New Year's Six Predictions: Picks & Odds for College Football's Biggest Bowl Games

sportsbookreview.com

28 December 2023

New Year's Six Predictions: Picks & Odds for College Football's Biggest Bowl Games

The best weekend of the college football season is here as we round up all of our best 2023-24 New Year's Six predictions based on the best college football odds.

We've been tracking the college bowl game odds throughout December, and bowl season culminates with the biggest six games of the NCAAF season with the action spread over three days this weekend. We're rounding up all of our betting experts' top New Year's Six predictions and college football picks.

Ohio State and Missouri will play in the 2023 Cotton Bowl on Friday as the opener to the marquee six-game slate. The two College Football Playoff matchups between Michigan and Alabama, and Washington and Texas will conclude the action on New Year's Day with the college football championship odds being set late on Monday night.

New Year's Six predictions 2023-24

Missouri vs. Ohio State - Cotton Bowl - Dec. 29, 8 p.m. ET

The Buckeyes should be at full strength defensively, which is a terrifying thought for a unit that ranked second in scoring and fourth in EPA/play. Yet Missouri's offense ranked 17th in EPA/play - just five spots below Ohio State - and was even better at creating explosive plays and avoiding critical mistakes than Friday's counterparts.

Ryan Day might still have more aggregate talent at his disposal on Friday, even with opt-outs, but Eliah Drinkwitz's group hung for four quarters with Georgia and LSU, and won their other 10 games by an average of 15 points. Give me the points on the team with more continuity, more experience under center, and a heck of a lot more to play for. - Pick made by C Jackson Cowart

Ole Miss vs. Penn State - Peach Bowl - Dec. 30, Noon ET

For as good as QB Jaxson Dart and the Rebels’ offense has been, they’ve faced just one top-10 scoring defense this season. In that game, they scored just 17 points against the Georgia Bulldogs. The next-best defense they faced was that of the Alabama Crimson Tide. They scored just 10 in that contest.

Both of these offenses have the potential to put a lot of points on the board, but the defenses in this matchup are simply better. The fact that oddsmakers are reluctant to move this number up despite support from the betting public is a further indication that they expect this to be a low-scoring game. - Pick made by Philip Wood

Georgia vs. Florida State - Orange Bowl - Dec. 30, 4 p.m. ET

Georgia vs. Florida State prediction: Florida State team total Under 12.5 points (-105 via DraftKings)

I want nothing to do with this point spread, which opened at Georgia -14 and has touched as high as -20 across our best sports betting sites. That said, the Seminoles have lost too much talent from their previously elite defense to consider betting the full game Under.

Instead, I'd much rather directly target this depleted Florida State offense against a defense that remains one of the most terrifying in college football, even if not up to the historic standards of recent years.

I'm always leery of a backdoor cover in any bowl game with questionable motivations for either side, which certainly applies here. That's why this is ultimately a three-star play for me.

If Georgia's defense takes this game remotely seriously, though, I wouldn't be shocked to see fewer than 7.5 points (+195 via DraftKings) for QB Brock Glenn and Co. - Pick made by C Jackson Cowart