College football bowl season starts up this weekend with five postseason matchups on the Saturday slate. Here’s a look at the bowl betting odds and angles for some of those NCAA football finales.
Autonation Cure Bowl: Tulsa Green Wave vs. UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (+3.5, 59)
Louisiana rivals meet in Orlando for Saturday’s Cure Bowl. Tulsa opened as a 3.5-point favorite and that spread has stayed relatively still. The Green Wave enter this matchup in a potential letdown spot, with the team just happy to be in a bowl game in 2018. Not only did Tulsa become bowl eligible with win No. 6 in the finale game of the season – a one-point win over Navy – but the Green Wave missed out on bowl season last year in a crushing loss in the final game of the season. The Ragin’ Cajuns bring a high-powered rushing attack to this game, putting up 229 yards on the ground per game, but have an inconsistent defense when playing away from home.
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: North Texas Mean Green vs. Utah State Aggies (-8, 67.5)
Utah State finished with an impressive 10-2 SU record on the season and opened as an 11-point favorite for the New Mexico Bowl. However, early money faded the Aggies and dropped this spread to -8. Utah State is coming off a disappointing loss to Boise State in the regular season finale – a game in which a victory would have set up a spot in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Aggies will also be without head coach Matt Wells, who took the job at Texas Tech. North Texas is one of the top passing attacks in the country, putting up 316 yards through the air per game. That could be why this total has ticked up from 64.5 to 67.5.
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (-4, 53.5)
Arizona State was a quiet success this season, after being picked to finish last in the Pac-12 during the summer. First-year head coach Herm Edwards injected this team with confidence, leaving the Sun Devils to punch above their weight and play plenty of close games. Arizona State’s offense will be without stud WR N'Keal Harry, who has opted to pass on the bowl game to focus on his pro career. Fresno State finished 11-2 SU and covered in nine of those games this season, ranking among the best bets in college football, behind a stingy defense that allowed just under 14 points per game (3rd).
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles (+1.5, 47.5)
Georgia Southern was a moneymaker for college football bettors this season, entering Saturday’s Camellia Bowl with a 9-3 record against the spread. The Eagles triple-option rushing attack ranked among the best in the nation, posting 261.5 yards on the ground per outing. Eastern Michigan overall has a stout stop unit, allowing only 160 passing yards against per contest. But that doesn’t do EMU any good against a Georgia Southern squad that throws on only 18.5 percent of its snaps. Eastern Michigan has also been beat up by opposing running attacks and is susceptible to allowing big gains.
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