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College Football Player Props & Best Bets, Odds for Friday: Top Bowl Game Predictions

Mike Spector

Last Updated: December 29, 2023 2:39 PM EST • 4 min 27 sec read.

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College football best bets

There are four college football bowl games on the schedule for a third consecutive day, and we offer our top college football player props and best bets for Friday's bowl games based on the best NCAAF odds at the college football betting sites Friday's action includes the first New Year's Six game as Missouri plays Ohio State.

Friday's Cotton Bowl features the first AP top-10 bowl matchup of the holiday season, as the No. 9 Missouri Tigers and No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes square off at 8 p.m. ET. We'll have rematches of recent college bowl matchups earlier in the day as Clemson and Kentucky meet in the Gator Bowl, while Oregon State and Notre Dame battle in the Sun Bowl.

As part of our look at all college bowl game odds, here are our college football player props and best bets for Friday's four-game slate (odds via our best college football betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

College football best bets for Friday

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College football schedule and odds for Friday

(Odds via DraftKings)

College football game picks

Kentucky +5 vs. Clemson (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐

Clemson has been a cover machine in December, going 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games. However, the Tigers usually have much more to play for than what is at stake in this Gator Bowl, as they have been a mainstay in the College Football Playoff or the ACC Championship.

Clemson's defense is ravaged by the portal and opt-outs, with three starters and one on every level of the defense with 409-plus snaps opting out. In addition, cornerback Sheridan Jones is out with a hip injury, and starting safety Andrew Mukuba is in the portal, leaving the cornerback duties to two freshmen.

That is not as much of an issue when facing the run-heavy Wildcats. Still, stud running back Ray Davis is playing in the game despite declaring for the NFL Draft, and Kentucky should pay off most of its red zone trips in touchdowns - as Clemson's defense entered the regular-season finale ranked 69th in finishing drives.

FanDuel is the only one of our top sportsbooks a half-point lower at Kentucky +4.5, so bettors have plenty of options for where to find the best value.

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Oregon State +6.5 vs. Notre Dame (-108 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oddsmakers are not showing Oregon State much love in this game, installing Notre Dame as a near-touchdown favorite as the Beavers will be without their top two quarterbacks and starting running back.

However, Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman and running back Audric Estime will not be playing, either, and the last time Ben Gulbranson started a game at quarterback for the Beavers, he was the MVP of last year's Las Vegas Bowl after running and throwing for a touchdown.

Gulbranson is a threat with his legs, and after his running touchdown in the bowl game, he became the first Beavers quarterback since 1996 with a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games. Notre Dame's coaching staff and defense are largely intact, but oddsmakers have adjusted too much to the Beavers playing with their third-string quarterback, as he comes in with plenty of experience.

DraftKings is the only shop offering Oregon State as high as +6.5 but cheaper than the standard -110 odds.

Iowa State -10.5 vs. Memphis (-105 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐

Iowa State may have fallen short of Big 12 championship aspirations, but it should be plenty motivated in this bowl game, playing a true road game on Memphis' home field.

The Cyclones come in with plenty of offensive momentum, as quarterback Rocco Becht finished with a 7-1 TD-INT ratio over the final three regular-season games. And in the final game against Kansas State, running back Abu Sama III ran for 276 yards (the fourth-most in school history) and had three touchdown runs of 60-plus yards.

That was par for the course for a Cyclones offense that was the nation's best in standard downs explosiveness and now faces a Tigers defense that ranks outside the top 100 in that metric.

However, the difference in this game could be Memphis' compromised offensive line, which lost two starters to the transfer portal. That will make it difficult for the Tigers to move the ball against an Iowa State front that entered its final game ranked inside the top 30 in line yards, finishing drives, and quality drives allowed.

Iowa State -10.5 is juiced as high as -112 at DraftKings, so the best value and price is at BetMGM.

Missouri-Ohio State Over 48.5 (-112 via BetRivers) ⭐⭐⭐

The point spread for this game has been all over the place since its initial opening, going from Ohio State -6.5 to Missouri -2.5 back to Ohio State -3. However, that fluctuation is too worrisome to take a stance one way or another, so we are siding with the Over, even though the Under is 3-2 in Ohio State's five games with a total lower than 50 points this season.

We know that the Buckeyes will be without starting quarterback Kyle McCord, while the status of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is unknown. Still, there is plenty of talent for the Buckeyes - specifically star running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka - and we have faith in quarterback Devin Brown in Ryan Day's system.

Meanwhile, a Missouri offense that entered the regular-season finale ranked 11th in pass success and in the top 30 in finishing drives and quality drives is largely intact. Thus, we expect the Tigers to snap a streak of four consecutive Unders in bowl games.

FanDuel is the only other shop offering a total of 48.5 (all others are at 49), but it charges a slightly more steep -115 odds to back the Over. That's why we'd recommend going with BetRivers for this wager.

Don't miss C Jackson Cowart's Missouri vs. Ohio State prediction and all of our New Year's Six predictions.

College football best bets made Thursday at 8:11 a.m. ET.

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Written By:
Mike Spector
I have been in the sports writing industry for over three years, working for sites like BettingPros/FantasyPros, Oddschecker, and Sportsbook Review. In my first year writing for BettingPros, I finished with the #2 overall record in their annual NFL betting competition, which made picks against the spread, and from an over/under and moneyline perspective. I am an avid fan of the NFL, MLB, and all college sports. In my opinion, March Madness is the best sporting event there is, and I am especially euphoric starting with conference tournament time in college basketball. I am a big advocate of "fading the public" and making plays that are contrarian, constantly citing that "there are reasons why they have those big shiny buildings in Las Vegas." Follow me on Twitter for my best bets and commentary to go along with the wagers.