Bowl season really kicks into action Friday with a full slate of games spanning the entire day. We get things kicked off in the morning, then continue through the day that culminates with the first game of the College Football Playoff (CFP). There should be plenty of good betting opportunities and angles, especially with our top college football anytime touchdowns scorers. Here are a few of my favorite plays.
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Friday’s Best College Football Anytime Touchdown Scorers
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Amari Odom (+140)
The Myrtle Beach Bowl kicks off Friday morning, pitting the Kennesaw State Owls against the Western Michigan Broncos. Kennesaw State has had a pretty balanced offensive attack all year that was led by dual-threat quarterback Amari Odom. Odom tallied 25 touchdowns in total, with 18 via the air and seven more on the ground. Those seven led the Owls, and he was second on the team with 112 carries.
Western Michigan touts a strong pass defense out of the MAC. The Broncos allowed only 13 touchdowns via the air against their defense, to go with 10 interceptions. And even though they faced the fifth-most pass attempts against, they ranked second with just 6.5 yards per attempt allowed.
If the Western Michigan offense isn't giving the Owls much to work with, Odom will be more than happy to run. The Owls should add some designed runs. In a game that looks to be low scoring, the offenses will need to be creative, and I think that lends Odom to finding his way into the end zone.
Will Wilson (-110)
Next, we'll travel to Tampa for the United Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl between Memphis and NC State. The Wolfpack were a fairly balanced offensive team this season, and they're going up against a Memphis defense ranked in the top 40 of expected points added (EPA) per play run defense, and held opponents to just 133.4 run yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry.
Despite the success on a play-to-play basis, opponents were still able to find their way into the end zone 20 times on the ground against the Tigers. The Wolfpack have a strong tandem of running backs with Daylan Smothers and Jayden Scott, but it's a third name that popped up on the scene in a huge way down the stretch.
Will Wilson is a strong dual-threat quarterback who dominated in run packages the last few weeks of the season. On 25 carries, Wilson rushed for 101 yards and six touchdowns in NC State's last three regular-season games. He'll be poised to get plenty of red-zone opportunities. Given the Tigers' penchant for allowing runners to break the plane, he should find his way into the end zone.
Ryan Williams (+310)
The first College Football Playoff game of the year is a rematch of a game we saw back in November. Oklahoma came out ahead in that one, but got doubled up in total yards of offense. In fact, Oklahoma scored just one offensive touchdown the whole game on a 20-yard scramble by quarterback John Mateer.
For Alabama, the ball moved much more smoothly, especially through the air. The young phenom, Ryan Williams, had a disappointing season after a strong freshman campaign last year. His November and December were particularly disappointing with just nine receptions, one touchdown and never eclipsing 45 yards in a game. But the talent is still there, and he had success against Oklahoma in the first matchup.
Williams had a long of 38 yards in that game, one of his three receptions, and the Tide offense totaled 326 via the air. Williams still has that big-play ability, and I like him to find that extra gear that had him tearing it up last year and for much of the first half this season. At these odds, we're getting good value on a Ryan Williams anytime touchdown.
