Betting And Beating The College Football Bowl Season
College Football Bowls and Big Betting Interest
We’ve had one of our strongest bowl seasons as the New Year’s Day bowls arrive along with the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Betting the bowls brings out more bettors and college football bowl pools are also popular. Many big bets at Las Vegas sportsbooks and other leading online sportsooks are now posted more often through social media and Twitter, and recreational bettors may feel like the college bowls are a great time to be betting more when reality is that it’s still not easy to beat the game.
A bettor @MGMRaceSports just placed a $525,000 money-line bet on Alabama to beat Oklahoma straight-up, per @scottatmirage. Bet would pay $95,000. Same player placed a $125,000 money-line parlay on UGA, Alabama, Patriots, Seahawks and Chiefs. Would win $111,000.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) December 29, 2018
We had a strong play on Clemson (-12) in the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl, and the Tigers crushed the Irish 30-3. But the amount of wagering activity was significant, and more bettors lost playing Notre Dame.
And @MGMRaceSports Jeff Stoneback says Notre Dame-Clemson #CFBPlayoff does represent biggest liability on a college football game this season. Mid-6-figures and climbing. @Covers
— Patrick Everson (@Covers_Vegas) December 29, 2018
Additional factors are in play in handicapping the bowl games:
- Motivation and excitement of selected bowl
- Point spreads, adjustments and major market moves
- Injuries, suspension, distractions, players sitting out for draft
- Coaching success, changes, preparation
- Location of bowl, regional or home field advantage
Of course the stats and fundamental match-ups are of significance, and I analyzed many of the games and outlined statistical profiles in evaluations of bowl games I provided to Vegas Sports Zone members, online sites where I contribute like Offshore Gaming Association, BetAmerica and Forbes.
College Football Early Bowl Betting: What You Need To Know To Make The Most Of Your Gambling Dollar
I provided a rated play or opinion on every college bowl game this season. We’ve had one of our best bowl seasons heading into New Year’s Day, going 15-5 ATS on rated plays and 12-3 ATS on opinions. New Year’s eve was another rated play winner on Oklahoma State (+9) outright in the Cowboys Liberty Bowl win 38-33.
Liberty Bowl – Oklahoma State
Check out other winners in the earlier bowls and some of the analysis and picks I provided.
Las Vegas Bowl – Fresno State & Under
Gasparilla Bowl – Marshall
Armed Forces Bowl – Army
Pinstripe Bowl – Miami/Wisconsin UNDER
Music City Bowl – Auburn/Purdue OVER
Alamo Bowl – Iowa State
Belk Bowl – Virginia
College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl – Clemson
Rose Bowl – Washington
Other chip-ins and opinion winners included:
College Football Playoff Orange Bowl – Oklahoma & Over
Texas Bowl – Baylor
Outback Bowl – Iowa
Fiesta Bowl – LSU
Best wishes on the New Year’s Day Bowls, College Football Playoff National Championship game and the rest of 2019!
Article edited and updated Jan. 2 – four more winners on New Year’s Day (2 top rated plays included Texas (+13) outright in Sugar Bowl).
Bowl season results into National Championship game & my article at Forbes.
Rated plays record 17-5 ATS (77%), and Opinion plays 14-4 ATS. A combined 31-9 ATS (77.5%) on all college football bowl plays.
Edited Jan. 8 – Clemson wins National Championship.
Rated plays college bowls record 18-5 ATS (78%). Top plays/best bets 7-2 ATS. Combined rated plays and opinions 32-9 ATS (78%). 11-1 ATS finish final 12 rated bowl plays.
We’ll be back to battle in the trenches and toss more touchdowns next season!
You can bet on it.
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