College football bowl games coincide with one of the most feverish times for NJ sports betting. This year’s bowl season might be exceptional with even more legal online sportsbooks to pick from.

For people who would like to bet on bowl games, here’s a quick guide to the ins and outs of college bowl game betting including live odds for every bowl direct from NJ online sportsbooks.

Live College Football bowl game odds

Bowl game odds are released when the matchups are set but you can put a futures bet down in advance on who you think the National Champion will be. See the current real-time odds at NJ online sportsbooks for this year’s bowl games below. Use the drop-down menu to toggle between odds boards. Click on any odds to jump right to the sportsbook, claim your bonus bets and lock in your bowl bet.

Rutgers University gets Gator Bowl invite

For Rutgers University football fans, the 2021 college bowl season is much different. It’s because the 5-7 Rutgers Scarlet Knights have accepted a late invite to the Gator Bowl. This will be the program’s first bowl appearance since 2014.

Rutgers is replacing Texas A&M who pulled out due to COVID-19. It means Rutgers will face 10-3 Wake Forest Demon Deacons, ranked No. 17.

The Gator Bowl is scheduled for 11 a.m. EST on Dec. 31 in Jacksonville, Fla.

NJ sportsbooks are not permitted to post odds as New Jersey regulations prohibit wagers on games that either take place in the Garden State or involve NJ teams.

College football bowl game schedule

There are 44 games in this 2021-22 bowl season. Bettors will have wagering options for two+ weeks, so there is no shortage of opportunities.

Nevertheless, here is the schedule and matchups for 2021.

Date	Bowl	Time (ET)	TV	Conference Matchup
December 17, 2021	Bahamas	Noon	ESPN	Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo
December 17, 2021	Cure	6 PM	ESPN2	North Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina
December 18, 2021	Boca Raton	11 AM	ESPN	Western Kentucky vs. Appalachian State
December 18, 2021	Celebration	Noon	ABC	South Carolina State vs. Jackson State
December 18, 2021	New Mexico	2:15 PM	ESPN	UTEP vs. Fresno State
December 18, 2021	Independence	3:30 PM	ABC	UAB vs. BYU
December 18, 2021	Lending Tree	5:45 PM	ESPN	Eastern Michigan vs. Liberty
December 18, 2021	L.A.	7:30	ABC	Utah State vs. Oregon State
December 18, 2021	New Orleans	9:15 PM	ESPN	Lousiana vs. Marshall
December 20, 2021	Myrtle Beach	2:30 PM	ESPN	Old Dominion vs. Tulsa
December 21, 2021	Famous Idaho Potato	3:30 PM	ESPN	Kent State vs. Wyoming
December 21, 2021	Frisco	7:30 PM	ESPN	UTSA vs. San Diego State
December 22, 2021	Armed Forces	8 PM	ESPN	Missouri vs. Army
December 23, 2021	Frisco Football Classic	3:30 PM	ESPN	North Texas vs. Miami (Ohio)
December 23, 2021	Gasparilla	7 PM	ESPN	UCF vs. Florida
December 24, 2021	Hawaii	8 PM	ESPN	Memphis vs. Hawaii
December 25, 2021	Camellia	2:30 PM	ESPN	Georgia State vs. Ball State
December 27, 2021	Quick Lane	11 AM	ESPN	Western Michigan vs. Nevada
December 27, 2021	Military	2:30 PM	ESPN	Boston College vs. East Carolina
December 28, 2021	Birmingham	Noon	ESPN	Houston vs. Auburn
December 28, 2021	First Responder	3:15 PM	ESPN	Air Force vs. Louisville
December 28, 2021	Liberty	6:45 PM	ESPN	Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech
December 28, 2021	Holiday	8 PM	Fox	UCLA vs. NC State
December 28, 20201	Guaranteed Rate	10:15 PM	ESPN	West Virginia vs. Minnesota
December 29, 2021	Fenway	11 AM	ESPN	SMU vs. Virginia
December 29, 2021	Pinstripe	2:15 PM	ESPN	Maryland vs. Virginia Tech
December 29, 2021	Cheez-It	5:45 PM	ESPN	Clemson vs. Iowa State
December 29, 2021	Alamo	9:15 PM	ESPN	Oregon vs. Oklahoma
December 30, 2021	Duke’s Mayo	11:30 AM	ESPN	North Carolina vs. South Carolina
December 30, 2021	Music City	3 PM	ESPN	Tennessee vs. Purdue
December 30, 2021	Peach	7 PM	ESPN	Michigan State vs. Pittsburgh
December 30, 2021	Las Vegas	10:30 PM	ESPN	Wisconsin vs. Arizona State
December 31, 2021	Gator	11 AM	ESPN	Wake Forrest vs. Rutgers
December 31, 2021	Sun	12:30 PM	CBS	Washington State vs. Miami
December 31, 2021	Arizona	2 PM	Barstool Sports	Central Michigan vs. Boise State
December 31, 2021	Cotton CFP National Championship Semifinal	3:30 PM	ESPN	No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 Alabama
December 31, 2021	Orange CFP National Championship Semifinal	7:30 PM	ESPN	No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Michigan
Jan. 1, 2022	Outback	Noon	ESPN2	Penn State vs. Arkansas
Jan. 1, 2022	Citrus	1 PM	ABC	Iowa vs. Kentucky
Jan. 1, 2022	Fiesta	1 PM	ESPN	Notre Dama vs.Oklahoma State
Jan. 1, 2022	Rose	5 PM	ESPN	Ohio State vs. Utah
Jan. 1, 2022	Sugar	8:45 PM	ESPN	Ole Miss vs. Baylor
Jan. 4, 2022	Texas	9 PM	ESPN	LSU vs. Kansas State
Jan. 10, 2022	CFP National Championship	8 p.m.	ESPN	Georgia vs. Alabama

College football playoff game schedule

A few years back, the NCAA instituted a limited playoff system to determine an outright champion for that year. Four teams that the selection committee judges to be this year’s best will play two semifinals and a final game.

Here is the schedule for the NCAA College Football Playoff games:

Dec. 31, 2021

• No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 Alabama, 3:30 p.m.
  Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas)
• No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
  Orange Bowl (Miami, Fla.)

Jan. 10, 2022

• No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 1 Alabama, 8 p.m.
  College Football Playoff National Championship
  Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Make sure to tune in to all the great action. And don’t forget to place your bets.

Ways to bet on college football bowl games

Point spreads

A point spread is a wager on the expected margin of victory in a game. The sportsbook establishes which team will likely win and by how many points.

Then, bettors have two options to wager. They can either predict that the favorite will exceed the given margin of victory, or the underdog will lose by less or win outright (also known as covering).

Moneyline

A moneyline bet is on the outright winner of the contest. The three-digit number next to each team’s name specifies what a winning bet will pay out.

A positive number is an amount that a $100 bet on that team will pay. A negative number is an amount one must bet to receive $100 as their payout.

Totals

Totals bets are better known as wagers on the over/under. The sportsbook establishes its estimate for the anticipated combined total of points the teams will score in a given match.

Players then bet on whether or not the combined total will exceed or fail to reach that mark. Betting that the teams will score more than the over/under is called “taking the over” and the opposite bet is known as “taking the under.”

Futures

Futures bets are wagers on the probability of a long-term event occurring. Many times, these sorts of bets will revolve around eventual champions of a particular sport or league.

These types of bets for college bowl games will likely pertain to the playoff games at the end of the season. Sportsbooks will offer odds for each playoff game team and its likelihood of winning the championship.

Propositions

Proposition bets are wagers on the possibilities of specific events occurring, either within a single game or within an entire season. Prop bets usually focus on specific player goals, rather than team ones.

Any bet about which player will score the first touchdown or whether a player will rush for a certain amount of yards is a prop bet. The possibilities for these types of bets are broader than other bet types and tend to be more granular.

Parlays

Parlays are nothing more than a combination of the above betting types. Players cast bets on more than one event or team at a time.

The catch is that all of the player’s choices must be accurate to pay out. So, parlays tend to be more challenging to win.

Bowl Pick’em contests

Bowl Pick’em contests tend to show up on various popular websites this time of year. ESPN, Yahoo, and other wide-distribution sites often run them for free. Sometimes, the sites will offer huge payouts if anyone can correctly select the entire set of bowl winners.

They can be a fun way to increase involvement in the complete slate of bowl games. There are so many bowl games these days that only the most diehard of fans can remain engaged throughout.

It is possible that DraftKings, FanDuel, or one of the other online sportsbooks in New Jersey will offer a Bowl Pick’em contest. However, it is unclear what the buy-in or prize structure for this kind of contest would be.