College Football Bowl Game Odds & Preview for Saturday, Dec. 16
With the regular season of college football now having drawn the curtains closed, bowl season comes into full view. Teams of all calibers look to make history with one last win and it all starts on Saturday, Dec. 16, with seven games ready to go.
The action begins in the morning and continues all the way until midnight so strap in and get ready to wager on some games. Before you do, grab some of the best football betting bonuses so you have some extra cash in your account.
Here’s the full schedule for Saturday’s bowl games.
- Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio at 11 a.m. ET (ESPN)
- Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M at Noon ET (ABC Network)
- New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana, 2:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- Cure Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Miami OH, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC Network)
- New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State vs. Fresno State, 5:45 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- LA Bowl: Boise State vs. UCLA , 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC Network)
- Independence Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Cal, 9:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
LA Bowl: Boise State vs. UCLA
This game will see the Boise State Broncos — winners of the Mountain West Conference — against the UCLA Bruins — the seventh-place team in the Pac-12 Conference. We have to go way back to 1999 to find when these two teams last played against each other, resulting in a UCLA win 38-7. Over 20 years later, the LA Bowl will have these two historic teams once again under the bright lights — this time at SoFi stadium.
The Broncos punched their ticket to this game by routing the UNLV Rebels 44-20 in the conference title game thanks to quarterback Taylen Green’s performance of 226 passing yards, two touchdowns and 12 completions on 15 attempts. Running back Ashton Jeanty deserves credit as well after contributing a touchdown on 21 carries with 153 yards.
This team’s recent performance against UNLV gives credibility to crown them as champions of the LA Bowl. Only time will tell if head coach Spencer Danielson and his team can rise to the occasion. The one big glaring problem the Broncos face is who will be starting at quarterback this game, with Green transferring to Arkansas and backup Maddox Madsen battling back to recover from a knee injury.
The Bruins have a lot going on behind the scenes with this game rapidly approaching. Head coach Chip Kelly is a coach with traditional ways of coaching football. With that being said, Kelly is not allowing any kids entering the transfer portal to play in this bowl game. Coupled with the fact that former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn left UCLA to head to USC for a new job earlier this week, it does not spell out a good result for the Bruins. One thing to keep in mind is just how good UCLA has been on defense this season — notching 41 total sacks — though the Bruins will be missing star player Laiatu Latu in this game.
Despite all the distractions, UCLA is the favorite of 4.5 points for this game according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Broncos having to start a new quarterback, along with UCLA’s surmounting defense adds to UCLA being the favorite. We’re predicting an upset here and Boise State wins the LA Bowl. The Over/Under is 48.5 points, and taking the Under is the recommendation if you’re feeling dangerous.
Independence Bowl: Texas Tech vs. California
The Red Raiders look to bounce back after taking a beat down against the Texas Longhorns in the last regular season game. Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton against Texas threw three interceptions, no touchdowns and completed 52.8% of his passes.
While not his best day, there are some encouraging things beyond the surface that point to Texas Tech being the winners of the Independence Bowl. To start, Morton in his last five games has finished every game above 50% in completion percentage. If you omit his performance against the Longhorns, he finished the other four games above 60% and averaged at least six yards a throw.
Cal is coming into this game after beating UCLA and has a ton of momentum in its favor. Peaking at the right time is an important part of this sport. Finding your rhythm and identity as a team can be the biggest contributing factor in a football game, especially at the college level. Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza embodies that the most, and his performance against the Bruins in the regular season finale puts Cal in a prime position to walk away with a win. Mendoza put up 178 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 63.3 completion percentage.
Cal is on a three-game win streak and that does not appear to be going away anytime soon. This team against UCLA trailed in total yards, passing yards and first downs. The Golden Bears threw two interceptions and had nearly identical time of possession, and still managed to put a beatdown on the Bruins. Running back Jadyn Ott is the catalyst in this game, Ott ran for 80 yards on 21 carries against UCLA, and finished the regular season with 11 touchdowns and 1,260 yards.
With this game having two quarterbacks that could have decent performances, other players will have to make something happen. Ott is just too good of a player to dismiss. If Texas Tech can stuff the middle to limit Ott’s game early, it has a chance. Other teams have tried and have not been as successful.
With Caesars Sportsbook listing Texas Tech as a 3-point favorite, and the Over/Under at 58 points, we’re picking Cal to upset the Red Raiders straight up. These offenses are dynamic, so the Over is a reliable option here.
