Bowl Season: Prop Betting Odds

Handicapping games in bowl season can be as tough as a two-dollar steak at times. Which players are sitting out? Which teams are “motivated” to win? Which coaches have already been canned but are still on the sidelines? How does a team’s regular-season competition compare to another conference’s? Sometimes a line looks too good to pass on and it blows up in your face.

Well, thankfully, Bovada has another option for you to wager on that can take out the tricky handicapping of many unknowns. The online sportsbook has released a series of prop odds that take individual matchups out of the equation and I’m going to outline a couple that I like below.

Will There be a Shutout in a Bowl Game?

What a dangerous prop this is, and you’re almost rooting for something of a boring game to see a completely one-sided beatdown if you bet the “Yes” at +170. And that’s exactly what I will be doing. There has been at least one shutout in each of the last four bowl seasons, including two last year.

There are a couple of games that have caught my eye that could have the potential to produce a goose egg. The first one is App State vs UAB in the New Orleans Bowl. The Blazers put together a 9-4 season but only averaged 23.6 points per game, which is the 31st-lowest in college football and came against the second-easiest strength of schedule in the nation. App State surrendered just 20.2 ppg to rank 22nd-best in Division I and had four games in which it gave up seven or fewer points.

The second is the Orange Bowl between Florida and Virginia. The Gators had the seventh-best defense in college football this year, and allowed the 17th-fewest passing yards per game at 192. Florida feasted on less offensively talented squads, blanking UT Martin, Towson and Vanderbilt, while also holding Missouri and Tennessee to less than a major. Considering this game is in Florida, the Gators may have a slight edge in their home state and their defense could end the year with a bang.

Most Points Scored by One Team in a Bowl Game

I’m going with the favorite in this prop and that is UNDER 64.5 points at -150. Since the turn of the millennium, there have only been nine bowl games in which a team racked up 60 or more points, and only three of those had a score over 64.5 points. Furthermore, it has only happened once since 2012 – last year, when Houston hung 70 on Army in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Now, there are a couple of games that could get out of hand and put this wager at risk. The first is App State vs UAB in the New Orleans Bowl and another is UCF vs Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl. Both games could be lopsided with the Mountaineers currently sitting at 17-point favorites and the Knights at -17.5. However, the most points App State put up this year was 56, which it did three times, against Charlotte, Coastal Carolina and Georgia State. UCF cracked the 60-point plateau against Florida A&M and Temple but never surpassed 64.5 points.

Here’s a look at the full list of prop odds for the 2019-20 college football bowl season:

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada

Odds as of December 13 at Bovada