Cotton Bowl Odds, Trends & Betting History

The Cotton Bowl is back and will be one of the final bowl games of the college football season, so it’s a must-watch! Formally known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, this year’s game will welcome the new year on January 2 at 1 p.m. ET. The No. 8 USC Trojans (11-2) will go head-to-head with the No. 14 Tulane Green Wave (11-2) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

The Trojans, though missing out on the College Football Playoff after Week 14’s 47-24 loss to the Utah Utes, will prepare for their 55th bowl performance after a two-year hiatus. USC’s last bowl appearance came in December 2019 in the Credit Union Holiday Bowl that ended in a 49-24 defeat to the Iowa State Cyclones.

The Green Wave will play in their first Cotton Bowl and just their 15th bowl matchup in school history. Tulane finishing the regular season with its best record since 1998 and will look to build off its 45-28 victory over the UCF Knights in the AAC championship game. 

Cotton Bowl BOUND ‼️🔥 @GreenWaveFB pic.twitter.com/3xg490erhd

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 5, 2022

We’ve got you covered for all you need to know to bet on this season’s Cotton Bowl game, including odds, notable betting trends and the betting history of the annual event. That way you can guarantee you’re making the most informed best bets for your Tulane vs USC picks. 

For a complete statistical breakdown of the Cotton Bowl odds, see our Tulane vs USC Matchup Report, or you can check out our College Football Bowl Schedule for all NCAAF games this winter.

2022 Cotton Bowl Odds

According to online sportsbook Sportsbook, the Trojans enter as small 2.5-point favorites ahead of kickoff at AT&T Stadium. USC is 7-5 ATS when favored this season. Tulane was an underdog only twice this year, during Week 7 and Week 10, and covered in each instance by winning outright.

The total is set at 63 points. The OVER has hit in USC’s last seven matchups, with all but two surpassing a 62-point mark. Likewise, the OVER has hit in six of Tulane’s last seven appearances, though only one of those games exceeded a 60-point total. 

2022 Cotton Bowl Betting Trends:

Betting History Of The Cotton Bowl

The inaugural Cotton Bowl was played at the Texas State Fair Grounds in Texas on January 1, 1937, between the TCU Horned Frogs and Marquette Golden Avalanche with TCU winning 16-6 in front of a crowd holding about 17,000 spectators. After 1960, the Marquette football department changed its name to the Golden Eagles, perhaps because birds are more intimidating than weather phenomena.

This bowl was the brainchild of J. Curtis Sanford, a Dallas oilman. The oilman attended the 1936 Rose Bowl featuring SMU and Stanford and decided his city should have a game like that. He paid for the bowl out of his own pocket, probably with the change he found in his sofa since oil barons make major bank. It wasn’t until 1938 that Sanford received profit, courtesy of the 37,000 people in the stands, following the bowl matchup featuring the Rice Owls defeating the Colorado Buffaloes in a 28-14 tilt.

In 2010, the game moved from Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas to AT&T Stadium in Arlington – home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, better known as America’s Team. In 1941, the bowl began an affiliation to take the champion of the Southwest Conference (SWC). The Big 12 had a brief stint as an affiliate from 1997 to 2013.

Upon the death of the BCS prior to the 2014 NCAA football season, the Cotton Bowl became a member of the New Year’s Six and hosted a College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Michigan State following the 2015 season. The game ended in a 38-0 blowout for the Crimson Tide. Now, the bowl game is scheduled to host a semifinal once every three years, with the next being held in 2024. The years in between include two top squads who missed the four-team bracket. 

Memorable Cotton Bowl Moments

Many of the more memorable Cotton Bowls starred Notre Dame. In the January 1, 1970 edition, No. 1 Texas beat the No. 9 Irish. Even though they were quarterbacked by Joe Theismann, the Irish lost to the Longhorns. He would be fine and go on to play in the NFL and CFL, and own Theismann’s Restaurant and Bar, a restaurant and bar. In 1978, a fifth-ranked Irish team, this time helmed by the other famous Joe (Montana), routed No. 1 Texas and Heisman Trophy Sportsbook Earl Campbell 38-10, giving Notre Dame a national title. The next year, the legend of Montana – the QB, not the state – was truly born. Joe led the team back from a 34-12 fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Longhorns 35-34.

The favorite covered in five of the seven Cotton Bowls from 2010 to 2016. Alabama’s 10.5-point spread over Michigan State in the 2015 game is tied for the largest number this century. In the 2020 Cotton Bowl, Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators were embarrassed by Spencer Rattler’s Oklahoma Sooners. Entering the Cotton Bowl as 3-point favorites, the Sooners ended up beating Florida by 35 points in a 55-20 victory.

Last season, the Alabama Crimson Tide sailed past the Cincinnati Bearcats 27-6 in a CFP semifinal matchup in the Cotton Bowl. The Tide fell in the national championship game to the Georgia Bulldogs 33-18.

Cotton Bowl Bites

• The Cotton Bowl has seen appearances by top-rated head coaches Bear Bryant (Kentucky), Darrell Royal (Texas) and Ara Parseghian (Notre Dame).

• The 1947 iteration was referred to as the Ice Bowl since it was very cold that day and neither LSU nor Arkansas was able to put up any points. The final score was 0-0. Sorry to anyone who bet on that game.

• Texas has the most appearances with 22 (11-10-1). Baylor has only three appearances and lost each one (0-3). Way harsh.

For updated online betting lines and great props for all bowl games, head over to Sportsbook today.

How To Bet On Cotton Bowl Odds

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a first-time bettor, you have the opportunity to make some cash betting on Cotton Bowl odds. These are the bets we recommend making:

• A moneyline bet requires you to pick a Sportsbook 

• An OVER/UNDER or totals bet involves gambling on the total combined score from both teams and deciding if it will be OVER or UNDER a certain amount

• Point spread betting is a wager placed on whether the favorite or the underdog will win or lose by a set number of points

• Props are bets made on individual players (how many rushing yards will a certain player have, how many sacks will another player have, etc.), and things like which team will win the coin toss

• Parlays give you the chance to bundle two or more bets on one betting slip

• Go to our How To Bet On College Football page for more information on Cotton Bowl betting odds