This New Year’s Eve offer up a great selection of college bowl games to bet on including the two semifinal matchups in this year’s College Football Playoff. While it is always important to handicap any college football game on face value given the various particulars of how one team matches up against the other, you should also factor in some the recent betting trends for each side. This is especially true when it comes to playing in a postseason bowl game given how history sometimes has a way of repeating itself.
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl- LSU Tigers (-3) vs. Louisville Cardinals Total: 59.5
LSU comes into this game with a straight-up record of 7-4 and it went 5-6 against the spread. The Tigers closed out the season with a 5-2 record ATS and the total stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in nine of their 11 games. When it comes to their recent performance in the postseason, they have failed to cover in four of their last five bowl games. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in seven of their last nine nonconference games.
The Cardinals stumbled down the stretch with losses at Houston and at home against Kentucky as favorites in each game to fall to 9-3 SU (6-6 ATS) on the year. The total has gone OVER in eight of those 12 games, but it has stayed UNDER in three of their last five games. Louisville has a 5-2 record ATS in its last seven bowl games and it has gone 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games against a team from the SEC.
TaxSlayer Bowl- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-3.5) vs. Kentucky Wildcats Total: 61.5
Georgia Tech won its last three games (SU and ATS) to improve to 8-4 SU on the year with a 6-5 record ATS. The total has gone OVER in seven of its last 10 games. The Yellow Jackets have covered in four of their last five games against the SEC, but they fall to 2-6 ATS in their last eight bowl games. The total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven games in a postseason bowl.
The Wildcats ended the regular season 7-5 (SU and ATS) with that big 41-38 upset against rival Louisville as 27.5-point road underdogs. The total has now gone OVER in four of their last six games. Kentucky is 4-0 ATS in its last four games against a team with a SU winning record, but it has failed to cover in its last four games played at a neutral site. The total has gone OVER in four of its last five games against the ACC.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- Washington Huskies vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (-14) Total: 54
The Huskies’ lone SU loss of the season against 12 victories came against USC as 9.5-point home favorites. They went 7-6 ATS after failing to cover in four of their last seven games and the total has stayed UNDER in their last four outings. Washington is 6-1 ATS in its last seven nonconference games and the total has stayed UNDER in four of its last five games played at a neutral site.
Alabama was 9-4 ATS during its perfect run to a SU record of 13-0. It went 6-2 ATS in its final eight games and the total has stayed UNDER in four of its last six contests. The Crimson Tide are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games played outside the SEC and they have gone 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games played at a neutral site. The total has gone OVER in nine of their last 11 bowl games.
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl- Ohio State Buckeyes (-3) vs. Clemson Tigers Total: 58.5
The Buckeyes are 11-1 SU, but they failed to cover ATS in six of their last eight games to fall to 6-6 ATS this season. The total has gone OVER in three of their last four games. Ohio State has been able to cover in its last five neutral-site games and it has gone 6-2 ATS in its last eight postseason bowls. However, it is 2-5 ATS in its last seven games against a team with a SU winning record. The total has gone OVER in four of its last five games against the ACC.
Clemson is 12-1 SU, but it was only able to cover the spread in two of its last seven games to go 6-7 ATS on the year. The total has gone OVER in its last four games. The Tigers are a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five bowl games and they have gone 7-1 ATS in their last eight games played at a neutral site. The total has stayed UNDER in nine of their last 13 postseason bowl games.
