College Football Bowl Picks 2023: Odds and Predictions for Underrated Games on Slate
The Northwestern Wildcats were one of the biggest surprises of the college football regular season.
Northwestern qualified for a bowl in a season in which many experts had it projected to finished at the bottom of the Big Ten.
The Wildcats carry all sorts of motivation into the Las Vegas Bowl to finish their season on a high note. That makes them one of the best underdogs to trust throughout bowl season.
Northwestern earned a high-profile matchup with the Utah Utes, who are typically near, or at, the top of the Pac-12.
The 6.5-point spread in favor of Utah may suggest the Utes roll in Las Vegas, but that might not be the case given Northwestern's motivation.
The smallest point spread outside of the College Football Playoff belongs to the Pinstripe Bowl, where the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are a slight underdog against the Miami Hurricanes.
Rutgers is playing a home game at Yankee Stadium and it feels like the better side to trust in the December cold than the Hurricanes.
Las Vegas Bowl (December 23, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Northwestern has not just been one of the great stories of the 2023 season, it has also been one of the more reliable teams to bet on.
The Wildcats are 8-4 against the spread and they covered in six of their final seven regular-season games.
That statistic alone may be enough for some people to bet Northwestern, but it also carries more motivation to finish its season on a high note.
The Wildcats took the interim tag off David Braun and the newly-minted head coach will use the Las Vegas Bowl as an opportunity to build into next season.
Utah will be without two of its top three wide receivers and starting quarterback Bryson Barnes is playing in his final game for the team before transferring.
The offensive absences could hurt Utah as it tries to match what the Northwestern offense puts on the scoreboard.
The Wildcats finished the regular season with their best three-game offensive run that finished with a 45-point performance against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Ben Bryant had two of his three 200-yard performances in those contests. His arm and mobility in the pocket could hurt a Utah defense down three players in the transfer portal.
Utah's defense could make this an ugly game in its favor, but how much motivation it has to win given the quarterback change and after a lackluster season by its standards remains to be seen.
The Pinstripe Bowl could be a showcase of Rutgers' tremendous rushing attack.
Running back Kyle Monangai, who will be back for a fifth season in 2024, ran for 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
The Scarlet Knights are expected to use a heavy dose of Monanagi to keep the ball away from the Miami offense.
The Hurricanes offense may not be able to move the ball much when it has possession because quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is off to Wisconsin. Third leading receiver Colbie Young is also in the transfer portal.
Rutgers could take advantage of those absences by pressing the quarterback and creating a short field for Monangai and Co.
Rutgers' goal should be to create as miserable of an experience as possible for Miami on a cold December afternoon in New York.
Yankee Stadium is the last place most of the Miami players want to be during bowl season, while Rutgers will embrace the situation because they get to play a home game one state away.
Miami could be competitive with the right motivation, but if you look at the matchup, everything screams that Rutgers is the team to bet in a game that the oddsmakers expect to be close.
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