BetQL Editors' College Football Bowl Picks For Friday, Dec. 16

College Football Bowl Picks

College football bowl season opens Friday with the Bahamas Bowl and the Cure Bowl, and that means plenty of tough decisions for bettors. To help you make the best bets, the BetQL editors have picked a few of their favorite NCAAF bets below using key trends and the BetQL model's data.

One trend to note is that the BetQL college football model finished the regular season strong, going 63-35 (65%) on all picks rated ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and higher in the last 30 days for a total return of $1,625 on $100 bets! BetQL subscribers can see more betting trends and all of our best bets with star ratings for every game.

Take advantage of BetQL's 3-day free trial and see all of this week's best college football bets, plus what the model is projecting for all of this week's NFL, NBA, NHL and college basketball games! Start your free trial today!

Kate Constable: UTSA vs. Troy Under 55.5

Both of these teams come into this game having won their last 10 games. This is going to be a close one that comes down to the wire, which is why I’m going to stay away from a side and instead target the under. Troy’s defense has been its strength all season. Other than their game against Ole Miss, the Trojans held all opponents to 19 points or fewer. That’s going to be a tall task against UTSA, which has arguably the best mid-major offense, but I like their chances to limit Road Runners QB Frank Harris due to the fact that the Trojans rank 19th in total yards given up. This is a battle between an explosive offensive and a powerful defense, and I like the defense to step up on Friday.

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Dan Karpuc: UTSA +110 vs. Troy
Under coach Jeff Traylor, UTSA has gone 13-1 SU against teams that have a completion percentage of 58% or better and Troy has completed 63.1% of their passes this season, which makes this elite trend active. Not only that, but under Traylor, UTSA has gone 9-1 SU versus teams that average 5.9-plus yards per play; 9-1 SU when the total is between 49.5 and 56; 9-1 SU coming off a double-digit point win over a conference rival; and 11-2 SU after outgaining an opponent by 125-plus yards in their previous game. As a lover of historical betting trends, that’s more than enough to get me excited about backing the underdog here.

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Brad Pinkerton: Miami (OH) +11 vs. UAB

As detailed in our Bowl Game Betting Guide, UAB went 2-4 SU and 1-6 ATS down the stretch, while Miami (OH) won three of its final four games to become bowl-eligible. Not saying that the Redhawks will pull the upset here, but there's enough momentum on their side to cover +11. Plus, it's worth noting that UAB was 0-6 ATS away from home this season, including 0-4 as the favorite in that scenario. That makes asking them to cover -11 a tall task, so I'll take Miami plus the points here.

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Here is my play for Friday, using the strategy of going over the lowest game total and under the highest game total (can only lose a maximum of one leg there), and taking the most points on both teams, which in this case is the UAB moneyline (can only lose one leg here too); you can apply this strategy to any football game, including NFL:

Miami (OH) vs. UAB Over 35.5
Miami (OH) vs. UAB Under 55.5
Miami (OH) +20.5
UAB moneyline
OGP Odds: +220

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BOWL BETTING GUIDES: DEC. 16-17 | DEC. 19-24 | DEC. 26-28 | DEC. 29-31 | CFP GAMES | JAN. 2

Take advantage of BetQL's 3-day free trial and see all of this week's best college football bets, plus what the model is projecting for all of this week's NFL, NBA, NHL and college basketball games! Start your free trial today!