College football bowl games are a staple of the holiday season and the 2023-24 bowl season kicks off with seven games on Saturday, Dec. 16. The 2023 Myrtle Beach Bowl will start the party as Georgia Southern takes on Ohio at Brooks Stadium in Conway, SC, for an 11 a.m. ET kickoff. The Eagles are 3-point favorites in the latest college football bowl odds via SportsLine consensus.
Later on, UCLA will play a virtual home game in the 2023 LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium against Boise State. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Bruins are 5.5-point favorites over the Broncos in the college football bowl lines, but is either side worth adding to your college football bets and parlays for Saturday? Before locking in any college football picks on those bowl games or others, be sure to see the top Dec. 16 college football expert picks, predictions and best bets from Barrett Sallee.
Sallee is a true insider -- a CBS Sports analyst, SiriusXM host, Heisman voter and consistently one of the top CBS Sports experts picking games against the spread. He debuted with SportsLine in 2017 and has delivered his three best college football picks to members each week.
Now, he has turned his attention to the college football bowl odds and is sharing his top three best bets over at SportsLine. If you parlay them together, you could be looking at a return of around 6-1. Get his top college football picks at SportsLine.
Top college football expert predictions for Dec. 16 bowls
One of Sallee's top college football bowl picks for Saturday: Georgia Southern covers as a 3-point favorite over Ohio in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Bowl at 11 a.m. ET. Ohio went 9-3 on the season and earned a win over a Power Five program (Iowa State) while Georgia Southern lost its last four to finish at 6-6, but Sallee is expecting roster churn to play a significant role here.
Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke has entered the transfer portal after five seasons in Athens where he threw for 7,651 yards and 50 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. Rourke also rushed for 828 yards and 11 touchdowns during his career and his absence is sure to be felt, with Parker Navarro earning the starting role after throwing 10 passes all season.
Meanwhile, Georgia Southern quarterback Davis Brin has a history in Myrtle Beach. He played in the 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl while quarterbacking Tulsa, throwing for 285 yards and two touchdowns en route to game MVP honors in a 30-17 win over Old Dominion. Brin threw for 3,431 yards and 22 touchdowns this season and Sallee predicts that his aggressive style will pay dividends on Saturday. See what other picks Sallee likes at SportsLine.
How to make Dec. 16 college football bowl picks
Sallee has also found two other college football picks he loves, including going Under the total in a game that he expects to be "an old-school slug fest." You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for Dec. 16 bowl action, and which total is way off? Visit SportsLine now to see Barrett Sallee's college football best bets, all from one of the top analysts in the nation, and find out.
