Sam Avellone
Show Bio
The 2024 college football regular season has drawn to a close, which means we are on to bowl season and the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. We’ve had a very successful year when it comes to these opening line reports, as we easily got to the window with Jacksonville State in the Conference USA Championship game on Friday. With that win, we are 10-4 on our opening line best bets, which is a win rate of 71.4%! Now that all of the bowl matchups have been determined, I will provide you with all of the opening lines and odds as of Monday, December 9, and then cap it off with a best bet.
Be sure to stay on top of opt-out and transfer portal news, as these lines will almost certainly change leading up to kickoff due to players and coaches leaving their programs. Also, don’t forget to frequently check Pickswise for college football picks and CFB predictions on ALL of the bowl and playoff games, with our experts currently on a HUGE 53-22-1 run!
College Football Playoff and Bowl opening lines and odds
Odds courtesy of Bet365 and available at the time of publishing.
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College Football Bowl odds
- Jackson State -1.5 (-110) vs South Carolina State; Total 54.5 – Saturday, December 14th
- South Alabama -10 (-110) vs Western Michigan; Total 59.5 – Saturday, December 14th
- Memphis -2 (-110) vs West Virginia; Total 56.5 – Tuesday, December 17th
- James Madison -7.5 (-110) vs Western Kentucky; Total 53.5 – Wednesday, December 18th
- California -2.5 (-110) vs UNLV; Total 51.5 – Wednesday, December 18th
- Georgia Southern -5.5 (-110) vs Sam Houston State; Total 46.5 – Thursday, December 19th
- Ohio -2.5 (-110) vs Jacksonville State; Total 52 – Friday, December 20th
- Florida -11.5 (-110) vs Tulane; Total 50.5 – Friday, December 20th
- UTSA -6.5 (-115) vs Coastal Carolina; Total 57.5 – Monday, December 23rd
- Northern Illinois -1.5 (-110) vs Fresno State; Total 42 – Monday, December 23rd
- San Jose State -2.5 (-110) vs South Florida; Total 62.5 – Tuesday, December 24th
- Pittsburgh -9.5 (-110) vs Toledo; Total 51.5 – Thursday, December 26th
- Kansas State -7 (-110) vs Rutgers; Total 50.5 – Thursday, December 26th
- Bowling Green -6.5 (-110) vs Arkansas State; Total 49 – Thursday, December 26th
- Oklahoma -8.5 (-110) vs Navy; Total 46.5 – Friday, December 27th
- Georgia Tech -2.5 (-110) vs Vanderbilt; Total 54.5 – Friday, December 27th
- Arkansas -2.5 (-110) vs Texas Tech; Total 59.5 – Friday, December 27th
- Syracuse -5.5 (-110) vs Washington State; Total 60.5 – Friday, December 27th
- Texas A&M -2.5 (-110) vs USC; Total 50.5 – Friday, December 27th
- North Carolina -4.5 (-110) vs UConn; Total 55.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- Nebraska -3.5 (-110) vs Boston College; Total 45.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- TCU -9.5 (-110) vs Louisiana; Total 60.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- Iowa State -1 (-110) vs Miami; Total 53.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- Miami (OH) -1.5 (-110) vs Colorado State; Total 43.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- NC State -5 (-110) vs East Carolina; Total 59.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- Colorado -2.5 (-110) vs BYU; Total 54.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- Army -9 (-110) vs Marshall; Total 48.5 – Saturday, December 28th
- Missouri -2.5 (-110) vs Iowa; Total 43.5 – Monday, December 30th
- Alabama -11.5 (-110) vs Michigan; Total 43.5 – Tuesday, December 31st
- Louisville -5 (-110) vs Washington; Total 50.5 – Tuesday, December 31st
- South Carolina -11.5 (-110) vs Illinois; Total 47.5 – Tuesday, December 31st
- LSU -3 (-110) vs Baylor; Total 60.5 – Tuesday, December 31st
- Ole Miss -14 (-110) vs Duke; Total 53.5 – Thursday, January 2nd
- Texas State -7.5 (-110) vs North Texas; Total 67.5 – Friday, January 3rd
- Minnesota -4.5 (-110) vs Virginia Tech; Total 42.5 – Friday, January 3rd
- Liberty -2.5 (-110) vs Buffalo; Total 51.5 – Saturday, January 4th
College Football Playoff odds
- Notre Dame -7.5 (-110) vs Indiana; Total 50.5 – Friday, December 20th
- Penn State -8.5 (-110) vs SMU; Total 53.5 – Saturday, December 21st
- Texas -11 (-112) vs Clemson; Total 51.5 – Saturday, December 21st
- Ohio State -7.5 (-110) vs Tennessee; Total 47 – Saturday, December 21st
*The favorites are hosting these games on their home fields.
College football Playoff opening line best bet: Penn State -8.5 over SMU (-110)
It’s very difficult to project who is going to play in the non-playoff bowl games more than 1 week out, so I’m going to focus on a playoff matchup in which we know there will be a full allotment of starters. SMU had a tremendous season in their first year in a power conference. Not only did the Mustangs finish 11-2, but they lost each of those games by just 3 points – one of them being in the ACC Championship against Clemson. Even with the loss to Clemson, SMU did enough to remain in the College Football Playoff field. However, the Mustangs will have to travel to State College to play Penn State in what figures to be a cold White Out atmosphere at Happy Valley. That type of environment benefits Penn State, whose only losses this season were by 1 score to Ohio State and Oregon.
My main concern about SMU against Penn State is its offensive line. The Nittany Lions are a top-25 team when it comes to sacks and tackles for loss, and they are stout against the run – which is an important trait against SMU running back Brashard Smith. SMU’s offensive line has not been great in recent weeks, ranking outside the top 65 in stuff rate allowed and line yards and outside the top 50 in front 7 havoc allowed since Week 9. Furthermore, Penn State has the most efficient defense SMU will have seen at any point this season outside of the Duke Blue Devils, who the Mustangs played on the road and won by just 1 point in overtime despite committing 6 turnovers.
The same can be said for the offensive side of the ball, where Penn State is the most efficient unit the Mustangs will have seen at any point – ranking in the top 12 in PPA per play and success rate outside of garbage time this season. In their own home atmosphere playing against a team that is not in the top 5, I expect coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions to find success on both sides of the ball, leading to a win and cover in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Playable to -9.5.
Keep an eye out for our college football best bets across Bowl season, with our experts boasting a 42-30 record for +24.96 units!
