Bowl Game Best Bets: ATS Picks for 35 Bowl Games
Bowl season is not what it once was between the expansion of the College Football Playoff and an uptick in opt-outs. It's not just players who are saying no to bowls ahead of a transfer or NFL Draft declaration. Entire teams declined invitations to postseason games this year.
Notre Dame did so after its CFP snub in the most notable example. Iowa State and Kansas State did the same, though for different reasons as both the Cyclones and Wildcats underwent coaching changes with Matt Campbell's departure for Penn State and Chris Klieman's retirement. That opened the door for a handful of teams with losing records to play an extra game.
Amid the news of the LA Bowl shuttering after this season and talk of continued CFP expansion amid continued changes to college football , bowl season still provides a three-week window of additional, oftentimes wacky, postseason games. The extra practice time is valuable for young teams and sometimes these games offer a glimpse of next season's stars.
There's still good football to be played, too. My colleague Steven Lassan singled out 11 must-watch games of bowl season , including a handful involving teams that just missed out on the CFP. Enjoy these weird matchups that promise football almost every day of the week throughout the holiday season. Because in the dog days of summer, you'll be begging for the Bucked Up LA Bowl as the start of another season awaits.
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Bowl Game Predictions: College Football Expert Picks for Every Postseason Game
To help get you through these next few weeks of games, Athlon Sports' writers picked each bowl game against the spread. We didn't include College Football Playoff games below because you can expect more in-depth coverage of each game in the weeks to come.
College Football Predictions: ATS Bets for Non-CFP Bowl Games
LA Bowl (Dec. 13): Boise State vs. Washington -10
Steven Lassan:Boise State
Thomas Neumann:Boise State
Kyle Wood: Boise State
Salute to Veterans Bowl (Dec. 16): Troy -2.5 vs. Jacksonville State
Steven Lassan:Jacksonville State
Thomas Neumann:Troy
Kyle Wood: Jacksonville State
Cure Bowl (Dec. 17): Old Dominion vs. South Florida -3.5
Steven Lassan:South Florida
Thomas Neumann:South Florida
Kyle Wood: South Florida
68 Ventures Bowl (Dec. 17): Louisiana -3 vs. Delaware
Steven Lassan:Delaware
Thomas Neumann:Delaware
Kyle Wood: Louisiana
XBox Bowl (Dec. 18): Missouri State vs. Arkansas State -1.5
Steven Lassan:Arkansas State
Thomas Neumann:Missouri State
Kyle Wood: Missouri State
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 19): Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan -4
Steven Lassan:Kennesaw State
Thomas Neumann:Western Michigan
Kyle Wood: Western Michigan
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 19): Memphis vs. NC State -5.5
Steven Lassan:Memphis
Thomas Neumann:Memphis
Kyle Wood: Memphis
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 22): Washington State vs. Utah State -3
Steven Lassan:Washington State
Thomas Neumann:Washington State
Kyle Wood: Utah State
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 23): Toledo vs. Louisville -8.5
Steven Lassan:Louisville
Thomas Neumann:Louisville
Kyle Wood: Louisville
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 23): Western Kentucky -4 vs. Southern Miss
Steven Lassan:Western Kentucky
Thomas Neumann:Western Kentucky
Kyle Wood: Southern Miss
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 23): UNLV -4.5 vs. Ohio
Steven Lassan:UNLV
Thomas Neumann:UNLV
Kyle Wood: Ohio
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24): California -1.5 vs. Hawaii
Steven Lassan:Hawaii
Thomas Neumann:California
Kyle Wood: Hawaii
GameAbove Sports Bowl (Dec. 26): Central Michigan vs. Northwestern -10.5
Steven Lassan:Northwestern
Thomas Neumann:Northwestern
Kyle Wood: Northwestern
Rate Bowl (Dec. 26): New Mexico vs. Minnesota -2.5
Steven Lassan:New Mexico
Thomas Neumann:Minnesota
Kyle Wood: New Mexico
First Responder Bowl (Dec. 26): FIU vs. UTSA -8.5
Steven Lassan:UTSA
Thomas Neumann:UTSA
Kyle Wood: UTSA
Military Bowl (Dec. 27): Pitt -4 vs. East Carolina
Steven Lassan:East Carolina
Thomas Neumann:Pitt
Kyle Wood: East Carolina
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 27): Penn State vs. Clemson -3
Steven Lassan:Clemson
Thomas Neumann:Clemson
Kyle Wood: Clemson
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 27): UConn vs. Army -5.5
Steven Lassan:Army
Thomas Neumann:Army
Kyle Wood: UConn
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Dec. 27): Georgia Tech vs. BYU -4.5
Steven Lassan:Georgia Tech
Thomas Neumann:Georgia Tech
Kyle Wood: BYU
Arizona Bowl (Dec. 27): Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State -3.5
Steven Lassan:Fresno State
Thomas Neumann:Fresno State
Kyle Wood: Fresno State
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 27): North Texas -3 vs. San Diego State
Steven Lassan:San Diego State
Thomas Neumann:San Diego State
Kyle Wood: San Diego State
Gator Bowl (Dec. 27): Virginia vs. Missouri -7
Steven Lassan:Virginia
Thomas Neumann:Missouri
Kyle Wood: Missouri
Texas Bowl (Dec. 27): LSU vs. Houston -3
Steven Lassan:Houston
Thomas Neumann:Houston
Kyle Wood: Houston
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 29): Georgia Southern -3.5 vs. Appalachian State
Steven Lassan:Georgia Southern
Thomas Neumann:Georgia Southern
Kyle Wood: Georgia Southern
Independence Bowl (Dec. 30): Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech -7.5
Steven Lassan:Louisiana Tech
Thomas Neumann:Coastal Carolina
Kyle Wood: Louisiana Tech
Music City Bowl (Dec. 30): Tennessee -4.5 vs. Illinois
Steven Lassan:Illinois
Thomas Neumann:Tennessee
Kyle Wood: Tennessee
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 30): USC -6 vs. TCU
Steven Lassan:USC
Thomas Neumann:TCU
Kyle Wood: USC
Reliaquest Bowl (Dec. 31): Iowa vs. Vanderbilt -5.5
Steven Lassan:Iowa
Thomas Neumann:Iowa
Kyle Wood: Vanderbilt
Sun Bowl (Dec. 31): Arizona State vs. Duke -1.5
Steven Lassan:Duke
Thomas Neumann:Duke
Kyle Wood: Duke
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31): Michigan vs. Texas -7
Steven Lassan:Texas
Thomas Neumann:Michigan
Kyle Wood: Texas
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 31): Nebraska vs. Utah -15.5
Steven Lassan:Utah
Thomas Neumann:Nebraska
Kyle Wood: Utah
Armed Forces Bowl (Jan. 2): Rice vs. Texas State -10
Steven Lassan:Texas State
Thomas Neumann:Texas State
Kyle Wood: Texas State
Liberty Bowl (Jan. 2): Navy -4 vs. Cincinnati
Steven Lassan:Navy
Thomas Neumann:Cincinnati
Kyle Wood: Navy
Holiday Bowl (Jan. 2): Arizona -3 vs. SMU
Steven Lassan:SMU
Thomas Neumann:Arizona
Kyle Wood: Arizona
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Jan. 2): Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State -2.5
Steven Lassan:Mississippi State
Thomas Neumann:Wake Forest
Kyle Wood: Mississippi State
Related: College Football's 11 Must-See Bowl Games for the 2025-26 Postseason
Related: College Football Playoff Betting Odds: Ohio State, Indiana Lead 12-Team Field
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
