Three college football bowl games are on tap for the day after Christmas. The day kicks off with Pittsburgh looking to snap a five-game losing streak when facing Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. That is followed by two Power Four conference teams in Rutgers and Kansas State meeting in the Rate Bowl. The day ends with an intriguing matchup between a pair of 7-5 teams as Arkansas State faces Bowling Green in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Read on for our top three player prop bets and picks from Thursday’s college football bowl action.
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Best College Football Player Prop Bets & Picks
Let’s dive into our top college football player prop bet picks for this Thursday’s bowl action.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook unless otherwise specified)
Tucker Gleason to Throw 2+ Passing Touchdowns (+100)
Pittsburgh has the personnel to make Toledo a completely one-dimensional team in this bowl matchup.
The Rockets rank outside the top 120 in rush explosives, quality drives and rushing success rate. They face a Panthers defense ranked third in line yards.
Pittsburgh's ability to stop the run means we should see a pass-heavy attack from Toledo. That is also the Rockets’ best chance of success considering it has a dynamic wide receiver duo of Jerjuan Newton and Junior Vandeross, who have combined for over 1,700 receiving yards.
Tucker Gleason has thrown for multiple touchdowns in three of his previous five games and eight out of 11 games this season, making the plus-money odds we are getting for this wager well worth it.
Dylan Edwards Anytime Touchdown Scorer (-143 via Caesars Sportsbook)
Kansas State was hit hard before this bowl game at its skill positions, as leading rusher DJ Giddens declared for the 2025 NFL Draft and starting wide receiver Keagan Johnson entered the transfer portal.
With Giddens not suiting up, he leaves behind 205 carries, 1,343 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns. Dylan Edwards has fresh legs in his place, as he has not recorded more than eight rush attempts or had more than 60 yards in a game this season. However, the positive sign is that the team trusted him early in the season, as he began the year with touchdowns in back-to-back games, and added a third four weeks later.
Even with Giddens active, Edwards contributed in the passing game, with a stretch of two or more catches in five straight weeks. With this Edwards’ backfield now, his -143 anytime touchdown odds that carry a 58.85% implied probability for him to find the end zone are well worth it.
Zak Wallace to Rush for 60+ Yards (-105)
Arkansas State’s defense ranks dead last in big plays allowed, as well as success rate on early downs allowed. It faces a Bowling Green rushing attack ranked in the top 15 in rush explosives. For those reasons, we would not put anyone off backing Bowling Green running back Terion Stewart’s player prop odds when they become available, as oddsmakers currently have those off the board while they wait for final confirmation he is playing in this bowl game.
With no Bowling Green players odds available at the moment, I am pivoting to a bet on Arkansas State leading rusher Zak Wallace, whom I expect to clear 60 rushing yards for the fourth consecutive game, and the fifth time in the last six games. Wallace was a workhorse down the stretch with a combined 33 carries in the final two games, recording two (15, 18 carries) of his four highest carry totals of the season.
DraftKings Sportsbook juiced the odds to -125 to back Wallace running for 56+ yards, so we are getting a much better price in expecting him to clear the 60-yard plateau.
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.