Free College Football Picks Today for Bowl Games Week One, 2023

Our free College Football picks are out for Bowl Games Week One, 2023! Make sure you check our College Football picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free College Football picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Georgia Southern @ Ohio – 11AM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been an average season for Georgia Southern, and they will look to grab their seventh victory of the season here on Saturday afternoon against Ohio. They finished the regular season right at 500 as they picked up six victories and their first 12 games of the year and they will look to finish with a winning record with another quality performance here in this one. It was a little bit of a rough year for Georgia Southern, and they will look to use a season ending victory as a huge momentum boost heading into the off-season. A victory in this game would give them plenty of momentum heading into the off-season towards next year as they look to get things going in the right direction once again and have a much better campaign in 2024. They come into this game on a four game losing streak, and they have hardly been competitive throughout the last four weeks and they will need to bounce back in a big way in this game against Ohio.

Ohio put together a quality season, and they will look to cross over the double digit win barrier with a victory in this game on Saturday afternoon against Georgia Southern. They picked up nine victories throughout the regular season and they will look for a 10th win of the year here on Saturday as they look to cap off a double digit season and build up as much momentum as possible heading into the off-season. They have been consistent throughout the entire regular season but they will not have their starting quarterback as he is transferring to Indiana for next year and they will have to get the job done with their back up here in this game on Saturday. They come into this game with plenty of momentum as they have picked up three consecutive victories to end the year, and they have won four out of their last five as well. They will be looking for a fourth consecutive win here on Saturday and that is exactly what I expect, as I look for Ohio to pick up the win in comfortable fashion.

Jacksonville State @ Louisiana – 2:15PM ET

Tony Battalio

Jacksonville State put together a successful season in their first year in the FBS and they weren’t even supposed to be here as technically they are legally not allowed to go bowling until their third year in the FBS. However, there were not enough teams to fill the bowl spots so Jacksonville State now finds themselves in a bowl game. Now they will look to prove the doubters wrong with a victory here on Saturday afternoon against Louisiana. They put together a fantastic regular season, and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Saturday afternoon as they like to build up as much momentum as possible heading into the off-season. They come to this game with eight victories to their name and they will look for their ninth victory of the year here on Saturday afternoon as they look to bounce back from their loss in their regular season finale to New Mexico State. 

It has been a pretty average season for a Louisiana team that usually finishes towards the top of the Sun Belt Conference. They will look to pick up a season ending victory, and officially clinch a winning season in the process, as well as put themselves in a position to gain as much momentum as possible heading into the off-season. This will certainly be no easy task for Louisiana here on Saturday afternoon against Jacksonville State as it is likely one of their toughest games of the season and they will look to pass that test with flying colors. They do have a little bit of momentum coming into this game on Saturday after blowing out Louisiana Monroe in their regular season finale. Now they will be looking to parlay that momentum into a second consecutive victory here on Saturday afternoon. However, I don’t see that happening as I look for the Gamecocks to pick up the victory in this game on Saturday afternoon over Louisiana.

Miami Ohio @ Appalachian State – 3:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

Miami of Ohio has put together an incredible season and they picked up a conference championship along the way and they will look to end their season on a high note with a bowl victory as well. They’ve recorded double digit victories this season for the first time in a long time and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Saturday afternoon against Appalachian State. They have had one of the best defenses in the country as they have given up less than 20 points in all of their previous games and they will be looking to shut down this Appalachian State offense once again here on Saturday afternoon to pick up their 12th victory of the season. Miami of Ohio will be looking to cap off this fantastic season with another strong, defensive performance here on Saturday afternoon as they look to take down the mountaineers of Appalachian State in the Cure Bowl. 

Appalachian State put together a quality season of their own and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Saturday afternoon against Miami. They have picked up eight victories throughout the regular season and played in a conference championship game and they will look for their ninth victory of the season here on Saturday afternoon. As they looked to build up as much momentum as possible heading into the offseason. They’ve been consistent throughout the year and they will look to beat the best defense that they will see all season in this game on Saturday with a quality offensive performance. However, honestly, I don’t see that happening as I look for the Miami of Ohio defense to put up another quality performance here on Saturday as well and lead the Redhawks to their 11th victory of the regular season.

New Mexico State @ Fresno State – 5:45PM ET

Tony Battalio

New Mexico State has put together a tremendous season despite coming up short in the Conference USA championship game. They look to finish off their solid season with a victory in this bowl game against Fresno State here on Saturday night as they look for their 11th victory of the regular season. They were on a roll until they ran into the undefeated Liberty Flames in the conference title game, and they ended up losing by a couple of touchdowns, and now they will be looking to get things going in the right direction once again, heading into the offseason. This is a New Mexico team that could easily drop 30+ points on you on the offensive side of the football with their quarterback, and that is exactly what I expect out of this game on Saturday night against Fresno State as I look for this thing to be a track meet in this bowl game. 

Fresno State put together a quality season, and they will look to finish off the season with a victory here on Saturday night against New Mexico State. Come into this game after winning eight games throughout the regular season, and they will look for their ninth victory of the year here on Saturday night as they look to wrap up a winning campaign on a positive note. Despite the fast start to the regular season, they certainly had a slow finish as they lost their last three games in a row, and they will look to break out of their slump and cap off the season with a huge victory over New Mexico State. As they will look to take plenty of momentum into the offseason with them and build off of the successful nine wind campaign here on Saturday night with a victory. However, unfortunately for Fresno State, I don’t see that happening as I look for New Mexico State to pick up the win here in this one and wrap up the season with their 11th win of the year.

UCLA @ Boise State – 7:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

UCLA comes into this game looking to grab a huge momentum boosting victory in their bowl game against Boise State on Saturday night. They have put together a respectable season, and they will look to keep the momentum rolling into the offseason with another  solid performance in this one, as they look to cap off the year on a positive note. They will likely be without superstar, freshman, quarterback, Dante Moore, as he is rumored to join the transfer portal following a rough freshman season for UCLA. They will need to find a way to get the job done here in this game without their superstar quarterback, but he did share throughout the year with his backup so the backup quarterback in this one has plenty of experience coming into this game against Boise State. UCLA finished the season with seven victories and 12 games and they will look to end of the year with an eighth victory here on Saturday night against the Broncos. 

Boise State made a huge change in the middle of the season when they fired their head coach, and it worked out for the better. They ended up winning the remaining games on their schedule and even won the Mountain West Conference championship game and now they will look to top the season off of a successful bull victory against UCLA here on Saturday night. Boise State is a program that has becomes synonymous with success in college football especially when it comes to beating power five teams and that is exactly what they will look to do here in this game on Saturday night against the Bruins. That is exactly what I expect out of Boise State in this game, as well as I look for them to pick up a solid victory in the ball game and finish off the season on a positive note with a quality victory against UCLA.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.