College football bowl picks, odds, best bets for Jan. 1, 2024 by ...

The 2023-24 college football bowl schedule reaches its pinnacle on Monday with a loaded slate of New Year's Day games. No. 1 Michigan faces No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl, while No. 2 Washington faces No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal games. There are three other games on the docket as well, including No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl. The Wolverines are 2-point favorites against the Crimson Tide in the 2023-24 college football bowl odds from SportsLine consensus, and the Longhorns are 4-point favorites against Washington. 

Monday's slate begins with the ReliaQuest Bowl between No. 13 LSU (-9) and Wisconsin at noon ET. Which teams should you include in your 2023-24 college football bowl bets? Before locking in any college football bowl picks, be sure to see the top Jan. 1 college football expert picks, predictions and best bets from Barrett Sallee.

Sallee is a true insider -- a CBS Sports analyst, SiriusXM host, Heisman voter and consistently one of the top CBS Sports experts picking games against the spread. He debuted with SportsLine in 2017 and has delivered his three best college football picks to members each week. 

Now, he has turned his attention to the college football bowl odds and is sharing his top three best bets over at SportsLine. If you parlay them together, you could be looking at a return of around 6-1. Get his top college football picks at SportsLine.

Top college football expert predictions for Jan. 1 bowls

One of Sallee's top college football best bets for Jan. 1 bowl games: He is backing the Under (68) in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl at 1 p.m. ET on Monday as No. 8 Oregon faces No. 23 Liberty.

Oregon's offense got most of the credit this season, but its defense held five teams to 10 points or fewer. Liberty's offense did not face a top-50 defense this year, so this is going to be a major step up in competition for the Flames. The Ducks have gone under the total in 12 of their last 18 games, and Sallee expects that trend to continue on Monday. 

"The only way that the over hits in this one is if Oregon tops the 60-point mark on its own. Can it happen? Maybe if it is challenged by Liberty. But that's about as likely as my hairline to suddenly stop receding," Sallee told SportsLine. "The Ducks defense is the best defense that the Flames have faced all season … by far. Oregon will throttle down in this one in the exact same way it did in the blowout win over Colorado earlier this season." See what other picks Sallee likes at SportsLine. 

How to make Jan. 1 college football bowl picks 

Sallee has also found two other college football picks he loves, including backing an underdog he says should be favored in a big way. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.

What are the best bets for Jan. 1 bowl action, and which underdog should you back? Visit SportsLine now to see Barrett Sallee's college football best bets, all from one of the top analysts in the nation, and find out.