College Football Bowl Betting Preview

A pair of ranked teams will meet for the first time this bowl season on Saturday night as the No. 23 Texas Longhorns take on the No. 13 Oregon State Beavers in the Alamo Bowl.

The game in San Antonio highlights this week of college football betting at the sportsbooks.

And Oregon State supporters will be looking for their team to continue their solid ATS run on Saturday, with the Beavers going 8-4 ATS (9-3 SU) during the regular season as a lucrative option on the college football odds.

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Oregon State has also covered in two of their last three games, including beating a massive 50-point spread in a 77-3 rout of Nicholls State last time out. Oregon State is favored by 2 points for the Alamo Bowl

Texas went 8-4 SU during the regular season but just 5-7 ATS, and they couldn't cover a 10.5-point spread on the road in a 42-24 loss to Kansas State in their most recent game.

On the college football betting trends the favorites have managed to cover the posted spread in four of the past five editions of the Alamo Bowl, while Oregon State and Texas are a combined 16-2 SU in their past 18 bowl games for their supporters.

The other four bowl games on the college football betting slate for Saturday this week are Rice vs. Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl, West Virginia vs. Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl, TCU vs. Michigan State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, and Navy vs. Arizona State in the Fight Hunger Bowl.

The Sun Devils are the biggest favorites of the day, as they're listed at -14.5 on the college football odds at 5Dimes. Air Force is favored by 1.5 points, West Virginia by 3.5 points, and TCU by 2.5 points on the day.

College football action kicks off on Wednesday this week as Western Kentucky plays their first-ever bowl game in the Little Caesars Bowl against Central Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit. [ Latest lines at Bovada ]

The Hilltoppers are the 5-point favorites at 5Dimes, but the underdogs have paid out in four of the past five editions of this bowl matchup. Western Kentucky was 7-5 SU and 8-4 ATS on the season; Central Michigan was 6-6 SU and 5-7 ATS.

On Thursday ranked teams hit the gridiron as No. 24 San Jose State takes on Bowling Green in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., and No. 17 UCLA battles Baylor in the Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

The Spartans are listed as 7.5-point favorites at 5Dimes against the Falcons, while the Bruins/Bears matchup is pegged as a pick'em. The other bowl matchup on Thursday has Cincinnati listed as a 7.5-point favorite against Duke in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte; the Bearcats have just two ATS victories over their past nine bowl games.

Finally, Friday's bowl schedule has Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe (-7.5) in the Independence Bowl, Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech (-2.5) in the Russell Athletic Bowl, and Minnesota vs. Texas Tech (-13) in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The Gophers/Raiders game is at Houston's Reliant Stadium on Friday night, and the team favored to win the Meineke Car Care Bowl has gone 8-1-2 ATS over the past 11 editions of the contest.