Below is a breakdown of the top bets for today’s bowl games.

Mississippi State (-1, 46) vs. Illinois

It is hard to predict how Mississippi State will react and be able to play after losing their head coach just over a week ago. But, there are some significant player opt-outs in this game. Rara Thomas led Mississippi State with 626 yards receiving this season and caught seven touchdowns, but he will not be playing as he is transferring to Georgia. Meanwhile, Illinois will be without their leading rusher Chase Brown, as well as two pivotal members of its secondary in Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown. Also, Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters left to take the head coach job at Purdue. We think the low scoring trend in bowl games, including the two semifinal games, will continue.

Under 46 points.

Penn State (+2.5, 52.5) vs Utah

Utah stunned the USC Trojans to win the Pac-12 championship, and the Penn State Nittany Lions looked impressive, with their two losses coming to the Big Ten’s best, Michigan and Ohio State. This matchup will feature offense that can score consistently. The Nittany Lions are averaging 40 points over their last three and the Utes have put up 42.3 PPG in their most recent three.

Although Penn State holds opponents to 18 PPG, Utah has a well-rounded group. TE Dalton Kincaid leads with 890 receiving yards and eight TDs. In addition, the Utes have four others with over 300 receiving yards. Then, there are four RBs with 360 or more yards under their belt. We believe the Nittany Lions will struggle to stop the Utes’ offense.

Utah Utes -2.5