College Football Anytime Touchdown Scorers: Bowl Games (Saturday)
Saturday delivers the most robust slate of college football bowl games, with eight games spanning from 11:00 AM ET until the nightcap concludes sometime between 11:00 PM and Midnight ET. Soak it in, college football fans. We've got a nice mix of Power Four and Group of Five matchups, including my favorite non-College Football Playoff (CFP) game of the bowl season with BYU and Georgia Tech squaring off in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. I've got a variety of college football anytime touchdown scorers to bet on, ranging from touchdown parlays to multi-touchdown bets, which will give you something to root for on every game of the Saturday slate. Without further ado, here are my best anytime touchdown bets for the biggest bowl games slate.
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Saturday’s Best College Football Anytime Touchdown Scorers
(Odds courtesy of bet365)
Go Bowling Military Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: East Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
Raphael Williams Jr. (WR – Pittsburgh) | +100
The Panthers’ offense was pretty dynamite this season, especially after switching over to freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, leading the ACC in points per game and ranking fifth in terms of passing yards per game. Wide receiver Raphael Williams Jr. was a large reason why, ranking second in this offense just behind counterpart Kenny Johnson in terms of receptions and yards. He also outpaced Johnson to lead the team in receiving touchdowns.
Though the total for this game is sitting at a modest 53 points, I expect there to be plenty of possessions for both sides in this game, as East Carolina ranks second and Pittsburgh ranks 34th in the FBS in terms of offensive plays per game. The East Carolina defense has also been much better at defending the rush than the pass this season, leading the American Conference in rushing defense but ranking toward the middle of the pack when it comes to defending the pass. I think there's a good chance that both of Pittsburgh’s top receivers score in this game, but I'll take Williams at slightly longer odds as my official pick.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: Clemson vs. Penn State
Anytime Touchdown Parlay: Kaytron Allen (RB – Penn State) + Adam Randall (RB – Clemson) | +120
While it's not all that surprising that these two historically great college football programs are facing off in the postseason, the surprising part is that they're playing in a meaningless bowl game in Yankee Stadium rather than the College Football Playoff. This game is chock full of injuries, confirmed opt-outs and transfer portal opt-outs, so I'm taking the most certain outcomes on each offense and parlaying them together for a plus-money payout.
I'll start with Penn State running back Kaytron Allen, who toted the rock 210 times this season for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns. His numbers would have been even more impressive had he not shared the backfield with Nicholas Singleton, who has opted out of this game, meaning Allen should assume nearly all the work out of the backfield for the Nittany Lions. Add in the fact that the Penn State passing game is nothing to get excited about with backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer under center, and Allen is the only touchdown-scoring offensive option I can confidently recommend.
Clemson lead running back Adam Randall didn't put up quite the same production as Allen this season, but his 779 yards and nine rushing touchdowns are nothing to scoff at, especially considering he tallied the third-most receptions on this Tigers offense and added another three scores through the air. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, who will be playing in this game, is really the only other rushing threat on this offense, as all other Clemson backs combined for just one rushing touchdown on the season. With questionable motivation and personnel on both sides, give me the bell-cow stud backs on each side to get into the end zone.
Wasabi Fenway Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: Army vs. UConn
Cale Hellums 3+ Touchdowns (QB – Army) | +375
The UConn sideline is littered with injuries and opt-outs in this game. Most importantly, star quarterback Joe Fagnano, who posted a ridiculous 28:1 touchdowns-to-interception ratio on the season. That's really bad news for a UConn team that will be taking on a service academy squad in the Black Knights, who seem to be at full capacity and will absolutely be taking this game seriously.
As such, I have to look at the Army side for my pick in this game, and I'm going with Army quarterback Cade Hellums to record at least three touchdowns. While the service academy option offenses involve a lot of ball-carriers, with this Army offense featuring seven different players that recorded 20+ rushes and a rushing touchdown this season, Hellums was by far the workhorse.
Hellums carried the ball nearly 300 times this season for just shy of 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns, which is 13 more than the next closest ball-carrier. While three scores in one game might seem a little excessive, Hellums did that twice this season, and former Army quarterback Bryson Daily did just that in their bowl game last year, in a game where they only put up 27 total points.
I definitely think Army eclipses that total this Saturday against a UConn defense that has been an absolute sieve against the run, allowing over 185 rushing yards on a per-game basis. If you want to stop at two touchdowns for Hellums, you can find that at around even money, but I've got no problem taking a bigger swing for him to score three in a game I expect the Black Knights to dominate.
Pop-Tarts Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: No. 12 BYU vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech
Parker Kingston (WR – BYU) | -120
This game is shaping up to be one of the best non-College Football Playoff games this bowl season, with both BYU and Georgia Tech seemingly operating near full capacity. One of the lone areas for concern on the BYU sideline will be the running back position, as stud back LJ Martin and his backup Sione Moa are set to miss this game due to injury.
That means quarterback Bear Bachmeier will be the clear lead ball-carrier in this Cougars’ offense, which also likely means wide receiver Parker Kingston will get some increased opportunities out of the backfield as well. Not only was Kingston the No. 1 WR in this offense, leading the squad in receptions (61), yards (848) and receiving touchdowns (five), but he also carried the ball the third-most times in this BYU offense, adding three rushing rtouto his total.
BYU can put up some points on a Georgia Tech defense that really struggled down the stretch, finishing in the bottom half of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in yards and points allowed per game. Kingston should play a massive part in BYU’s game plan. Frankly, anything even-money or better is a bad price for him on Saturday afternoon. Kingston is my favorite play of the day. I don't really envision a game script where he doesn't have multiple opportunities to score against a vulnerable Yellow Jackets defense.
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: Fresno State vs. Miami (OH)
D'Shawntae Jones [RB – Miami (OH) ] | +160
This game figures to be pretty ugly on the offensive sides of the ball, as a Miami (OH) team with a perennially elite defense and backup quarterback Thomas Gotkowski under center will square off against a top-two Mountain West Conference scoring defense in Fresno State, which also ranked in the bottom half of the conference in scoring offense.
As such, the best value I can find in this game, who doesn't figure to be featured a whole lot, is Miami (OH) running back D'Shawntae Jones. While Jones ranked third on this offense in terms of carries on the season, his seven rushing touchdowns were almost as many as Miami's top-two ball-carriers combined. Quarterback Dequan Finn is also no longer with the program, meaning Jones will see increased opportunities compared to what he was dealing with at the beginning of the season.
It wouldn’t be wise to air it out with a backup quarterback against this Bulldogs defense, which has intercepted more passes than they have allowed passing touchdowns on the season. I find it more likely that any RedHawks touchdowns will be scored on the ground in this game. I'll take Jones as the thicker goal-line back to find paydirt at 2/1 odds in what should be a really low-scoring grinder of a game.
Isleta New Mexico Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: San Diego State vs. No. 25 North Texas
Miles Coleman (WR – North Texas) | +200
This game features a massive contrast of play style, as the nation's leading scoring offense in North Texas will be taking on the nation's fourth-ranked scoring defense in San Diego State. Personally, I've got a little bit of an affinity for the Mean Green, and I find the Aztecs’ defense to be pretty overrated, as the best team they played this season is a coin flip between California, Washington State or a really down Boise State team with a backup quarterback.
However, because of their overall numbers, I find that we're getting a discounted price on everything Mean Green this game. As long as quarterback Drew Mestemaker suits up, I've got no issues looking in North Texas' direction for this play. While Miles Coleman was the No. 3 WR in this offense in receptions and yards, he’s a part of a clear top trio of wideouts that all recorded 46 receptions and 500 yards before a pronounced drop-off to the fourth wide receiver.
North Texas’ top running back, Caleb Hawkins, also left their conference title game early due to injury and could potentially sit this one out, making it more likely for North Texas to attack the Aztecs through the air. While he only has two receiving touchdowns on the season, Coleman added another on the ground, and I find his 2/1 odds is a nice price on one of the high-volume targets on a very high-powered offense.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: Missouri vs. No. 19 Virginia
Harrison Waylee (RB – Virginia) | +175
With Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula opting out of this game, Matt Zollers is set to start under center. Zollers completed just 53% of his passes in three starts this season. While running back Ahmad Hardy is certainly a beast, he's absolutely priced out of this market as the clear top offensive option for the Tigers. Because of that, I'm looking in the direction of the Cavaliers for my pick this game. I'm looking to take advantage of their stud running back, J'Mari Taylor, who may not garner a full workload.
Enter Harrison Waylee, who logged just shy of 100 carries and 500 yards at the highest yards per carry of any Virginia rusher with over 30 carries. This Missouri defense is also slightly more susceptible to the run than the pass, as they posted the SEC's second-ranked pass defense but came in much closer to the middle of the pack in terms of defending the run. I don't necessarily foresee explosives from either side in this one, but Waylee has some value here as a very capable No. 2 RB that could see a No. 1 RB workload if Taylor isn't given his usual workload on Saturday evening.
Kinder's Texas Bowl Anytime Touchdown Scorer: No. 21 Houston vs. LSU
Conner Weigman (QB – Houston) | +120
The LSU side is absolutely littered with transfer portal entries, opt-outs and injuries, pointing me in the direction of the Cougars in this game. My initial look was tight end Tanner Koziol at similar odds, who led the Cougars in receptions and posted five touchdowns on the season, but he's questionable to play in this one as well. Instead, I'll go with Conner Weigman to at least give a rationale for a player I'm pretty positive will suit up on Saturday night.
Weigman was extremely effective as a ball-carrier this season, ranking second on the squad in carries (158) and yards (644), while doubling up the next closest Cougar in terms of rushing touchdowns. Weigman is one of just two Cougars who recorded a rushing touchdown this season. If it's not starting running back Dean Connors rushing one in, it's almost certainly going to be Weigman.
LSU was also slightly worse at defending the run than they were against the pass in the SEC hierarchy, and they should be even more susceptible to the rush with three linebackers set to miss this game. As a former member of the Texas A&M roster, Weigman has seen this kind of competition before, and you have to believe he's got something to prove in this bowl game. I like Koziol to score if he does give it a go, but I'll take Weigman as my official pick for this game.