When the college football national championship system was changed to a playoff format, a new group of games called the New Year’s Six was born. These six important bowl games, some formerly known as BCS games, have become the feature games every bowl season, with two of the six annually playing host to the two semifinal playoff games. All are played on or around the New Year’s holiday, enhancing their prominence.

You won’t find as many players opting out of these bowls to get ready for the NFL draft, although there are exceptions (LSU CB Greedy Williams as well as the four key players from Michigan). You also typically won’t find teams disappointed to be there, as you do with many lesser bowl games.

As such, the motivational excitement factor that is usually crucial in other bowl games is not as much of a factor in handicapping these games as are the matchup, the strengths/weaknesses of each team, and how the line is placed. That said, this group of games still has plenty of different trends and other betting angles that have formed. Let’s take a look at these games as a group and individually from a betting perspective.

This year’s New Year’s Six bowls are the Peach (Florida vs. Michigan), Cotton (Notre Dame vs. Clemson), Orange (Alabama vs. Oklahoma), Fiesta (LSU vs. UCF), Rose (Washington vs. Ohio State) and Sugar (Texas vs. Georgia).

The Over is on a 19-11 run in the New Year’s Six bowl games. The games have produced an average of 63.9 ppg on totals averaging 59.5, with last year’s Rose Bowl game between Georgia and Oklahoma, a 54-48 final, testing the limits of the scoreboards.

Concerning the “Group of 5” conference teams, they are 8-5 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) against their bigger counterparts since 2005. These teams, represented by UCF again in 2018, have clearly been motivated by playing in high-level bowl games against power conference foes.

One of the most other prominent betting facts you’ll want to know is that line movements have been telling, and bettors have not been sharp on the New Year’s Six games. In fact, these big games have become big money makers for the books, as dating back to the turn of the calendar to 2012, bettors are just 11-22 ATS when moving sides on these games.

However, it should be known that the record on this trend a year ago was 4-1 ATS, so things could be changing. Concerning totals, bettors have been much sharper, going 21-13 in those same games. Again though, a 1-3 record last season could be signaling a change in that trend.

There have been some significant upsets in recent years, and in fact, four of the last eight double-digit underdogs in these games have pulled the upset, the latest being UCF over Auburn in last year’s Peach Bowl. What’s more, bettors have moved the line wrongly in the eight of the last nine games with double-digit point spreads.

While big upsets have been common in the New Year’s Six, teams winning and not covering certainly have not. Actually, 28 of the last 29 outright winners also have covered the point spread. The moral of the story there is to pick the winner, assume the points.

SEC teams are 10-13 SU and ATS in their last 23 New Year’s Six games, so be cautious with Alabama, Georgia and LSU.