Some of the older sports bettors out there might be dating themselves a bit, but it really was not all that long ago that the college bowl season consisted of four or five big games on New Year’s Day. The schedule was then expanded to New Year’s Eve with a few more games before expanding to a dozen or so games between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

There was more money to be made on postseason college football games, so things kept expanding over the years to the point where all the top offshore sportsbooks operating online offer a full set of betting lines for all 41 games on this year’s bowl game schedule. The addition of a four-team playoff a few years back has allowed the college football bowl season to become its own unique sports betting entity that offers a world of value for sports bettors if you know how and where to look.

One of the most unique aspect of college football bowl season is the time elapsed between the original release of the betting lines and when the games are actually played. The first round of bowl games this season will take place on Saturday, Dec. 16 running all the way through the College Football Playoff Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 8.

This larger than normal gap allows the betting lines to settle in over a much longer period of time. While most of the big money will come into the online sportsbooks closer to the kickoff of each individual game, there could be some very interesting line movements in the early stages of the online betting. Current injuries remain a big factor in certain games given that there is plenty of time for players with minor issues to get back on the field.

Coaching issues often factor into bowl season in light of any recent firings. It is not completely uncommon to see a head coach accept a position at a new team while trying to get its current team ready for a bowl game.

Weather was never a major factor when all the bowl games used to be played in warm weather climates, but with games on the slate from Boise, Idaho to Yankee Stadium in New York, that is no longer the case with quite a few of the bowl games that are played at outdoor venues.

The key to making money during the upcoming college bowl season is to pick and choose your spots. Betting on all 41 games is not feasible strategy when it comes to generating a positive return on investment. You may be better off shopping the betting lines across a number of the top online books taking action on the games to come up with a handful of picks that give you the best chance to win. You can always play the local office pool for a couple of bucks when it comes to picking a winner for every single bowl game.

Tracking the early line movements and shopping the actual betting lines are two of the best ways to answer the issue of how to look for value. When it comes to the idea of where to look for the best value in the games, it all comes down to the actual matchups.

There are a number of Mid Majors that live to play in a bowl. It is the main goal of their season and you know that they are going to make the most of the opportunity. There are also a number of teams from a Power 5 conference at 6-6 or 7-5 that watched their season go down the tubes to land a spot in a much lesser bowl game than expected. Every top team in a major conference is looking to play on New Year’s Day and when they are forced to play in mid-December or around the Christmas Holiday, the motivation to win is not going to be as high.