Tennessee has the opportunity to become the first SEC team to win a bowl game when the Volunteers battle the Purdue Boilermakers in the 2021 Music City Bowl on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. The SEC is 0-4 thus far in bowl season, but the Volunteers are expected to have the edge with Thursday’s matchup being held at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. According to the latest college football odds from Caesars Sportsbook, Tennessee is being listed as six-point favorites against Purdue.
Tennessee vs. Purdue is just one of four bowl games set to be played on Thursday, Dec. 30. The action gets underway with North Carolina vs. South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at 11:30 a.m. ET. The other two matchups on Thursday include Wisconsin vs. Arizona State (10:30 p.m. ET) and a top-15 showdown between No. 11 Michigan State and No. 13 Pittsburgh (7 p.m. ET). Before locking in any college football picks for Thursday’s action, be sure to see the college football bowl predictions and best bets for Dec. 30 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 — and his best bets have helped bring in huge returns. He debuted with SportsLine in 2017 and has delivered in a big way on his college football picks.
Over the past two-plus years, he is 102-86 in his popular best bets column at SportsLine. Anybody who has been following him is way up.
Now, he has turned his attention to the college football odds from Caesars for bowl action on Thursday 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 now.
Top college football expert predictions for Dec. 30, 2021
One of Sallee’s top college football picks for bowl action on Thursday: He’s backing the under (55.5) to hit in the 2021 Peach Bowl matchup between No. 11 Michigan State and No. 13 Pittsburgh.
These teams were two of the biggest surprises in college football this season. The Spartans, who won just two games last season, reeled off 10 wins in 2021, which included victories over Michigan, Miami and Penn State. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh won its first-ever ACC Championship Game, a 45-21 victory over Wake Forest.
However, both rosters are dealing with big-name players who are set to miss Thursday’s contest. Sallee looked at the trends and the rosters for these two teams and sees a game that will struggle to reach the 55.5-point total.
“The Panthers won’t have Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett at quarterback and the Spartans will tee it up without star running back Kenneth Walker III,” Sallee told SportsLine. “Those two facts in and of themselves are enough to be skeptical about this one. This will be one of those ultra-sloppy bowl games that serves more of a comedic value than anything else.”
How to make college football picks for Dec. 30, 2021
Sallee has also found two other college football picks he’s high on, including one on a favorite who is “far more equipped” than its opponent. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for college football bowl action on Thursday? And which college football picks need to be part of your parlays? Visit SportsLine now to see Barrett Sallee’s college football best bets, all from one of the top analysts in the nation who has crushed his picks for SportsLine.