We’re still early in the bowl season, but it’s already been quite the ride! From high-scoring affairs to the grind-it-out ones, if what we’ve seen so far is a preview for how the rest of the games will go, then we’re in for a treat.

On Friday, December 20th, the Ohio Bobcats meet with the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the 2024 Cure Bowl. After that is the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl, where we’ll see the Tulane Green Wave battle the Florida Gators.

 

 

 

Both games start relatively early for a Friday, with the Cure Bowl first kicking off at Noon EST. Let’s tap into this week’s version of CFB best bets for the games on 12/20, plus, at the end, I’ll lay out my top college football props for the first round of CFP matchups!

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets This Week

It's essential to check the opt-outs and transfers of teams before placing any CFB best bets on college football bowl games, as we've all come to realize. This information will definitely be crucial for the matchups between Ohio and JSU, as well as Tulane and UF. 

It promises to be a great day to relax and enjoy watching these four teams compete before the College Football Playoff kicks off later that evening! Here are my CFB picks for this week, featuring an Ohio vs. Jacksonville prediction, Tulane vs. Florida prediction and more!

 

 

 

Ohio vs. Jacksonville State Prediction: Friday, December 20th

We get a fun little matchup to start the day’s CFB best bets with the Bobcats taking on the Gamecocks. Ohio has a really solid team with ZERO players (yes, not a single one) yet in the transfer portal, which means they have all their key guys ready to go.

On the Jacksonville State side of things, they’ll be struggling because they’ve lost several important defensive players, including standout safety Fred Perry and top edge rusher Reginald Hughes. Ohio's offense, led by quarterback Parker Navarro, has been on fire lately, scoring an average of 37.8 points in their last five games.

Navarro is a dual-threat quarterback with 15 rushing touchdowns, and he works well with running back Alan Tyus, who has over 1,100 rushing yards this season. The Bobcats’ balanced offensive approach should do well against a Gamecocks defense that ranks 87th in total yards allowed as is and is now missing key players in the secondary.

Although Jacksonville State has a strong rushing attack, which is ranked 2nd in FBS, it might push Ohio to keep scoring quickly. Given Ohio's recent success on offense and Jacksonville State's defensive issues, taking the Bobcats to score more than 30.5 points seems like a wise choice.

 

 

 

Tulane vs. Florida Prediction: Friday, December 20th

This is the game I’m a little more unsure about. Tulane QB Darian Mensah is off to greener pastures, but head coach Jon Sumrall signed an extension to stick around. Truthfully, even without Mensah, I’m not that worried about the Green Wave offense. It’s the other side of the ball I’m concerned with.

They’ll be missing key players like Matthew Fobbs-White and Parker Petersen, who have decided to transfer. This gives Florida's offense a chance to shine, as QB DJ Lagway has a shot to really make his mark heading into next season. The Gators also still have a good running game and some new guys stepping up in the passing game as well.

Tulane backup Ty Thompson is definitely a step down from Mensah, but he’s shown he can take advantage of Florida’s secondary. With the Gators missing some of their important defensive backs, Tulane’s offense, specifically running back Makai Hughes, should be able to score.

All these things given, it looks like this matchup will have a lot of scoring, and both teams will likely push the total points over 49.5 to finish off our CFB best bets.

 

 

 

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