2025 College Football Bowl Season Best Bets
2025 College Football Bowl Season Best Bets
My personal favorite time of the year. Holidays are here to spend time with loved ones. There is time to take off from work to reset before the new year. And while you are taking that time off, there are plenty of bowls to watch. Yes, the luster of bowl season has fallen with the expansion of the playoff. And many will tell you these games don’t matter. Some teams will even demonstrate that on the field. Others, will utilize the extra time spent with their team in what could be their last collegiate game and hoist a trophy – or celebrate with some obscure gimmick like a toasted life size Pop-Tart, or be doused in mayonnaise. Regardless, there is still plenty to play for during the next month. Here are my 2025 college football bowl season best bets.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Lines are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly and within your means. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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Conference Championship Weekend: 2-1 (+0.90 units)
Year to Date: 31-37 (-11.35 units)
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12/23/2025 New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Southern Mississippi (7-5) vs. Western Kentucky (8-4)
Western Kentucky -5.5; O/U 57.5
Western Kentucky -5.5 (-108)
Hilltoppers’ head coach Tyson Helton has made a bowl game in his first seven years in Bowling Green, Kentucky, going 4-2 in that span. His counterpart was supposed to be Charles Huff, who was in his first year at Southern Mississippi after coming from Marshall. However, he accepted the vacant Memphis head coaching position after Ryan Silverfield left for Arkansas, and will now miss the bowl game. I’m expecting there to be plenty of opt outs for the Golden Eagles as they enter the transfer portal, with the possibility they follow Huff to Memphis. I’m backing the Hilltoppers in the New Orleans Bowl.
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12/26/2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit, Michigan)
Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Northwestern (6-6)
Northwestern -10.5; O/U 43.5
Central Michigan +10.5 (-108)
Formerly known as the Quick Lane Bowl, this has been the bowl game for MAC teams over the years. They have appeared in seven of the ten bowl games, including the last five. When the MAC school has went up in competition against a Power Four opponent, they are 1-4, with the lone win coming last years as Toledo upset Pittsburgh, 48-46. However, three of those four losses were one score games. Since 2021, Group of Six teams are 17-11 straight up when going up in competition in bowl games. I touched on it in the intro, but this seems to be one of those bowl games that matters a lot to one side – the underdog. I’m on Central Michigan to keep this one close.
12/27/2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, Florida)
#22 Georgia Tech (9-3) vs. #12 BYU (11-2)
BYU -4.5; O/U 56.5
BYU -4.5 (-115)
Two of the better teams in the ACC and Big 12. However, there is a daunting trend against the ACC that fits this matchup’s criteria. Since 2020, there have been ten instances where a ranked ACC team plays another ranked Power Four opponent. The ACC team is 0-10 straight up in that span. We saw this last year when a ranked Iowa State pulled the outright upset over Miami. BYU feels as if they should have been in the playoffs, going 11-1 in the regular season. I’m on the Cougars to cover this one.
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Outright Underdogs (.5 units)
Year to Date: 18-30 (+1.18 units)
(12/27 New Mexico Bowl) San Diego State vs. North Texas +130
North Texas head coach Eric Morris is off to Stillwater as he takes the same position at Oklahoma State. Like others who are accepting a Power Four position, we could see more and more opt outs as the game gets closer. I’m on the Aztecs, who are playing for their 10th win and first double-digit win season since 2021.
(12/29 Birmingham Bowl) Appalachian State vs. Georgia Southern +210
Georgia Southern’s Clay Helton – brother to Tyson Helton – is the opposite of his brother in bowl games, going 2-6 and losing his last three at GSU. This line has gone against the Mountaineers, but this 5-7 team was wanting to get a rematch of their 25-23 loss in November. I’m on the Mountaineers to pull the upset.
(12/30 Music City Bowl) Illinois vs. Tennessee +114
Unranked SEC teams have performed poorly in bowl games over the last few years, going 6-15 since 2021. In that same scenario, Big Ten teams are 16-8. I’m on the Illini to pull the upset.
What are your favorite 2025 college football bowl season best bets? Let me know on X!
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