After a dud in Round 1, the College Football Playoff is back with four quarterfinal matchups. The Fiesta Bowl will kick off the quarterfinals on Tuesday night followed by three more games on New Year's Day to decide the final four.
We went 3-2 with my picks in Round 1 games and bowl season has been a success as we inch our way back to .500 on the year.
Reminder that each of these games is a New Year’s Six Bowl and will be played at “neutral” sites. Here are the best bets in College Football Playoff quarterfinals:
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook | Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER | Season Record: (76-84)
Boise State +11.5 (-114) vs Penn State
This spread is just too many points in my mind for Ashton Jeanty and Boise State. With all the first round blowouts we saw last time out, this game just has to be close or the college football world may explode.
In all seriousness Boise showed they can compete with the big dogs when they played Oregon losing in a shootout, and Penn State's offense is nowhere near as explosive as the Ducks.
The Broncos are no stranger to the Fiesta Bowl playing in it three times before and winning outright as an underdog each time. I expect Jeanty to be running with a little bit more juice in this one after losing the Heisman, and QB Maddux Madsen to step up when needed, like he has all year long, to keep Boise in this game.
Arizona State +12.5 (-110) vs Texas
I like this one for many of the same reasons as the previous pick. I know I am such a sucker for the brick house of a running back Cam Skattebo, but he and ASU are hot and have treated me right as of late.
The Sun Devils will be without their top wide receiver in Jordyn Tyson, but they fared well without him in the Big 12 Championship and the three weeks off should have been plenty of time to figure it out at that position.
On the other side Texas’ offense finally showed back up next week and Clemson still should have covered the spread in that game.
Whether it’s a shootout or low scoring battle, I like Kenny Dillingham’s team to keep this one within two touchdowns.
Ohio State -2.5 (-110) vs Oregon
I have gone back and forth multiple times on this game but have ultimately landed on the Buckeyes. I’m a strong believer in taking a team to win in a rematch when they lost the first matchup, especially when it was a close game like we saw in Eugene back in October.
Most notably though, I see this Ohio State team as out to prove many, most of whom are their own fans, wrong about what they thought of them after losing to Michigan.
I’ll ride with a team who has that mindset in this Rose Bowl that should once again be an instant classic.
Notre Dame Moneyline (-102) vs Georgia
Both of these teams have been dealing with injury issues for most of the season. Georgia will be without starting QB Carson Beck in this one after undergoing surgery on his elbow, but that is not the main reason I am taking ND.
I simply do not get all the hype and love around Georgia this year and them coming into the playoff as a favorite to win it all; honestly sometimes I feel as if I have watched a completely different Bulldogs team then a lot of other people this season.
Now yes they did beat Texas twice and did smack Clemson around but that was week 1. Other than that: they struggled mightily against very bad Kentucky and Mississippi State teams, did not impress in a win against Florida, got smacked in the mouth by Ole Miss, put together one of the worst halves of Georgia football we have seen in a long time in a loss against a Saban-less Alabama team who missed the playoff, and needed eight overtimes to squeak by a mediocre Georgia Tech team from the ACC.
Honestly having Beck not playing scares me more with this pick as he has overall not played well this year and Georgia will now likely rely more on the run game which they are very good at.
Now stepping aside from all the Georgia negatives, the Irish have done nothing but pound teams since that NIU loss, and I really like their defense to lead the way for them in a program defining win in the Sugar Bowl.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change | Frank Sciarroni is 76-84 ATS in CFB.