After a long and grueling regular season, the college football postseason is finally here. I went 1-1 in the column last week — bringing me to 26-20 (about 57%) since Week 2. I’ve said all season that some regression was to be expected after we cashed at an unsustainable 63% rate a year ago, but we finished the regular season strong, so let’s replicate that effort this weekend!
The second full weekend of Bowl season is here and we have a compelling slate ahead of us, including fun games at the Group of 5 and Power 5 level. With the weekend rapidly approaching, here is a look at my best bets for the first weekend of bowl season. And remember, you can check out all of our NCAAF predictions for the action.
Northwestern Wildcats +6.5 over Utah Utes (-110)
One of the better spots on the board this week features a Northwestern team that should be extremely motivated to finish off its remarkable 2023 season with a flourish going up against a Utah team that is just trying to make it out of this season unscathed at this point. The Utes have dealt with remarkably poor injury luck all season long, including not having quarterback Cam Rising available for the entirety of the campaign. Along with Rising’s health, the Utes also suffered a tremendous number of injuries on both sides of the ball, including at running back, wide receiver, tight end, and in their defensive secondary. There’s no telling what the ceiling could have been for Utah if it was fully healthy this season, but Kyle Wittingham’s team will have to settle for an underwhelming 8-4 campaign.