College Football Best Bets: Picks & Analysis For The Bowl Games On Saturday, December 17

The Saturday, December 17 College Football bowl game slate is absolutely loaded, as it features games like Cincinnati-Louisville, Florida-Oregon State, Washington State-Fresno State, among others. Nothing beats a day in which there are multiple big games to bet on, so this is the type of slate that should really excite everybody. With that said, keep reading for our best bets for a Saturday that should be very eventful for college football fans and bettors. These picks were very profitable for us during the regular season and we're confident we can continue providing winners the rest of the way. 

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College Football Best Bets For The Saturday, December 17 Bowl Games

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - 11:00AM ET

This game is going to be pretty interesting because of the coaching dynamic. After Luke Fickell went to become the coach of Wisconsin, Scott Satterfield left Louisville to become the head coach at Cincinnati. So, even with the Bearcats losing most of their coaching staff to the Badgers, they do have the former Cardinals coach on their sidelines. One would have to think that puts Cincinnati in a great position to win this game, as he knows everything that his former team wants to do and can pass on that information to Bearcats interim head coach Kerry Coombs. 

Cincinnati also had a good defense this year, with the team giving up just 20.3 points per game on the season. You'd have to think that will help the Bearcats in a meeting with an offense that will be missing Malik Cunningham, who made the decision not to play in his team's bowl game. 

BET: Cincinnati +1 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Cincinnati vs. Louisville Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Cincinnati vs. Louisville

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SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Florida Gators vs. Oregon State Beavers - 2:30PM ET

The Gators are not going to have Anthony Richardson in their bowl game, as he isn't risking injury as he prepares for the 2023 NFL Draft. They'll also be without Jalen Kitna, who will not be with the team for more disturbing reasons (allegedly). Being without the top-two quarterbacks on a depth chart would be a death sentence for most teams, but this is the University of Florida we're talking about. The Gators' third-string quarterback — and starter in this game — is Jack Miller, a four-star recruit that got offers from schools like Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss and UCLA. With that in mind, we're not exactly expecting an incompetent version of the Florida offense. 

Considering what we stated above, it's just hard to imagine the Gators losing by double digits in this one. Florida covered in all three of the games it played as a double-digit underdog this season (at Tennessee, vs. Georgia, at Florida State). The Gators were also 5-0 against the spread as underdogs in Billy Napier's first year with the team. 

BET: Florida +10.5 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Florida vs. Oregon State Predictions
📈 Betting preview: UTSA vs. Troy

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Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented By Stifel: Washington State Cougars vs. Fresno State Bulldogs - 3:30PM ET

Fresno State finished its season by winning eight games in a row and covering in six of those contests. This is a Bulldogs team that plays at a Power Five level and we expect the group to go out and finish its season strong. The Cougars are coming off of a nice season in their own right, but we just trust the Bulldogs a little more here. 

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener is a phenomenal player, as he threw for 2,616 yards with 18 touchdowns and only three interceptions this year. He's the better quarterback in this matchup and it's hard to stress the importance of that. It's also worth noting that the Group of Five teams generally play harder — and with chips on their shoulders — in meetings with the big dogs. 

BET: Fresno State -3.5 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Washington State vs. Fresno State Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Washington State vs. Fresno State

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Lending Tree Bowl: Rice Owls vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles - 5:45PM ET

The Under has hit in each of the last three games that Rice has played, with the team scoring a total of 34 points in those contests. With that in mind, it isn't hard to see a scenario in which the Owls play one more ugly one to end the year. And that's ultimately why we're backing the Under here. 

Our DimersBOT actually gives this game a 52% chance of going Under the total and the fact that Southern Miss has scored 23 or fewer points in each of its last three games only adds to the intrigue surrounding this bet. These teams also met in 2021, when the two combined to score just 43 points in a game with a total of 44.5. 

BET: Under 48.5 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 Rice vs. Southern Miss Predictions
📈 Betting preview: Rice vs. Southern Miss

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New Mexico Bowl: SMU Mustangs vs. BYU Cougars - 7:30PM ET

It remains to be seen whether or not Jaren Hall will play for BYU in this game, but it's still hard to lay off the Cougars here. This season went south in a hurry for a BYU team that looked like it had the potential to play in a New Year's Six game early on, but the Cougars ended the year on a positive note. Kalani Sitake's team won its final three games of the season, with the last one being a road win over Stanford. 

Over the last three seasons, the Mustangs happen to be just 3-11 ATS when playing away from home on a turf field. Meanwhile, the Cougars are 10-7 ATS as underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points under Sitake, and they are also 17-12 ATS as underdogs, in general, in that time. 

All in all, we're confident this BYU team can score points, with or without Hall. And we like the Cougars to come up with a few more stops than their opponents when it's all said and done. 

BET: BYU +3.5 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 SMU vs. BYU Predictions
📈 Betting preview: SMU vs. BYU

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Frisco Bowl: North Texas Mean Green vs. Boise State Broncos -9:15PM ET

The Over hit in three of the final four games that North Texas played this year, with the Mean Green's opponents scoring at least 41 points in two of those three games. Considering UAB and UTSA were able to put up huge numbers on this North Texas defense, we expect Taylen Green and the Boise State offense to the do the same. And if the Broncos can score at least 35 or so points in this one, this Over should hit with relative ease. On their own, the Mean Green averaged 33.9 points per game this season. 

The Over also happens to be 8-1 when North Texas is coming off a game in which the team gave up at least 42 points since the start of the 2020-21 season. Those games saw an average total points scored of 77.2 points per game. We're keeping it simple and hoping for a shootout here. 

BET: Over 59 at -110 at DraftKings Sportsbook

🏈 North Texas vs. Boise State Predictions
📈 Betting preview: North Texas vs. Boise State