2023-24 college football bowl season odds, spread picks, trends: Proven Vegas expert unveils best bets

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The 2023-24 bowl schedule offers three matchups between the Big Ten and the SEC on New Year's Day, starting with the ReliaQuest Bowl. LSU vs. Wisconsin has the Tigers as 9-point favorites, per the latest SportsLine consensus college football odds, and then the Citrus Bowl features No. 21 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Iowa. The Vols are favored by 5.5 points, and those two games will then give way to the headline College Football Playoff matchup of No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. ET.

This is the only of the three matchups in which the SEC team is an underdog as the Wolverines are 2-point favorites, according to the college football bowl lines. Which conference will reign supreme on New Year's Day, and who should get your college football picks in each individual matchup? Before making any college football bowl picks on those games or others, be sure to see the college football betting guide from legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall.

For years Vegas-based Marshall was synonymous with The Gold Sheet, the famed sports betting newsletter. With a background in play-by-play work and sports information while in college, Marshall joined TGS in 1981 when hired by the legendary Mort Olshan and served as executive editor for many years. He now supplies his unique and colorful brand of football and basketball analysis to SportsLine members.

An in-demand guest on numerous sports talk radio and TV shows across the country, Bruce's vast array of editorial work has been featured in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the New York Post and many other outlets. He has won various handicapping titles and also is working on several book projects.

Now, using his Tech Corner technique, Marshall has turned his attention to the latest college football odds for bowl season and evaluated each matchup. Head here to see every pick.

Top college football predictions for bowl season

One of the top college football picks Marshall is recommending for bowl season: No. 13 LSU (-9) covers against Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl at noon ET on New Year's Day. The Tigers are 8-4 against the spread this season, with the eight covers ranking in the top 10 in all of FBS, entering bowl season. They've covered in three straight, and in six of the last seven, while Wisconsin has just one ATS victory over its last four games. Additionally, Brian Kelly is 7-2 ATS in non-conference games during his two years at LSU, while Luke Fickell is just 2-2 ATS when the Badgers play outside the Big Ten.

While LSU will be without Heisman winner Jayden Daniels as he prepares for the NFL Draft, the Tigers' offense is still miles ahead of Wisconsin's. The Badgers rank 103rd out of 133 FBS teams in scoring, and they averaged just 16.7 points over their last seven games. That's a point total that LSU eclipsed in an individual quarter in seven of its last eight games, including a 21-point fourth quarter in its last contest versus Texas A&M.

The Over is 11-1 for the Tigers this season, and Marshall sees them controlling possession and dictating the flow of the game. With that, he has LSU (-10) covering, and he also likes the Over (57.5) in that matchup. See which other picks to make here.

How to make college football picks for bowl season

Marshall has evaluated every other matchup and he's backing a team on a 10-4 roll against the spread. Get betting analysis for each matchup at SportsLine.

So what college football bowl picks can you make with confidence, and what team on a 10-4 spread run should you back? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams to back, all from the legendary Vegas expert who has won multiple handicapping titles, and find out.