College football Week 1 bowls parlay: Let's make some money

We're heading into the first weekend of bowl season, which features 6 FBS games Saturday. We'll hit the ground running, beginning at 11 a.m. ET in the Myrtle Beach Bowl with non-stop action through the Independence Bowl, which kicks off at 9:15 p.m. ET in Shreveport, La.

Believe it or not, weather will play a factor in a couple of these bowls as 4 of the 6 will be played outdoors. Of course, we'll be tracking the opt-outs and transfer portal news, trying to make the best, educated picks for our parlay.

After looking at BetMGM Sportsbook's NCAA football Week 1 Bowl odds, here is our "Let's make some money" college football parlay bet to cash in on among SportbookWire's college football picks and predictions.

Stream select live college football games and full replays: Get ESPN+

Week 1 bowls: Let's make some money parlay

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 3:16 a.m. ET. All games Saturday and ET.

Leg 1: GEORGIA SOUTHERN -3.5 (-115) vs. Ohio – 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Myrtle Beach Bowl -- Conway, S.C.

The Georgia Southern Eagles (6-6) didn't play on the turquoise turf at Brooks Stadium in Conway this season, but they have in the past. It's the home field of Coastal Carolina, co-Sun Belt (Fun Belt!) rival of the Eagles. That could be a slight advantage against the Ohio Bobcats (9-3).

Ohio was hit hard by transfer portal defections. Starting QB Kurtis Rourke entered his name into the portal. So did the top-2 leading rushers in RBs Sieg Bangura and O'Shaan Allison and the 2nd- and 3rd-leading receivers by yards in Miles Cross and Tyler Walton.

Bangura and Allison accounted for 1,263 rushing yards and 10 TDs, while Cross and Walton combined for 84 receptions, 848 yards and 7 scores. Plus,  Rourke was the 3rd-leading rusher with 219 yards and 4 TDs. To make matters worse, primary backup QB C.J. Harris is out for the season, and WR Jacoby Jones is out with an injury. Third-string QB Parker Navarro, who was just 7 of 10 for 65 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, with 107 rushing yards, is expected to start, but how effective will he be with all but WR Sam Wiglusz (50 catches, 600 yards, 3 TDs) gone among the skill position players?

Georgia Southern stumbled down the stretch, losing and failing to cover the spread in its final 4 regular-season games. At least coach Clay Helton's group is a cohesive unit with few defections. QB Davis Brin was mistake-prone, with 16 INTs, but he did throw for 3,418 yards with 22 TDs, helping the Eagles average 30.9 points per game (PPG) and 298.2 passing yards per game.

BACK THE EAGLES -3.5 (-115) to kick off our parlay.

Leg 2: APPALACHIAN STATE -6.5 (-110) vs. Miami (Ohio) – 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl -- Orlando

The Miami RedHawks (11-2) are coming off a 23-14 MAC Championship win as 6.5-point underdogs vs. Toledo. It doesn't seem terribly fair that Miami only ends up in this early bowl after winning the conference title game, but that's life in the MAC.

To make matters worse, rain is expected to affect a majority of the Cure Bowl as a tropical weather disturbance works through the Florida peninsula, with temperatures in the upper 60's, a 70% chance of precipitation and wind gusts up to 20-25 mph.

Miami will be without QB Brett Gabbert due to season-ending leg injury, while primary backup QB Aveon Smith entered the transfer portal. Those were the only 2 RedHawks to throw a pass in a game this season. Coach Chuck Martin announced QB Henry Hesson will start and QB Maddox Kopp will also take some snaps.

The Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-5) have no such problems under center. QB Joey Aguilar threw a school-record 3,546 passing yards with 33 TDs. He also ran for 235 yards and 2 scores. LSU QB Jayden Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Oregon QB Bo Nix, a Heisman finalist, were the only QBs with more TD strikes -- 40 each.

The Mountaineers didn't avoid the transfer portal completely, however, as leading rusher RB Nate Noel (834 yards, 5 TDs on 173 carries) departed. RB Kanye Roberts is next man up. He finished with 648 rushing yards, a team-best 5.7 yards per carry and a team-high 7 rushing TDs. So, that should mitigate Noel's loss somewhat.

Leg 3: Appalachian State vs. Miami UNDER 44.5 (-110)

With the weather issue and the transfer portal defections that hit the RedHawks hard, we're more than willing to add UNDER 44.5 to our parlay.

While the Mountaineers cashed the Over in their final 2 games, the Under is 5-3 across their past 8 contests. App State is solid against the pass, allowing just 212.5 yards per game, and that shouldn't be tested much with 2 unproven signal callers getting their first action of the season for Miami.

Meanwhile, the RedHawks cashed the Under in their final 4 games, including the MAC Championship. Plus, the Under is 7-2 in their last 9.

With unproven QBs, inclement weather and a still mostly intact very good defense, UNDER 44.5 (-110) nder is the way to go.

Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $58.14 (payout = $68.14).

Try out the Paste BN Parlay Calculator.

Leg 4-*: NEW MEXICO STATE -3.5 (-110) vs. Fresno State – 5:45 p.m. (ESPN)

New Mexico Bowl -- Albuquerque

*-If you want to add a 4th play to this parlay.

The New Mexico State Aggies (10-4) came up short as 10-point underdogs in the C-USA Championship at No. 20 Liberty, losing 49-35 (rankings courtesy of the US LBM Coaches Poll powered by Paste BN Sports). The Aggies won 10 games for the first time since 1960. That includes a "pay game" victory at Auburn in November, winning 31-10 as 25-point underdogs.

The Aggies weren't crushed by the portal, at least not yet, but QB Diego Pavia is nursing a shoulder ailment suffered in the C-USA title game. He is listed on the injury report heading into Saturday's game but is expected to start. Pavia led the Ags with 2,915 passing yards, while also running for a team-high 851 yards, and he accounted for 32 total TDs (26 passing, 6 rushing).

New Mexico State went 10-3-1 against the spread (ATS) this season, and it should have an overwhelming home crowd in what is normally behind enemy lines in Albuquerque on the campus of the rival New Mexico Lobos.

Not only did the Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4) lose backup QB Logan Fife to the transfer portal, but OL Jacob Spomer is out with an injury and coach Jeff Tedford won't be on the sideline due to an undisclosed health concern.

Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $120.08 (payout = $130.08).

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.

College sports coverage from Paste BN Sports Media Group:

Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin / Recruiting / Transfer portal / College Football Playoffs / College Sports Wire

[]