The best bets on the college football gridiron this Saturday as bowl season continues.
Cure Bowl
Liberty Flames v. Georgia Southern Eagles (-5)
Moneyline: Flames +170, Eagles -195
Betting Total: 60.5 points
Time (Eastern), TV: 2:30 p.m., CBSSN
Bettors should expect points aplenty in Saturday afternoon’s Cure Bowl as the Liberty Flames (7-5) and the Georgia Southern Eagles (7-5) meet at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, FL.
Liberty became bowl eligible in just their second year in the FBS and their first year with Hugh Freeze at the helm. Senior quarterback Stephen Calvert showed significant improvement this season, seeing improvements in completion percentage (54.7 to 58.8), yards per attempt (7.0 to 8.6) and TD-INT ratio (21-18 to 26-5). His passing offense, ranked 21st in the country, should have success throughout against Georgia Southern’s 91st-rated pass stoppers.
The Eagles will take the opposite approach on offense, relying on their ninth-rated rushing attack led by the junior running back tandem of J.D. King and Wesley Kennedy III. Dual-threat signal caller Shai Werts can also contribute on the ground against the Flames’ 99th-ranked rush defense. Trends bettors should note that the Over is 4-1 in the last five overall games for both Liberty and Georgia Southern.
The play: Liberty v. Georgia State Over
Las Vegas Bowl
Boise State Broncos v. Washington Huskies (-3.5)
Moneyline: Broncos +155, Huskies -175
Betting Total: 50 points
Time (Eastern), TV: 7:30 p.m., ABC
Sam Boyd Stadium hosts the annual Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday night. The Mountain West-winning Boise State Broncos (12-1) are surprising underdogs against the disappointing Washington Huskies (7-5) in this year’s rendition. The troops may rally around Huskies head coach Chris Petersen in his final game for Washington, but the Broncos’ superior play this season and in recent bowl games makes them the more enticing option.
Boise State used their high-powered 14th-ranked scoring offense to win their final six games, including the Mountain West championship over Hawaii. Senior signal caller Jaylon Henderson went 20-for-29 for 212 yards with two TDs while freshman tailback George Holani added 67 yards on the ground. This unit should be effective against the Huskies’ 23rd-rated scoring defense. The Broncos have covered in each of their last seven games as an underdog and are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 bowl games.
Washington’s offense woke up with 31 points in the Apple Cup against Washington State after being held to fewer than 20 points against Colorado and Oregon State in prior weeks. Their quarterback-running back tandem of Jacob Eason and Salvon Ahmed will be tested by Boise State’s 24th-rated scoring defense. It’s hard to have faith in the Huskies with their 1-4 spread record over their last five bowl games.
The play: Boise State spread
