College Football Odds, Best Bets: 3 Picks for Tulane vs. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M, More (Wednesday, Dec. 27)
John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: The Texas A&M Aggies.
Bowl season rolls on with another four games on Wednesday, and our staff came through with best bets for three of them.
Our writers like the favorites in the Military Bowl between Virginia Tech and Tulane and the Duke's Mayo Bowl between North Carolina in West Virginia, while our final member expects plenty of points in the nightcap of Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl.
So, if you're looking to bet Wednesday's college football action, we have you covered.
Check out all four best bets for Wednesday's college football bowl games below — and come back tomorrow for even more college football betting coverage.
Wednesday College Football Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football betting staff is targeting from Wednesday's slate of college football bowl games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| 2 p.m. | ||
| 5:30 p.m. | ||
| 9 p.m. | ||
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane
It’s a story as old as time at this point, but the tale behind this non-CFP bowl game is all about opt-outs.
While both teams have been affected by players opting to focus on the 2024 football season, Tulane has been disproportionately impacted as we head into the final game of the 2023 campaign for both programs.
In devastating fashion, the Green Wave will be without the services of head coach Willie Fritz, starting quarterback Michael Pratt and a variety of other key skill players who are sitting out to prepare for the NFL Draft.
There's one bright spot in the Tulane lineup, and that's the availability of standout running back Makhi Hughes.
The Hokies are dealing with opt-outs as well, but not to the extent that the opponent is. They'll still have the services of starting quarterback Kyron Drones and emerging star running back Bhayshul Tuten.
With key pieces of the offense intact, Virginia Tech will look to its defense to slow the Tulane running game down.
I think this game sets Virginia Tech up for a big victory for a handful of reasons with the first being that the Tulane program is in an entire state of disarray. As the Green Wave look for their second consecutive 12-win season, they will be coached by an interim coach as new head coach Jon Sumrall waits to take over.
The location of this game is much more favorable for the Hokies than the New Orleans-based Green Wave, and the crowd should certainly reflect that. Annapolis sits 300 miles away from Blacksburg, and the Naval Academy stadium is easily drivable from the DMV, which is one of the primary alumni destinations post-graduation.
Lastly, with Drones and Tuten being available for Virginia Tech, I don’t foresee the offense having too many hiccups. The key differentiator will be the Hokies defense, which finished the regular season as the 25th-ranked unit in the nation. Now, it's facing a new starting quarterback.
I recommend laying the chalk in favor of Virginia Tech as it looks to leverage a significant program continuity advantage in what should amount to a home bowl game. Play this at -10.5 or better.
Pick: Virginia Tech -10.5 or Better
Duke's Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia
Any time the second-most prestigious bowl game (behind only the Pop-Tarts Bowl, of course) is on the board, you have to spread the mayo love.
Opt-outs, opt-outs, opt-outs — that's the story for North Carolina. The Tar Heels are without the services of quarterback Drake Maye, leading receiver Tez Walker, starting center Corey Gaynor and four starters on the defensive side of the ball.
UNC’s dropoff at the quarterback position behind the future top-five pick Maye is stark, as Conner Harrell — a player with just 21 snaps this season — gets the nod against West Virginia.
North Carolina had one of the best offenses in the country during the regular season, but it’s hard to picture it resembling anything close to that with the current state of its roster against a Mountaineers defense that is close to full strength.
West Virginia will be without NFL-caliber center Zach Frazier and running back CJ Donaldson due to injury. The Mountaineers offense will otherwise be its normal cast of characters as it faces one of the worst defenses in the ACC that will be made even worse due to player availability.
Spearheaded by quarterback Garrett Greene and running back Jahiem White, West Virginia’s stable of rushers combined to lead the Power Five with 2,812 yards rushing. The Tar Heels defense allowed over 225 yards rushing in three of their final six games, all games they lost.
Then there’s just a matter of recent form and who wants to be there more than the other.
UNC fell well short of preseason expectations, losing four of its final six to close the season, and half of their starters quite literally didn’t want to be there and won’t be there for this game.
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown, meanwhile, was No. 1 on the hot-seat rankings entering the year, and the Mountaineers instead won eight games, including four of their final five.
While it would be undeniably funnier to see a giant cooler of mayonnaise dumped on 72-year-old Mack Brown’s head, we’re going to have to settle for Brown with West Virginia winning by more than a touchdown.
Pick: West Virginia -6.5 (Play to -7)
Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State
The Texas A&M defense has been completely gutted due to opt-outs and transfers.
A total of seven of the 11 starters from Texas A&M's defense will not be playing in the bowl game, which is terrible news when you're about to face one of the best rushing attacks in the nation.
Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon II should play in this game for Oklahoma State, so the Cowboys are going to run wild.
Texas A&M had one of the best front sevens in the country against the run this season, but with four of its seven starters not available, it's going to be incredibly difficult to bring down Gordon.
The biggest weakness the Texas A&M defense had this season was giving up big plays on the ground. The Aggies ranked 57th in rushing explosiveness allowed, which is tough considering Gordon had 42 runs of 10-plus yards.
Oklahoma State's Alan Bowman didn't opt out of the bowl game, and nearly all of his weapons will be available.
Bowman was a very average quarterback this season by all metrics, but he should find success against a Texas A&M defense that lost both of its starting cornerbacks and a starting safety.
On the other side, Aggies quarterback Max Johnson hit the transfer portal and committed to North Carolina, which means Jaylen Henderson will get the start.
Henderson started the final three games of the season and was pretty effective as a passer, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt with a 46% positive EPA/Play percentage. He'll now be going up against an Oklahoma State secondary that ranked 107th in EPA/Pass and 98th in terms of a PFF coverage grade.
At the time of writing, all of the Aggies' running backs are going to play in the bowl game, which is fantastic news because they have a great matchup against an Oklahoma State front seven that sits outside the top 70 in both EPA/Rush Allowed and rushing explosiveness allowed.
I have 60.1 points projected for this game, so I like the value on over 53 points.
Pick: Over 54 (Play to 56)
How would you rate this article?
Follow Us On Social
