness is the best sporting event there is, and he’s especially euphoric starting with conference tournament time in college basketball. Mike’s a big advocate of “fading the public” and making plays that are contrarian, constantly citing that “there are reasons why they have those big shiny buildings in Las Vegas.” When making wagers, Mike always scours the best odds at all of the major sports betting sites, where he mostly sifts through DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and bet365. He’s tried several others and is of the firm belief that bettors should not just stick to one sportsbook, as there is always likely better value to be had with the same wager. In addition, while Mike received his undergraduate degree from Villanova University, he has no issue betting against the Wildcats when it comes to college basketball wagering, and suggests other bettors should always put their “head” before their “hearts.”