Saturday CFB: Betting angles for all 3 games

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Saturday marks the first real big slate of the college football bowl season, featuring three games.

Here, we'll dive into all the notes and angles you need to know before placing your bets.

First Responder Bowl - UL-Lafayette @ UTSA (+14, 56), 3:30 p.m. ET

Is there a better team in the country that nobody knows about than UL-Lafayette? The Ragin' Cajuns' lone blemish this season was a three-point loss to Coastal Carolina; otherwise, they're 9-1, on a six-game win streak, and have covered three straight.

Louisiana's defense, in particular, has been firing on all cylinders, allowing 21 points or fewer in four straight.

UTSA trudged to a 1-4 record in October but really kicked into gear when November hit. The Roadrunners head into the weekend on their own three-game win streak, having outscored opponents by a combined 66 points over that span.

The total could be the look in this spot: UTSA has cashed seven unders in its last eight tries.

Important trends

• UL-Lafayette is 6-1 ATS the last seven non-conference games
• UTSA is 8-3 to the under the last 11 games in December

LendingTree Bowl - Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State (-3.5, 50.5), 3:30 p.m.

Western Kentucky finally hit its stride down the stretch, though the Hilltoppers only had one way to go: up. They kicked off the year by losing their first five games against the spread before ripping off four wins in five tries to close out the year.

The team faced some decent competition this year, including UAB, Marshall, Liberty, and BYU. So while the Hilltoppers clocked out with just a 5-6 record, advanced metric SP+ ranks them 81st in the country - five spots ahead of Georgia State, which is laying the chalk Saturday.

The Panthers have cashed four straight unders against Conference USA opponents and that's the direction the market's leaning - the total's dropped from 54 to 50.5 since open.

Important trends

• Western Kentucky is 8-2-1 ATS after a win
• Georgia State is 5-1 to the under the last six games in December

Cure Bowl - Liberty @ Coastal Carolina (-7, 59.5), 7:30 p.m.

Better late than never for Liberty and Coastal Carolina, which were scheduled to meet late in the regular season before the Flames withdrew due to COVID-19 issues.

Liberty was a one-point November loss to NC State away from running the table in 2020. The Flames finished 9-1 and single-handedly paid for bettors' Christmas presents, covering seven straight to close out.

Coastal Carolina did run the table, but all the Chanticleers have to show for it is a post-Christmas bowl game in Orlando. Will they be ready to go?

Coastal clocked out at No. 20 in SP+'s final polls. The rising Sun Belt program was a cash cow in its own right, going 7-1-1 ATS the last nine overall, and the offense caught fire late, averaging 36.8 points per game over the final six.

Important trends

• Liberty is 21-7 ATS the last 28 as a 'dog
• Coastal Carolina is 4-1 to the over the last five non-conference games

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.