ReliaQuest Odds
By Eric Uribe,
The ReliaQuest Bowl counts as one of these games. It is not the peak of competition, but it is one of the second-tier bowl games schools love to compete in. And navigating the ReliaQuest Bowl odds is no different from any other college football matchup. There are some obstacles when it comes to betting futures, but for the most part, it is just like any other high stakes NCAA football game. Consider us your cheat code to mastering it.
The ReliaQuest Bowl will take place at the end of the year on Tuesday, December 31st, 2024, at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay Florida scheduled for 12:00 pm.
Even the most religious college football bettors tend to focus solely on the six major bowl games each year—the ones that are helder in the highest esteem and, on a rolling basis, have the biggest impact on the college football playoff and National Championship. This trend makes some sense, but the smartest, most committed bettors know they can find opportunities across other college football bowl games. Keep reading for the best college football bowl bets this year.
Best ReliaQuest Bowl Betting Sites
There is more to finding the best ReliaQuest Bowl betting sites than just choosing a home at random. Different sportsbooks offer different experiences, and they’re not all created equally. Some promise more wager types, particularly in the props and futures departments. Others focus on faster transactions. Many prioritize larger bonuses or ultra-fast and real-time odds updates.
Parsing the breadth of online sportsbooks for the right fit can be exhausting. Good thing we did it for you. Below is a list of the top homes not only for ReliaQuest Bowl spreads, but college football betting in general:
College Football ReliaQuest Bowl Betting Odds
Betting college football futures is a big deal for some people. The more options, the merrier. Win-total over/under wagers are great, and you can always bet college football playoff futures and National Championship futures.
Those looking to play bowl-game futures, however, are out of lock. The field of participants is too ambiguous to provide lines on.
This is true of the ReliaQuest Bowl, even though it technically has a narrower list of eligible participants. Typically, this game is reserved for a showdown between the champions of the Big 10 and SEC conferences. However, this is only true if neither of those teams qualifies for the college football playoff or a more significant bowl game.
You better believe the NCAA needs to pull from an alternative field on a regular basis. Powerhouses like Alabama reside in one of these two conferences, which means they’ll usually be contending for more than an ReliaQuest Bowl bid. So, you can see the impossibility of having futures before the actual matchup is set.
Never fear, though. We will have ReliaQuest Bowl lines below as soon as they’re available. The odds were last updated on September 3, 2024:
ReliaQuest Bowl Odds
Last updated on: September 30, 2024
For the 2024/25 college football season specifically, be prepared for the field of contenders to change significantly.
Starting play in the spring leaves the college football season to brush up against the 2025 NFL draft. Any prospects who plan to go pro after this year might opt out of the college season if it begins that late. Some heavy hitters have already decided against playing and instead chosen to focus on draft prep.
Other college football seasons will be much easier to navigate—hopefully, the next one, in fact. For now, as you await the chance to make picks for the ReliaQuest Bowl and bet other college football futures in general, you need to keep the current ambiguity in mind.
How ReliaQuest Bowl Contenders are Chosen
As we alluded to earlier, ReliaQuest Bowl contenders do not abide by a specific formula. Initially, the game is scheduled to host champions from the SEC and Big 10, but that's subject to change and usually does change because select squads from each conference end up making higher-tier bowl games.
These superior opportunities are known as the New Year's Six. They're the bowl games that act as semifinals qualifiers for the National Championship on a rolling basis, and they include:
Essentially, the ReliaQuest Bowl will feature two teams who fail to make the cut for one of those premier matchups. And this, in turn, means, you're dealing with two squads who rank outside the top 12 in the country—through this can sometimes change.
Pinpointing which schools this field will include is difficult. The AP top 25 rankings are updated regularly throughout the season, but the committee that makes them doesn't adhere to any specific criteria.
Strength of schedule and undefeated records are known to curry favor, but neither is considered the end-all, be-all of the final standings. That's why you need to wait so long to know which two schools are partaking in the ReliaQuest Bowl—and also why it's not worth putting your eggs in any basket until you have that information.
ReliaQuest Bowl Betting vs. College Playoff Betting
ReliaQuest Bowl betting strategies must deviate from those of the major bowl games (i.e the college football playoff) and National Championship. It stands as a crowning achievement on its own, but it's also a second-tier feat that shares a level of competition with a score of other bowl games. These end-of-season matchups on the same plane include:
- Celebration Bowl
- Las Vegas Bowl
- Holiday Bowl
- Citrus Bowl
- Alamo Bowl
- Music City Bowl
- Belk Bowl
- Army-Navy Game
Relative to the New Year's Six and National Championship, these bowl games won't feature as many sportsbook benefits. There won't be a ton of deposit bonuses associated with them specifically or nearly as many free-play tournaments.
Similarly, you're also looking at a smaller selection of college football bowl betting lines. The usual spread, moneyline and over/under wagers will be available, but you'll start to sense the difference when looking at prop lines and live betting.
This is different from saying the ReliaQuest Bowl isn't a draw for prop bettors or mid-game gamblers. Lines will be available for each. But they'll be on the basic end. Think Props and live lines on halftime spreads or moneylines. The selection will only start to dwindle if you're looking for player-specific lines, like forecasting the over/under on the number of touchdowns passes thrown by a quarterback.
If it's any consolation, the ReliaQuest Bowl is close to the most important of these second-tier bowl games. Only the Citrus Bowl and Alamo Bowl have a claim to edging it out. This ensures that, relative to the second-level bowl games at large, the ReliaQuest Bowl has the best shot of giving you a deep selection of alternative lines from which to choose.
One area where none of these bowl games differ from the New Year's Six and the National Championship: Line shifting.
Oddsmaker will make oft-stark adjustments to their initial offerings after gauging the opening public action. Placing your bet after this tweaking takes place is hardly the end of the world, but those initial lines, particularly when it comes to the spread and over/under, tend to be the most attractive for gamblers.
As ever, then, we believe it's best to place your ReliaQuest Bowl bets as soon as possible, even though you'll have them close to a full week before kickoff. You obviously have the green light to wait if there's a major injury—such as the status of a starting quarterback—or anything along those lines. If that's not an issue, though, striving to submit your prediction once the lines are released should be the goal. And this strategy holds true whether you're betting on the game outcome, leaning heavily on props or building high-return parlays. Trust us.
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