New Year's Day College Football Bowl Picks
Happy New Year! There's no better way to start off 2022 than with a five-game college football slate that includes the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. Here are our New Year's Day college football bowl picks.
There will be no judgment from us if you begin the new year the same way you ended the previous one: Stapled to the couch watching college football bowl games. Thankfully there's a delectable assortment of bowl games scheduled for the first day of 2022.
Here are my picks and predictions for the New Year's Day's college football bowl games (odds via DraftKings, and pick confidence is based on a one-to-five star scale).
New Year's Day College Football Bowl Schedule
Outback Bowl: Penn State vs. Arkansas, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN2Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Notre Dame, 1 p.m. ET, ESPNCitrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Kentucky, 1 p.m. ET, ABCRose Bowl: Utah vs. Ohio State, 5 p.m. ET, ESPNSugar Bowl: Baylor vs. Ole Miss, 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
New Year's Day Top College Football Bowl Picks
Penn State Under 23.5 (-115) ???Oklahoma State-Notre Dame Over 44.5 (-115) ???Iowa Under 20.5 (-120) ???Utah-Ohio State Over 64 (-110) ??Ohio State first-half Over 16.5 (-135) ????
SEE ALSO: College Football Bowl Odds, Betting Lines, and Picks
New Year's Day Top College Football Bowl Predictions
Penn State Under 23.5 (-115)
Penn State and its 84th-ranked offense have posted a 3-9 Over/Under record this season. The Nittany Lions average 26.3 points per game and have scored 24-plus points in four of their last seven contests.
But they'll be playing the Outback Bowl without All-American receiver Jahan Dotson, who's been on the other end for 40% of the passing yards (1,182) from quarterback Sean Clifford and 60% of the passing touchdowns (12).
Penn State will also be facing an SEC defense that averaged 24 points against per game. It'll be a tough scoring day for the Nittany Lions.
Oklahoma State-Notre Dame Over 44.5 (-115)
The presence of two top-10 scoring defenses is skewing this total, but Oklahoma State and Notre Dame also average over 30 points per game offensively.
The Irish will be without running back Kyren Williams and his 17 total touchdowns after he opted out. His absence will be significant, particularly against the nation's fifth-best rushing defense.
Oklahoma State boasts a standout running back of its own in Jaylen Warren, who totaled 1,134 yards and 11 rushing scores this past campaign. He helps to provide balance while Spencer Sanders leads the team's passing offense.
Currently, 73% of the cash and 76% of the public money is on the Over.
Iowa Under 20.5 (-120)
The 44-point total is the highest O/U closing line in an Iowa game since Week 5. The Over has hit in each of the Hawkeyes' last four contests, but they dealt with closing totals of 37.5 twice, 41, and 44.
A low-scoring Iowa offense that averages 23.9 points per game will be further handcuffed after star running back Tyler Goodson opted out of the Citrus Bowl. That will add strain to a passing game that's struggled under both Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla, with the duo combining for just 11 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
An Iowa defense that leads the nation in takeaways (24) will need to supply a defensive score to reach this team total, and even that might not be enough.
Utah-Ohio State Over 64 (-110)
This is a sky-high total, but this game features two of the country's most prolific offenses.
Utah is averaging just under 40 points per matchup during its current six-game winning streak, and Ohio State is No. 1 in scoring offense (45.5 points per game) and total offense (551.3 yards per game).
Ohio State first-half Over 16.5 (-135)
The Buckeyes have scored 17-plus points in the first half of every game since Week 4 except one: Their Big Ten title game loss to Michigan.
Ohio State will be eager to flush the memory of that defeat and get back to its high-scoring ways.
SEE ALSO: All picks and odds. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.
College football bowl picks made 12/31/2021 at 12:30 a.m. ET
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