Expert Picks From ESPN, Barstool And More For College Football Bowl Games

Written By Drew Ellis on December 16, 2022

College Football Bowl Season is officially upon us.

That means it’s a return of the college football picks.

Though some of the regular names aren’t available, we have a running tally of some of the biggest names in sports.

Here’s a look at the who the experts are siding with in a lengthy bowl season.

Who is making the College Football Bowl picks?

Instead of breaking things up into individuals, we will have a running table throughout bowl season.

While we have some of our regulars breaking down the college football odds, we also have some new names.

Our Cash The Ticket duo of Mike Valenti and Jim Costa will be around making new picks as bowl season progresses. The same can be said for infamous Barstool founder Dave Portnoy.

Both ESPN and FOX Sports have a collective group making picks. Bill Bender of Sporting News stuck his neck out by making his picks for each bowl game well in advance.

Keep in mind that spreads have varied over the past week for most of the games and will continue to do so as new games approach. The spreads of our pickers may be a bit different by the time others make their selections.

College Football Bowl picks

Here’s a look at the college football bowl picks from our panel:

Bowl GameESPN PredictorFOX SportsBill BenderDave PortnoyMike ValentiJim Costa
Records20-2124-1720-219-10-111-12-112-11-1
Bahamas Bowl
Miami (Ohio) vs. UAB
Miami (Ohio) +11 (W)Under 44.5 (W)Miami (Ohio) +11 (W)No pickUAB -10.5 (L)Miami (Ohio) +10.5 (W)
Duluth Trading
Cure Bowl

UTSA vs. Troy
UTSA +1.5 (L)UTSA +1.5 (L)UTSA +1.5 (L)Troy -2 (W)Troy -1.5 (W)UTSA +1.5 (L)
Fenway Bowl
Cincinnati vs. Louisville
Louisville -1.5 (W)Under 44.5 (W)Cincinnati +1.5 (L)No pickCincinnati +1.5 (L)No pick
Las Vegas Bowl
Florida vs. Oregon St.
Florida +10 (L)Oregon St. -10.5 (W)Florida +10 (L)Oregon St. -10 (W)No pickNo pick
LA Bowl
Washington St. vs. Fresno St.
Washington St. +3.5 (L)Over 53.5 (L)Washington St. +3.5 (L)Washington St. +3.5 (L)Fresno St. -3 (W)
Under 53.5 (W)
Fresno St. -3 (W)
Under 53.5 (W)
LendingTree Bowl
Rice vs. Southern Miss
Southern Miss -6 (W)Southern Miss -6.5 (W)Southern Miss -6 (W)No pickNo pickSouthern Miss -6 (W)
New Mexico Bowl
SMU vs. BYU
SMU -4 (L)BYU +3.5 (W)BYU +4 (W)Over 64 (L)No pickNo pick
Frisco Bowl
North Texas vs. Boise St.
North Texas +10.5 (W)Boise St. -9.5 (L)Boise St. -10.5 (L)No pickOver 58.5 (W)Over 58.5 (W)
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Marshall vs. UConn
Marshall -9.5 (W)Marshall -10.5 (W)UConn +9.5 (L)No pickUConn +10.5 (L)UConn +10.5 (L)
Potato Bowl
Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose St.
San Jose St. -4.5 (L)Over 53.5 (W)Eastern Michigan +4.5 (W)No pickSan Jose State -3.5 (L)Under 53.5 (L)
Boca Raton Bowl
Liberty vs. Toledo
Toledo -4.5 (L)Toledo -4.5 (L)Toledo -1.5 (L)No pickLiberty +4.5 (W)Under 54.5 (W)
New Orleans Bowl
Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama
Western Kentucky +2.5 (W)South Alabama -4 (L)South Alabama -2.5 (L)No pickSouth Alabama -4.5 (L)South Alabama -4.5 (L)
Armed Forces Bowl
Baylor vs. Air Force
Air Force +5.5 (W)Under 49.5 (W)Air Force +5.5 (W)No pickAir Force +3.5 (W)Air Force +3.5 (W)
Independence Bowl
Louisiana vs. Houston
Louisiana +6.5 (L)Over 58.5 (L)Houston -6.5 (W)No pickLouisiana +7 (P)Louisiana +7 (P)
Gasparilla Bowl
Wake Forest vs. Missouri
Wake Forest -1 (W)Wake Forest -1.5 (W)Wake Forest -1 (W)Missouri +1 (L)
Under 60.5 (W)
No pickOver 59.5 (L)
Hawaii Bowl
Middle Tennessee vs. San Diego St.
Middle Tennessee +7 (W)Middle Tennessee +7 (W)Middle Tennessee +7 (W)No pickSan Diego State -6.5 (L)
Over 49.5 (L)
No pick
Quick Lane Bowl
New Mexico St. vs. Bowling Green
Bowling Green -3.5 (L)New Mexico St. +3 (W)New Mexico St. +3.5 (W)No pickNo pickNew Mexico St. +3.5 (W)
Camellia Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. Buffalo
Georgia Southern -3.5 (L)Under 67.5 (W)Georgia Southern -3.5 (L)No pickNo pickNo pick
First Responder Bowl
Memphis vs. Utah St.
Memphis -7 (W)Utah State +7 (L)Memphis -7 (W)No pickNo pickNo pick
Birmingham Bowl
Coastal Carolina vs. ECU
ECU -8 (W)ECU -8 (W)Coastal Carolina +8 (L)No pickNo pickNo pick
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma St.
Oklahoma State +3 (L)Wisconsin -3 (W)Wisconsin -3 (W)No pickNo pickNo pick
Military Bowl
UCF vs. Duke
Duke -2 (W)Duke -3 (W)Duke -2 (W)No pickDuke -3 (W)No pick
Liberty Bowl
Kansas vs. Arkansas
Arkansas -3 (L)Kansas +3 (W)Arkansas -3 (L)No pickKansas +3 (W)Kansas +3 (W)
Holiday Bowl
Oregon vs. North Carolina
North Carolina +14 (W)North Carolina +14 (W)North Carolina +14 (W)No pickNo pickNo pick
Texas Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss
Ole Miss -3.5 (L)Ole Miss -3.5 (L)Ole Miss -3.5 (L)Ole Miss -3.5 (L)No pickNo pick
Pinstripe Bowl
Syracuse vs. Minnesota
Minnesota -7.5 (W)Under 42.5 (L)Syracuse +7.5 (L)Syracuse +8 (P)No pickNo pick
Cheez-It Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Florida St.
Oklahoma +7.5 (W)Over 65.5 (W)Oklahoma +7.5 (W)Florida State -9 (L)No pickFlorida State -9.5 (L)
Alamo Bowl
Texas vs. Washington
Washington +4.5 (W)Over 68.5 (L)Texas -4.5 (L)Washington +4 (W)Washington +3.5 (W)Washington +3.5 (W)
Duke's Mayo Bowl
Maryland vs. N.C. State.
N.C. State +1.5 (L)Maryland -1.5 (W)N.C. State +1.5 (L)No pickN.C. State even (L)Under 46.5 (W)
Sun Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. UCLA
Pittsburgh +6 (W)UCLA -6 (L)UCLA -6 (L)Pittsburgh +4.5 (W)No pickNo pick
Gator Bowl
Notre Dame vs. South Carolina
South Carolina +2.5 (L)South Carolina +2.5 (L)South Carolina +2.5 (L)South Carolina +2.5 (L)
Over 51.5 (W)
South Carolina +2.5 (L)No pick
Arizona Bowl
Ohio vs. Wyoming
Ohio -1 (W)Ohio -1 (W)Ohio -1 (W)No pickNo pickNo pick
Orange Bowl
Tennessee vs. Clemson
Clemson -7 (L)Clemson -7 (L)Tennessee +4.5 (W)Tennessee +6 (W)Clemson -5.5 (L)Clemson -5.5 (L)
Sugar Bowl
Alabama vs. Kansas St.
Kansas State +3.5 (L)Kansas State +3.5 (L)Alabama -3.5 (W)Kansas State +6 (L)Kansas State +6.5 (L)Kansas State +6.5 (L)
Music City Bowl
Iowa vs. Kentucky
Kentucky +2.5 (L)Under 31.5 (W)Iowa -2.5 (W)No pickUnder 31.5 (W)No pick
Fiesta Bowl
TCU vs. Michigan
TCU +7.5 (W)Michigan -7.5 (L)Michigan -7.5 (L)Michigan -8 (L)Under 58.5 (L)Michigan -7.5 (L)
Peach Bowl
Ohio State vs. Georgia
Georgia -6.5 (L)Ohio State +6.5 (W)Ohio State +6.5 (W)Georgia -6.5 (L)Over 62.5 (W)Georgia -6.5 (L)
ReliaQuest Bowl
Mississippi St. vs. Illinois
Mississippi St. +2 (W)Under 46.5 (W)Mississippi St. +2 (W)No pickNo pickMississippi State +1.5 (W)
Cotton Bowl
Tulane vs. USC
USC -1.5 (L)USC -1.5 (L)USC -1.5 (L)Tulane +1.5 (W)No pickNo pick
Citrus Bowl
LSU vs. Purdue
Purdue +11.5 (L)Over 58.5 (W)LSU -11.5 (L)No pickNo pickNo pick
Rose Bowl
Penn St. vs. Utah
Utah -2.5 (L)Utah -2.5 (L)Utah -2.5 (L)Penn State +2.5 (W)
Over 52 (L)
No pickUtah -2.5 (L)
CFP Championship
TCU vs. Georgia

TBA vs. TBA

College Football Bowl lines at Michigan sportsbooks

Some of these picks are made early in the bowl season and may have had the lines change. If you’re betting on college football, be sure to get your best value. Here’s what’s available at Michigan sportsbooks for each game this bowl season.

Photo by Shutterstock.com
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Drew Ellis

Drew Ellis is the Lead Writer of PlayMichigan, the No. 1 source for online gambling news in Michigan. A lifelong resident of the state, Ellis has been working in various forms of media since 1998, including more than a decade in the sports betting industry prior to transitioning into US casino markets in 2020.

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