College Football Bowl Game Picks Against The Spread: RotoWire Staff Picks

College Football Bowl Picks: Staff Picks for the 2025-26 Bowl Season

The holiday season has arrived, and with it, what everyone really craves: bowl games with random sponsors like the "Xbox Bowl" and the "Pop-Tarts Bowl."

Unfortunately, multiple teams have opted against playing in bowls this season, for various reasons, and there may be some questions as to how long bowls in their current format will continue to exist, especially if the College Football Playoff expands further.

While we still have it, let's enjoy the fun times and  get into some picks for the 2025

• All picks are against the spread
• Losing picks are noted as such
• Pushes are italicized
• All odds as of 12/10

Before we get into this season, here's a look at how our staff of writers fared last season against the spread if you had bet each game at the time we picked, for those interested in following certain picks.

2024-25 Final Standings

Now, let's get into bowl season with selections for the 2025-26 bowl season.

2025-26 Leaderboard

Final Standings updated 1/3

Note: All picks are based on information available at the time of posting, so best bets, spreads, etc., may not remain the same if opt-outs and other conditions change.

College Football Bowl Odds

As of Monday, Dec. 8

Examining the Odds and Pick Dispersal

While pick dispersal tends to be erratic across the board, with a healthy 12 of the bowls showing a 9-8 split on opinions against the spread, that's just what Vegas wants to see. On the other hand, our staff seems to have stronger opinions on certain games, with 14 games featuring an 11-6 split in picks or greater for the favorite of the contest and only three underdogs with such a hefty split. 

Perhaps there is some favorite bias here, and perhaps some of these lines have baked-in opt-out expectations that our staff hasn't completely accounted for yet. In any event, it's interesting to see the consensus weighs heavily toward the favorites.

College Football Bowl Picks

Without further ado, here are the staff's selections for the 2025-25 bowl season, broken down individually.

Writers' most confident pick in bold. Selections made based on info available by Dec. 10