Expert Betting Picks for First Week of Bowl Games

It's bowl season, and here to help you make some money on SI Gambling is Sharp Angle Sports, who has several sharp bettors with decades of experience at its disposal. Sharp Angle Sports will be providing picks for all 41 bowl games, and they will be divided week by week here.

Here are Sharp Angle Sports's expert picks for bowl games from Friday, Dec. 20 to Tuesday, Dec. 24.

BEST BET: 

New Orleans Bowl: UAB (+17) vs. Appalachian State

UAB was routed 49-6 by Florida Atlantic in the Conference USA championship game on December 7, but this is too many points. 

How motivated is Appalachian State after losing head coach Eli Drinkwitz to Missouri after just one year? If the Mountaineers don’t lose to Georgia Southern on October 31, they’re likely playing in a bigger bowl. Instead, they’ll head to New Orleans on the first weekend of bowl season. That’s a lackluster draw for a team that cracked the Top 25. 

The key in this matchup is UAB’s run defense versus Darrynton Evans, who rushed for 1,323 yards and 17 touchdowns. Zac Thomas will be another headache for the Blazers come Saturday, but UAB should be up for the challenge. They ranked in the top 12 nationally in fewest yards surrendered per carry and boast a pair of linebackers in Kristopher Moll and Jordan Smith that have combined for 19 sacks and eight forced fumbles. 

Sometimes bowl games are about predicting motivation, which can be tough, but profitable. While UAB played a much weaker schedule than App State, and has the inferior roster, I just don’t see how the Mountaineers get up for this one.