College Football Same Game Parlays: Bowl Games (Friday)

The College Football non-playoff bowl games wrap up on Friday. The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl between Rice and Texas State takes place at 1:00 p.m. ET, but we’ll avoid that game due to its early start time, allowing you time to place your bets.

We need to be smart, as this is our final day of non-playoff bowl games. At 4:30 p.m. ET, the Navy Midshipmen and Cincinnati Bearcats meet in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, while Arizona and SMU meet at 8:00 p.m. ET in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl. Wake Forest and Mississippi State tangle in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.

Each game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN, except the Holiday Bowl, which is on FOX.

Let’s build our bankroll with our best college football same game parlays (SGPs) for Friday, January 2nd. Happy New Year, and good luck with your plays.

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Friday’s Best College Football Same Game Parlays

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Navy Midshipmen (-270) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (+220) | O/U 54.5 (-115/-105)

Leg 1: Navy -7.5 (+100)
Leg 2: Under 54.5 Points (-105)
Leg 3: Cincinnati Under 148.5 Total Rushing Yards (-114)
Leg 4: Alex Tecza 40+ Rushing Yards (-310)
Leg 5: Blake Horvath Anytime Touchdown Scorer (-340)

The Midshipmen (10-2) and Bearcats (7-5) square off in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. This is the seventh all-time meeting between these teams on the gridiron, with the series tied 3-3.

The last time we saw Navy, it pushed past Army 17-16 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, failing to cover as a 6-point favorite in their annual rivalry game. The under (37.5) cashed for the second straight game. The defense has shown up in the past two games, allowing just 16.5 points per game (PPG). Navy has won three in a row since back-to-back road losses.

Cincinnati ended the regular season with four consecutive losses to Utah, Arizona, BYU and TCU, all four bowl teams. The Bearcats were also 0-4 against the spread (ATS) in those games, while the under cashed in two of the past three outings.

The Bearcats struggled against the run this season, allowing 173.6 rushing yards per game, ranking 97th in the country, while allowing 24.8 points per game. That’s bad news against a Navy team that is very effective in the run game.

Cincinnati will also be missing quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who entered the transfer portal after accounting for 36 total touchdowns. Running back Tawee Walker led the team with 709 rushing yards and four touchdowns, second behind Sorsby’s nine scores. Walker declared for the NFL Draft, but it remains to be seen if he’ll sit out, make a cameo or go the distance. It’s likely that he doesn’t play much, if at all. Running back Evan Pryor, the third-leading tailback, also hit the portal. Cincinnati’s defense was hit hard by portal defections, too, which is something we do not have to worry about with Navy.

We’re going to back Navy, and I’d go really hard on it straight up. But, also play the under, as Cincinnati should have trouble scoring. Navy runs a lot, keeping the clock moving.

In addition, let’s take Cincinnati’s to go under 148.5 rushing yards. We’ll stay on the safe side and take Navy’s Alex Tecza to go over 40 rushing yards and take Blake Horvath to score at least once.

Parlay Odds: +694

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+130) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (-154) | O/U 52.5 (-115/-105)

Leg 1: Wake Forest Moneyline (+130)
Leg 2: Under 52.5 Points (-105)
Leg 3: First-Half Under 27.5 Points (-134)
Leg 4: Wake Forest First-Quarter Winner (3-Way) (+174)

The Demon Deacons (8-4) take on the Bulldogs (5-7) in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Wake Forest will be without leading rusher Demond Claiborne, but signal-caller Robby Ashford is ready to go. He had 2,169 passing yards and nine touchdowns, while running for 504 yards and seven more scores on the ground. Running back Ty Clark III was good for 232 yards and three scores, so both of those two will be leaned upon to fill the void.

Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen is not expected to be under center to start, as Kamario Taylor gets the starting nod. He passed for 388 yards and four scores, while running for 395 yards and seven rushing touchdowns, working in goal-line packages. Taylor is a solid dual-threat option. When Taylor isn’t running, it will be the combination of backs Fluff Bothwell, who had 639 yards and six scores, and Davon Booth, who recorded 553 yards and seven touchdowns.

While Mississippi State’s strength is the run game, Wake Forest’s strength is its defense, allowing just 321.9 total yards and 122.3 rushing yards per game, with the latter ranking 27th in the nation.

Wake Forest should be able to get the job done, and it will have a majority of the seats filled in black and gold with the proximity to the Triad and Charlotte. Let’s go under on the total, too.

There aren’t many player props available at most sportsbooks yet. So we’ll take some team props to get over the hump. Under 27.5 first-half points is a strong play, while taking Wake Forest on the Moneyline in the first quarter is where it’s at.

Parlay Odds: +740

Trust & Will Holiday Bowl: No. 17 Arizona Wildcats (-110) vs. SMU Mustangs (-106) | O/U 52.5 (-105/-115)

Leg 1: Arizona -1.5 (-105)
Leg 2: Under 52.5 Points (-115)
Leg 3: Arizona Team Total Over 26.5 Points (-122)

The Wildcats (9-3) and Mustangs (8-4) meet at 8:00 p.m. ET at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These teams haven’t met since 1985 in Tucson, when the Wildcats won 28-6 at home. The all-time series is 1-1, with SMU’s win coming in 1938.

Arizona finished up strong, winning five in a row, while covering the final three games and four of the final five outings. That includes a dominant 23-7 win in the Territorial Cup at Arizona State as the under (48) cashed. The under hit in the final four games, with the defense allowing just 17 PPG, and the defense is a big reason for the team’s turnaround.

SMU lost 38-35 in the regular-season finale, failing to cover as a 13.5-point favorite as the over (53) cashed. That snapped a three-game cover streak. The over is 2-1 in the past three outings, too.

Neither side has any notable transfer portal or opt-out news, although that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any surprises. The most notable for SMU is DJ Warner, a defensive lineman, who had a pair of sacks. He is in the transfer portal and is not expected to play.

We’ll back Arizona, as it has been blazing hot down the stretch. And, we’ll go low on the total based on how Arizona finished the season on defense. We’re going to keep it simple, too, going high on Arizona’s team total.

Parlay Odds: +475

Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe