College Football Anytime Touchdown Scorers: Bowl Games (Friday)
The non-College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games come to an end on Friday, with a four-game slate that kicks off at 1:00 PM ET and culminates sometime around 11:00 PM ET. We'll get things started with a Group of Five matchup between Texas State and Rice, then go to what was once an American Conference matchup between Cincinnati and Navy and then wrap things up with simultaneous Power Four matchups featuring SMU versus Arizona and Mississippi State versus Wake Forest.
Soak it in, college football fans. Let’s enjoy the finale of bowl season and cash some college football anytime touchdown scorers tickets along to end the season on a high note.
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Friday’s Best College Football Anytime Touchdown Scorers
(Odds courtesy of bet365)
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorers: Rice vs. Texas State
Chris Dawn Jr. (WR – Texas State) | -125
The Bobcats’ offense was extremely dynamic this season, leading the Sun Belt Conference in total yardage and trailing only James Madison in points per game, featuring a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver. While wideout Chris Dawn Jr. was technically the No. 2 WR in this offense, he came up just shy of 1,000 receiving yards of his own on the season with an extremely explosive 17.2 yards per catch mark.
That really does not bode well for a Rice defense ranked fourth-worst and third-worst in points per game and passing yards allowed per game, respectively, in the American Conference, despite adopting a very run-heavy option-based rushing attack. They were in especially bad form in the back half of the season, giving up at least 27 points in six of their seven final games. I expect Texas State to be able to name their number in this one, with a team total currently sitting at 35.5 points. I like Dawn to score on an explosive play.
Aaron Turner (WR – Rice) | -110
The Rice Owls were one of the most run-heavy teams in college football this season, ranking just behind the three service academies in terms of percentage of offensive plays that resulted in a rush. While wide receiver Aaron Turner was the clear No. 1 WR on this offense, recording team-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns, he also played a significant role in the team’s rush attack with 44 carries for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
Their offensive approach shouldn’t be much different in this game, especially considering the Owls figure to be down to their third-string signal-caller for this game due to transfers/opt-outs. Don't expect much from the Rice offense on Friday afternoon. If I have to hitch my wagon to anyone, I'm taking the do-everything Turner to find paydirt, whether it be through the air or on the ground, at anything close to even odds.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorers: Navy vs. Cincinnati
Jeff Caldwell (WR – Cincinnati) | +175
Some of the wind has been taken out of the sails on the Cincinnati side in this game due to transfers, opt-outs and injuries, headlined by quarterback Brendan Sorsby. It looks like they'll have a full deck in their wide receiver room, though, including Jeff Caldwell, who ranked second on the Bearcats’ offense in receptions (32) and touchdowns (six).
I think the Bearcats’ offense will still be able to put up points against a Navy defense that surrendered 26 points per game and ranked fifth-worst in the American Conference in passing defense, despite the run-heavy offense, which lends itself toward limiting opponent possessions. The Bearcats are also underdogs of a touchdown in this game, meaning they're more likely to be chasing points with a heavier passing attack, increasing the opportunities for Caldwell.
Sorsby's absence is giving us a bit of a discount on Caldwell in this spot, and I like him to haul in a touchdown as the second-best receiving option on this squad against a vulnerable Navy secondary.
Anytime Touchdown Scorers Parlay: QB Blake Horvath (QB – Navy) & Alex Tecza (RB – Navy) | +120
The Navy offense figures to be a nightmare matchup against a Cincinnati defense that ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12 in scoring defense and ranked fourth-worst in rushing defense, allowing nearly 175 rushing yards per game.
Add in the fact that the Cincinnati defense is littered with transfers and opt-outs, and the Midshipmen should be able to get whatever they want on the ground in this one. As such, essentially all of the Navy ball-carriers have been priced out of this market, so I'll be parlaying their top two rushers to find paydirt.
Horvath led the squad in carries (208), yards (1,147) and TDs (15). Running mate Alex Tecza nearly racked up double-digit touchdowns on the ground as well with nine. He recorded an impressive 822 yards of his own on 147 rushes.
Though the Midshipmen don't pass it all that much, Tecza also tacked on a receiving score to bring his total to 10. Despite their offensive philosophy, Navy will have plenty of scoring opportunities against a susceptible Cincinnati rush defense, which I doubt will be all that motivated to bring it for all 60 minutes against a very physical Navy rushing attack. Give me Horvath and Tecza to both run one in at plus-money odds in this game.
Trust & Will Holiday Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorers: No. 17 Arizona vs. SMU
Kevin Jennings (QB – SMU) | +210
It looks like SMU star quarterback Kevin Jennings is going to play in this bowl game, and I'm taking him as my best anytime touchdown scorer bet on the SMU side in what could be one of the more entertaining bowl games. For starters, you absolutely do not want to try to attack this Arizona defense through the air, as they led the Big 12 in pass defense, surrendering just 155 pass yards per game.
Looking at the stat sheet, it doesn't look like Jennings was very effective as a rusher this season, but those numbers are heavily skewed in a negative direction due to a lower-body injury that hampered him for a good portion of the season.
As a comparison, Jennings carried the ball 30 more times for 300 more yards in 2024. Despite that, he still recorded the second-most rushes (69) and rushing touchdowns (four) for SMU this season. With all the time to rest since the regular-season finale, Jennings should be just about as healthy as he's been all season. Let’e capitalize on that by taking him to run one in on Friday evening.
Javin Whatley (WR – Arizona) | +240
As things stand right now, it looks like Arizona will mostly be full-go for this game, including quarterback Noah Fifita. That's great news for Arizona’s offense, but really bad news for an SMU defense that got absolutely lit up through the air, ranking second-worst in a pretty bad Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), allowing nearly 300 passing yards per game. Whatley finished the season as No. 1 WR in the Wildcats’ offense, racking up 443 yards on 32 receptions and four receiving touchdowns.
Whatley also has longer odds to score than No. 3 WR Tre Spivey, who is certainly more explosive with six touchdowns and 17.1 yards per catch, but on significantly less volume with nearly half the receptions of Whatley. Especially if Fifita gives it a go, I think these odds are badly mispriced on Whatley to score against a horrible SMU pass defense.
Duke's Mayo Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorers: Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State
QB Kamario Taylor (QB – Mississippi State) | +110
Dual-threat freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor was really worked into this Mississippi State offense down the stretch, including a start in the Egg Bowl in the season finale. He's a dynamic rusher and put on an absolute clinic in that game against Ole Miss, racking up 173 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He was also responsible for all three scores, all via the rush, against a stalwart Georgia defense at the beginning of November.
While Wake Forest boasts one of the better defenses in the ACC in terms of points allowed and pass defense, they finished in the middle of the pack in terms of rush defense, allowing 120+ rushing yards per game. Taylor has the third-shortest odds to score on the Bulldogs, which I just don't think is right considering he's tied for the team lead with seven rushing touchdowns, even though he only had one score and had not recorded more than 10 rushing attempts in any game prior to the calendar flipping to November.
Carlos Hernandez (WR – Wake Forest) | +125
Carlos Hernandez finished the season essentially as a co-No. 1 WR with Chris Barnes, who looks like he will miss this game after entering the transfer portal. Hernandez hauled in 34 balls on the season for 538 yards, a pretty explosive 25.8 yards per catch and three touchdowns, which was tied for the team lead. Interestingly enough, he also took his only carry of the season to the house for a 54-yard score.
I don't expect Hernandez and the Demon Deacons to face much resistance against this Bulldogs defense, which ranked second-worst in the SEC in total yards and points allowed per game. They allowed 30+ points in all but one conference matchup.
Hernandez should absorb a majority of the opportunities that would otherwise go to Barnes, and I anticipate that scoring opportunities will abound for Wake Forest in this game. Give me Hernandez to take advantage of a really poor Mississippi State defense and find paydirt.