College Football Best Bets: Picks & Analysis For The Bowl Games On Monday, January 2

While we already saw TCU-Michigan and Ohio State-Georgia, we still have a few massive bowl games left. Check out our college football best bets for the Monday, January 2 slate. This day will feature an insane matchup between the Tulane Green Wave and the USC Trojans. It also features what is arguably the best bowl game around, as the Penn State Nittany Lions take on the Utah Utes in the Rose Bowl. Nothing comes close to replicating that Pasadena magic, and that game seems to always deliver. With all of that in mind, keep reading for our favorite picks of the day. We had a great college football season and are hoping to close it out with a bang. 

If you haven't already, you should consider signing up for DraftKings ➡️ here ⬅️ as you can turn a $5 pre-game moneyline bet on any game into a free $150 if your team wins. 

RELATED: College Football Bet Hub 

College Football Best Bets For The Monday, January 2 Bowl Games

RellaQuest Bowl: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Illinois Fighting Illini - 12:00PM ET

It's crazy that Mississippi State even has a bowl game to play after the tragic death of head coach Mike Leach, but the players deserved a chance to compete in the postseason. And while it will be hard for the Bulldogs to deal with everything, the guys are in good hands under Zach Arnett. Arnett, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after Leach's passing, was one of the fastest rising stars in all of college football. It was only a matter of time before he got a job, so he is fully deserving of this opportunity. 

The Bulldogs had also finished the year extremely well, winning three of their last four games and earning a win on the road over Ole Miss in The Egg Bowl. Now, Mississippi State will try and out-tough an Illinois team that wins with its defense and ability to run the football. But we like the Bulldogs' chances of doing that, as SEC players are a different breed. Mississippi State should have a size and speed advantage here. 

Also, for as good as Illinois has been under Bret Bielema, the team is 0-2 both straight-up and against the spread when the line is +3 to -3 under him. 

BET: Mississippi State -2 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Mississippi State vs. Illinois Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Mississippi State vs. Illinois

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Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Tulane Green Wave vs. USC Trojans - 1:00PM ET

Casual bettors might see this matchup and think that USC is a mortal lock, but Tulane is a very good football team. With that said, this might not be as straightforward as you might think. For that reason, we're avoiding the sides and just going with the Over. 

The Over has actually hit in six of the last seven games that the Green Wave have played, with the team scoring at least 38 points in four of those six contests. Meanwhile, the Over has also hit in each of the last seven games that the Trojans have played, with USC scoring at least 38 in six of those seven. These are just two extremely high-scoring teams, and we don't see this game being one with a whole lot of defense. 

It's actually surprising to see that this total is so low, especially with the game being played in a dome. 

BET: Over 63.5 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Tulane vs. USC Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Tulane vs. USC

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Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: LSU Tigers vs. Purdue Boilermakers - 1:00PM ET

This looks like one of the biggest mismatches of bowl season thus far, as LSU looked like a playoff-worthy team throughout the year and Purdue was merely mediocre. The Boilermakers will also be playing this game without quarterback Aidan O'Connell, who has declared for the NFL Draft. Without him, it's just hard to see how Purdue will find a way to move the ball against LSU. The Boilermakers were a pass-heavy football team with O'Connell under center, and they won't even have the offensive mind of head coach Jeff Brohm to come up with a new approach. He left to go be the head coach at Louisville after the regular season. 

LSU also won and covered in its only game as a favorite of 10.5 to 21 points this season, with the Tigers earning a 41-10 win over the UAB Blazers as 15-point favorites on November 19. This isn't much of a step up in competition, so we're expecting a blowout in this spot. 

BET: LSU -14.5 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 LSU vs. Purdue Predictions
📈 Betting preview: LSU vs. Purdue

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Rose Bowl Game Presented By Prudential: Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Utah Utes - 5:00PM ET

The Utes are actually the defending Rose Bowl champs and we expect them to earn another victory in Pasadena this year. This Utah team was as good as anyone this season, but a road loss against the Florida Gators in the season opener derailed its College Football Playoff hopes. That was a game in which the fans in Gainesville made it a very tough environment, but the Utes still almost won the game. Star quarterback Cam Rising led Utah down the field on a potential game-winning touchdown drive, but he uncharacteristically threw a red-zone interception. Had it not been for that, we might have seen the Utes on Saturday. After all, they beat the USC Trojans twice this season, and many people thought USC was a playoff-caliber team. 

It's just hard to find many reasons to like Penn State against Utah in the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions had a very nice season, which they absolutely needed after two down years in a row under head coach James Franklin. But we just don't see Penn State having the offensive firepower required to hang with Utah in this game — even if the Nittany Lions are the better defensive team here. 

Utah is actually 12-4 SU and 11-5 ATS in bowl games under head coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes are also 4-2 both SU and ATS when facing Big Ten competition under him. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS when playing in January bowl games (major bowl games) under Franklin.

BET: Utah -1.5 at -106 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Penn State vs. Utah Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Penn State vs. Utah