The Cotton Bowl Classic (1937) is the fifth-oldest NCAA bowl game, younger than only the Rose Bowl (1902, and continuously played since 1916), Orange Bowl (1935), Sugar Bowl (1935) and Sun Bowl (1935).

The Cotton Bowl is a big part of football in the Lone Star State and a component of the College Football Playoff. For bettors in Texas, it’s another opportunity to bet on college football with some of the best teams in the nation meeting on the field.

Below, check out the current Cotton Bowl odds and a breakdown of how to bet on the bowl game.

Current Cotton Bowl odds

Our odds feed below is updated as soon as the two teams in the Cotton Bowl are announced. Then, it automatically updates until the completion of the game. Bettors can access these odds, which come straight from legal and regulated online Texas, by clicking them.

How to bet on the Cotton Bowl online

The Lone Star State has long held football in high esteem. From the Texas Longhorns to the Texas A&M Aggies to the Houston Cougars, SMU Mustangs, Rice Owls and more, college football will likely reign supreme at Texas online sportsbooks (as soon as Texas sports betting is legalized).

It should come as no surprise that bowl games hosted in the state are a focal point of a lot of NCAA postseason betting. You’ll discover there are multitudes of betting opportunities for the Cotton Bowl at every online sportsbook.

Let’s look at the three most popular Cotton Bowl bets you’re going to encounter.

What is this year’s Cotton Bowl moneyline? 

As the Cotton Bowl is a matchup between two college football teams, the moneyline bet is incredibly simple. Pick which team you think will win. That’s it.

If you’re right, you get paid out based on your bet amount and the betting odds at the time you finalized your bet. If you’re wrong, your stake stays with the sportsbook.

You can identify the favorite to win the game with negative odds, such as -110. Positive odds, like +165, show us which team is the underdog. The negative odds show you how much you’d need to wager in order to win $100. Positive odds indicate what you will win for every $100 you bet. Keep in mind that you don’t have to bet that much or that little.

What is the Cotton Bowl point spread?

In many college football games, one team is heavily favored. That doesn’t often happen in postseason bowl games, especially not in the College Football Playoff. However, when that is the case, the point spread bet is designed to create a more “even” playing field by assigning a mandatory win margin to the favorite.

If the favorite fails to win by that much or more, then bets on the other team will be successful.

Here’s a fictional example: the Texas Longhorns are the favorite at -7.5 points over the Cincinnati Bearcats in an upcoming Cotton Bowl. Both teams carry -115 odds.

If Texas wins the game 30-21, then they’ve covered the spread. If you had wagered $115 on the Longhorns spread, your payout would be $215, which is your original stake plus your winnings.

If you’re wondering why college football spreads have a half-point, oddsmakers use that half-point to guarantee the bet will have winners and losers. There cannot be anyone who ties or pushes. You’ll see the same half-point used in the totals bets, which we discuss below.

Cotton Bowl totals odds 

This bet type is also known as the over/under, and it differs from the others we’ve discussed because it doesn’t require you to pick which team is going to win. Instead, your focus is on the total number of points the two teams in the Cotton Bowl are going to combine to score.

Oddsmakers will give you a predicted total, such as 48.5 points, along with odds like -110. You will use your research to determine if the two teams have the ability to score over or under that amount.

For example, if the two teams end the game with a 24-21 final, the total would be 45 points, which would mean bets on the under would pay out.

Live betting odds on the Cotton Bowl

Traditional betting has always taken place prior to the start of a game. You would make your selections, put down your stake and wait to see the outcome.

With the continued growth of sports betting across the nation, sportsbooks have found a way to keep bettors interested even while the game is being played. Live betting, also referred to as in game betting, takes place while the action is happening on the field. You use your online sportsbook or a betting app to bet on a variety of opportunities.

Many of these will be prop bets, such as if a team will score a touchdown on the next drive or if there will be a pick-six in the game. Others are over/under bets on player and team performances.

The variety of bets depends on which sportsbook you’re using. That’s one of the main reasons we suggest you shop around and try out the different Texas sportsbooks to determine which ones best fit your needs.

Some sportsbooks make live betting a premier part of the betting experience, while others stay more focused on the traditional bet types.

How to open an online sportsbook account in Texas

Opening an account at a Texas sportsbook is free and very convenient.

When you decide which sportsbook interests you the most, you can simply follow the link from our site to visit the corresponding homepage and sign up for an account.

When signing up, you’ll be required to provide personal information like an address, phone, Social Security number and more. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be asked to accept the sportsbook’s terms and conditions, which outline everything you need to be aware of regarding the rules of betting and how the sportsbook handles specific situations.

We recommend you read through the T&Cs before accepting them, but if you need to come back later, you’ll be able to find them on the sportsbook website.

From there, download the betting app for use on your phone or table, and then make your initial deposit. You’ll claim your sports bonus offers and then be ready to start betting on the Cotton Bowl.

You’ll be able to use the sportsbook anywhere within the state of Texas. The terms and conditions you accepted allow the sportsbook to verify your location to ensure you’re within state lines before making your bet. However, you can be anywhere you have an internet connection for account management, withdrawals, deposits and more.

The top sportsbooks for Cotton Bowl betting lines expected to launch in Texas post-legalization include BetMGM, DraftKings, Caesars and FanDuel.

2023 Cotton Bowl details

The 2023 iteration of the Cotton Bowl Classic will be the 88th time the game has been played. It was first played in 1937 in Dallas at the Texas State Fair Grounds and was privately financed by a Texas oil executive.

Below, we have all the details for the next edition of the Cotton Bowl.

2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

• Date: January 2, 2023
• Time: Noon ET
• Teams: TBA
• Stadium/capacity: AT&T Stadium / 80,000
• Expected participating conferences: The highest-ranked conference champion from the American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt will automatically get one spot in Cotton Bowl if it’s not in the College Football Playoff.
• Sponsorship history: The Cotton Bowl Classic is currently sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and was previously sponsored by Mobil (1989-1995) and Southwestern Bell/SBC Communications/AT&T (1997-2014).

Where is the Cotton Bowl played?

How to watch the Cotton Bowl

If you’re looking to catch the broadcast of the Cotton Bowl, scheduled for January 2, 2023, at noon ET, you can do so by tuning into ESPN.

ESPN is available with many cable and satellite packages, as well as many online streaming platforms.

You’ll find ESPN on cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, U-Verse TV, Verizon Fios, Google Fiber and Xfinity, as well as streaming on YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T Now and ESPN+.

Keep in mind that streaming services can have a slight delay, which can be bothersome when you’re trying to participate in live betting while watching the game. That delay can be between 30 seconds and a minute.

Cotton Bowl trivia

Like fun facts? Want to crush it at your local bar’s trivia night? Below, we have 10 interesting tidbits about the Cotton Bowl Classic.

• The first Cotton Bowl was held in 1937 and funded by J. Curtis Sanford, a Dallas oil executive. The game was between TCU Fort Worth and Marquette and held at the Texas State Fair Grounds at Fair Park’s Cotton Bowl Stadium. TCU defeated Marquette 16-6.
• In 1947, the final score of the Cotton Bowl was 0-0 after Arkansas and LSU were stymied by snow and ice in what would become remembered as the “Ice Bowl.”
• In the 1979 matchup between Notre Dame and Houston, Fighting Irish quarterback Joe Montana was suffering from the flu. He could be seen on the sideline for most of the game eating chicken soup and covered in blankets. He ended up coming off the bench to help Notre Dame win 35-34.
• Showing an extreme lack of sportsmanship in the 1954 Cotton Bowl, Alabama’s Tommy Lewis came off the sidelines without his helmet to tackle Rice running back Dicky Maegle at the 41-yard line. Maegle was awarded the touchdown, and Rice would go on to win the game 28-6.
• The Cotton Bowl Classic began play at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in 2010. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones played in the 1965 Cotton Bowl as an offensive guard at Arkansas.
• The giant No. 1 foam finger that has been a resident of just about every stadium in the world at some point was first widely debuted at the 1978 Cotton Bowl when Notre Dame defeated the Texas Longhorns 38-10 to claim the National Championship.
• As of the 2022 edition, only six coaches have brought more than one university to the Cotton Bowl Classic: Jess Neely (Clemson and Rice), Paul “Bear” Bryant (Kentucky and Alabama), Jackie Sherrill (Texas A&M and Mississippi State), Houston Nutt (Arkansas and Ole Miss), Les Miles (Oklahoma State and LSU) and Nick Saban (LSU and Alabama).
• In 1949, SMU’s Doak Walker was the first-ever Heisman Trophy winner to play in the Cotton Bowl.
• In 2019, Penn State and Memphis set the Cotton Bowl Classic record for the most points scored in the bowl game’s history, with a total of 92. Penn State won the game 53-39.
• As of the 2022 Cotton Bowl Classic, Missouri running back Tony Temple and Oklahoma State receiver Rashaun Woods hold two Cotton Bowl Classic records each. Temple has the most rushing yards (281 vs. Arkansas, 2008) and rushing touchdowns (four vs. Arkansas), while Woods has the most receptions (11 vs. Ole Miss, 2004) and most receiving yards (223 vs. Ole Miss).