The 2025-26 college football bowl season kicks off on Saturday when Boise State battles Washington in the 2025 LA Bowl at 8 p.m. ET. Over the course of the next five weeks, there will be 46 bowl matchups (including all College Football Playoff games) and the college football bowl schedule includes some stylistically intriguing battles. After being snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee, Notre Dame has chosen not to participate in a bowl, but No. 12 BYU, who was also left out, will play No. 22 Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 27. Other matchups that day include Penn State vs. Clemson (-4.5), UConn vs. Army (-5.5) and LSU vs. Houston (-3.5). 

BYU is a 4.5-point favorite in the latest college football bowl odds, but will they actually show up motivated after it looks like they weren’t given serious consideration for the 12-team playoff? Motivation is always a factor during bowl season and it’s something that you’ll need to consider as you make your college football bowl confidence picks along with opt-outs, transfer portal news, injuries and many more factors. Penn State’s Zane Durant and Tennessee’ Chris Brazzell, for example, are among the players who have already opted out.

Before entering any college football bowl confidence pools, be sure to see the college football picks from SportsLine’s Thomas Casale.

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A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale has been sports betting — and winning — for more than 30 years.

So before filling out your college football pool picks or making any college football bets, you need to see Casale’s college football bowl confidence picks. He has analyzed each bowl matchup and ordered every game by level of confidence. He’s sharing his picks over at SportsLine. 

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Top college football bowl confidence predictions

One of the top 2025-26 college football bowl confidence picks from Casale: He likes No. 7 Texas A&M, a 3-5-point favorite, to beat Miami (Fla.) in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. The Aggies finished 11-1 and 7-1 in the SEC, tying for first place, but missed out on playing in the conference championship after losing at Texas 27-17 on Nov. 28. The Hurricanes, who tied for second with four other teams at 6-2 in the ACC and were 10-2 overall, have won four in a row.

Quarterback Marcel Reed helps power the A&M offense. The sophomore has completed 61.8% of his passes for 2,932 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions and a 153.2 rating. He has also rushed 89 times for 466 yards (5.2 average) and six touchdowns. In a 38-17 win over No. 22 Missouri on Nov. 8, he completed 20 of 29 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. 

Miami, meanwhile, is led by senior quarterback Carson Beck. He has completed 74.7% of his passes this season for 3,072 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions and a 165.8 rating. Beck has also rushed for one score. In a 38-7 win over No. 22 Pittsburgh on Nov. 29, he completed 23 of 29 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. See who else to pick here.

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How to make college football bowl confidence picks  

Casale is also going all-in on an underdog with one of his most confident picks. Picks like these could be the difference between winning your 2025-26 bowl confidence pool and going home empty-handed. You can see who it is and get every pick for every game at SportsLine.

So which order should you rank teams in your college football confidence pools, and which underdog do you need to be all-in on? Visit SportsLine to see the full college football bowl confidence picks, and see what teams won’t disappoint, all from the college football expert who has been betting – and winning – for more than 30 years.