Friday December 20 Best Bets: College Football Bowl Games

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball against the Army Black Knights during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

With three CFP games on Saturday, it would probably be nice to have some additional funds at your disposal. Your bankroll can never be too big, right? What better way to fatten it up than to take advantage of some of the college football and NBA games on Friday?

Our best bets for Friday, Dec. 20, include markets from the three college football bowl games, including the first CFP game featuring Notre Dame and Indiana.

Cure Bowl: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State

Both teams have seen their head coaches move on and their offensive coordinators take over the role. Each team’s offense remains relatively intact, so both should be able to get their top-tier rushing attacks going.

However, Ohio has one of the top-run defenses in the country. Jacksonville’s was not good and took a turn for the worse, with key defensive players entering the portal. That has me leaning towards taking Ohio at -5.5 (via FanDuel).

But since this game features two dominant run games, it will probably be a low-scoring game.

Our Pick: UNDER 56.5 at -105 (Caesars).

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Gasparilla Bowl: Tulane vs. Florida

Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah has moved on, but the offense is expected to be just fine with Ty Thompson behind center. The Green Wave will undoubtedly look to lean on a run game that averaged 200+ yards per game this season.

Florida was not bad against the run, but they weren’t good either. They’ll likely try to limit the impact of the Tulane ground game by getting their own run game on track. Once Tulane starts to bite on the run, the passing lanes for the downfield passing game will open right up.

The ascension of Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway helped turn the Gators’ season around late in the year. However, we are talking about a relatively small sample size, and Tulane was good enough for the bulk of the season to be briefly in the CFP discussion.

However, playing their AAC schedule isn’t quite like playing an SEC schedule.

Our Pick: Tulane +10.5 at -105 (via BetMGM)

Florida will win the game, but Tulane is good enough to keep it interesting with a strong run game. If Tulane can establish the run, it is competitive enough to stay within a touchdown.

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Indiana vs. Notre Dame

–UNDER 52.5 points at -115 (via BetMGM)

This game features two of the top-scoring offenses in the country, so why go with the UNDER? As prolific as their offenses are, their defenses are just as stingy. Both teams will find a way to move the ball, but bettors should not count on either offense going off.

–Elijah Sarratt, O/U 54.5 Receiving Yards at -114/-114

Kurtis Rourke will undoubtedly try to establish a connection with his best wide receiver sooner rather than later. But doing so against a defense that allowed an average of 13.8 receptions per game will not be easy.

With a number of weapons at his disposal, Rourke will probably not force the ball to Sarratt too often. He’ll look for someone else to step up instead. Take the UNDER.

–Riley Leonard, O/U 52.5 Rushing Yards at -114/-114

With the weather expected to be windy and cold, pass attempts could be at a premium for both teams. For Notre Dame, it will undoubtedly lead to Leonard taking off a few times. He had double-digit carries in nine games this season and cleared 52.5 yards rushing in five of them.

Indiana’s run defense is stout, but Notre Dame will run him enough that he’ll go OVER 52.5 yards rushing.