College football bowl and 2026 CFP picks, predictions: Legendary Vegas expert reveals best bets today

Legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall reveals the best betting values for the 2025-26 bowl and College Football Playoff schedule

By Daniel Lewis

Jan 2, 2026 at 8:43 am ET • 3 min read

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The college football bowl schedule comes to a conclusion on Friday, Jan. 2 There are four standard bowl games, which includes No. 17 Arizona, which will be the last ranked team to take the field during the 2025-26 college football bowl season. The Wildcats are at -1.5 to utilize college football bets on as they face SMU in the Holiday Bowl on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Other college football odds for Friday include Texas State (-17.5) vs. Rice in the Armed Forces Bowl, Navy (-7.5) vs. Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl and Mississippi State (-3) vs. Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

The College Football Playoff semifinals are now set as well. It'll be Miami (-2.5) vs. Ole Miss on Thursday, Jan. 8 and then Oregon vs. Indiana (-3.5) the following day. Before locking in any college football picks on those games or any others during bowl season, be sure to see the college football betting guide from legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall.

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For years Vegas-based Marshall was synonymous with The Gold Sheet, the famous sports betting newsletter. He has also won various handicapping titles and also is working on several book projects. Marshall crushed his 2024 college football betting picks, going 64-43 and returning more than 16 units, finishing the season as SportsLine's top expert. He enters this week on a 53-42 run on his official SportsLine college football picks as well. Anyone following could have seen strong returns.

Now, using his Tech Corner technique that evaluates all the trends, Marshall has turned his attention to the latest college football odds for every bowl and CFP game and evaluated each matchup. You can head to SportsLine to see every pick.

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Top college football bowl predictions

One of the top college football picks Marshall is recommending for the remaining 2025-26 bowl schedule: He is backing Navy (-7.5) to cover against Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Bearcats have been decimated by opt outs and the transfer portal, with the most notable absence being coveted quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who is headed to the portal.

Navy, which will have virtually its entire roster available, won three straight to close the regular season, while Cincinnati lost four straight entering this matchup.

"These two had met most recently as 2022, when Cincy won 20-10 but didn't cover (-18.5) when both were members of American, and before Bearcats moved to Big 12," Marshall told SportsLine. "The Midshipmen have won last three and covered in last seven bowls -- all but one of those under Ken Niumatalolo before Brian Newberry beat Oklahoma last year." Go to SportsLine to see all of Marshall's picks, and bet that pick right here:

How to make college football bowl and CFP picks

Marshall has evaluated every other matchup, and he's backing a team that has covered in three straight and eight of its last 12. Get betting analysis for each matchup at SportsLine, and use promo code CHAMPIONSHIP to get your first month at SportsLine for $1.

So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and what alarming trends do you need to know about this week? 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.