College Football Betting Trends for 2023 Bowl Season (Trust Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio) in Cure Bowl?)
By Reed Wallach
The 2023 college football bowl season is here, one of the most fun betting events of the entire sports calendar.
There are plenty of different angles to betting bowl season as games get underway on Saturday, December 16th, and we're here to get you set with a historical look at some teams on the slate as well as a rule of thumb for betting bowl games. Can Chuck Martin of Miami (Ohio) keep the RedHawks on track in its bowl game against Appalachian State and cover? History says so.
Here's some betting trends to know ahead of bowl season, focusing on the first week of games!
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Back Miami (Ohio) as underdogs?
The MAC champs are getting no love from oddsmakers in its bowl game against Appalachian State, pushing towards a touchdown underdog against the Sun Belt runners-up in the Cure Bowl.
However, are we sure we should fade Chuck Martin and the RedHawks? Martin's teams are 4-0 against the spread in bowl games and the team bolsters a significant defensive and special teams edge in this game.
Can Miami pounce on a few mistakes and play some ball control to win this one, similar to how it got past Toledo in the conference championship game? The RedHawks have a staggering special teams edge in this one as well, bolstering the best special teams unit in the country per PFF while App. State is 117th.
Now that we are pushing towards a touchdown, I'm more attracted to the RedHawks as a live underdog.
Yes, Miami (Ohio) is onto its third-string quarterback in Henry Hesson after backup Aveon Smith hit the portal, but this team is a defensive-minded group, top 20 in EPA/Play and Smith completed only six passes in the MAC title win. Can Martin get another cover in bowl season?
Fade Georgia Southern as favorites?
Georgia Southern has been one of the most bet sides of the bowl season, shifting from a near-field goal underdog to a more than a three pothree-pointint favorite in the Myrtle Beach Bowl! Most of this is due to the mass exodus on the Bobcats offense, which will start freshman third-stringer Parker Navaro and a third-string running back as well.
However, Eagles head coach Clay Helton has historically struggled in bowl games, failing to get his teams on track for postseason matchups, going 1-5 ATS in bowl games. Georgia Southern fell apart at the end of the season, losing four straight after a 6-2 start to the season, allowing 38 or more in three of those four losses. Will the team get up for this bowl game despite playing a skeleton Ohio offense?
History says no.
Double Digit Underdogs are Profitable in Bowl Season
The lone double-digit favorite on the first week of bowl season is UTSA laying nearly two touchdowns against Marshall, who is starting freshman quarterback Cole Pennington. You can read our full betting preview here, but is this worth plugging your nose and taking the big underdog?
Dating back to 2005, doubldouble-digite digit underdogs are 54-40 against the spread! While it seems like these teams are set to get smoked, the market is typically overrated come kickoff as teams pile in on the likely winning, generating some value on the big pooch.
It also helps Marshall's case that UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor has lost all three bowl games in his coaching career and is 1-2 against the number in those games. After a flirtation with other jobs at the Power Five level, can the Thundering Herd make the Roadrunners sweat in the Frisco Bowl?
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Track Reed's bets here!