Three Power Five teams will be in action during the Saturday, Dec. 23 bowl schedule, but it's a Group of Five matchup that might be the most intriguing. Air Force and James Madison meet in the Armed Forces Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET, and James Madison, coming off an 11-1 season, is the 1-point favorite in the latest college football bowl odds via SportsLine consensus. Air Force opened the season 8-0, but stumbled down the stretch to a four-game losing streak.
The college football bowl lines involving Power Five teams are Duke (+7) vs. Troy in the Birmingham Bowl at noon ET and Utah (-6.5) vs. Northwestern in the Las Vegas Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET. Before locking in any college football picks on those bowl games or others, be sure to see the top Dec. 23 college football expert picks, predictions and best bets 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. He debuted with SportsLine in 2017 and has delivered his three best college football picks to members each week.
Now, he has turned his attention to the college football bowl odds 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 at SportsLine.
Top college football expert predictions for Dec. 23 bowls
One of Sallee's top college football bowl picks for Saturday: He is going Under 44 in the 2023 Birmingham Bowl between Duke and Troy at noon ET.
Duke's extremely promising start to the season was derailed by injuries to starting quarterback Riley Leonard. He's since entered the transfer portal and committed to Notre Dame, while Duke head coach Mike Elko is headed to Texas A&M for the same position.
Troy's roster is more intact, but the Trojans are dealing with the loss of head coach Jon Sumrall, who is heading to Tulane. Both teams are stronger defensively than they are offensively, and Sallee sees the defenses dominating this game.
"Toss in what could be some chilly weather in Birmingham and you have the perfect recipe for a sloppy game," Sallee told SportsLine. See what other picks Sallee likes at SportsLine.
How to make Dec. 23 college football bowl picks
Sallee has also found two other college football picks he loves, including fading a team he's completely lost trust in. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for Dec. 23 bowl action, and which team should you fade? Visit SportsLine now to see Barrett Sallee's college football best bets, all from one of the top analysts in the nation, and find out.
