College football expert picks for Dec. 27 Bowl Games: Back FSU vs. Southern Miss

College football's bowl season heats up with four games on Wednesday, Dec. 27. Florida State is favored by 16.5 against Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl, Iowa is favored by 2.5 against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, Arizona is favored by three against Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl, and Missouri is a 2.5-point favorite against Texas in a primetime Texas Bowl showdown.

Before you make any bets for Wednesday's slate, you need to see who Barrett Sallee is picking.

No one knows college football like Sallee. The CBS Sports analyst, ESPNU radio host and Heisman voter is one of CBS Sports' top experts picking college football games against the spread this year. Entering the post-Christmas bowl season, he's a blistering 20-10 on best bets he's given to SportsLine.

For Championship Week, he was a perfect 3-0, going with Oklahoma (-7), Wisconsin (+6.5) and Clemson (-9) to cover. He's followed that up with a strong 4-2 start in bowl season, including a bold upset call of MTSU (+3.5) over Arkansas State and correct calls on South Florida (-3) over Texas Tech and Army (+6.5) over San Diego State. Anybody following these picks is up huge.

For Wednesday's packed bowl schedule, Sallee is again sharing his favorite picks over at SportsLine.

We can tell you he loves Florida State (-16.5) to win and cover a large spread against Southern Mississippi in the Independence Bowl.

Many are taking the points with Southern Miss because of a perceived lack of interest in this game from FSU. The Seminoles, accustomed to competing in top-tier bowls, fell down to a much lower rung this year after a disappointing 6-6 season. They only made it to the postseason by rescheduling a cancelled game against Louisiana-Monroe that gave them the chance to get a sixth win.

There has been plenty of off-the-field drama for FSU as well. Coach Jimbo Fisher left before the season finale to become the head coach of Texas A&M. And at least four major contributors, including safety Derwin James and defensive end Josh Sweat, have opted to sit this game out to preserve their NFL stock.

But Sallee sees an opportunity. While over half the public has jumped on Southern Miss against the spread, he's boldly backing the Seminoles to win big.

"The Seminoles can go to Shreveport and simply out-athlete the Golden Eagles -- even with their second-teamers," Sallee said. "Expect a heavy dose of the running game as new coach Willie Taggart will be looking to get a few things accomplished and -- most importantly -- keep everybody healthy. It might be close for a while, but even Florida State's offensive line is capable of winning the battle at the line of scrimmage in this one."

Confidently back the Seminoles, the far more talented team, and get your Wednesday picks off to a profitable start.

Sallee also has three other picks you absolutely need to see, including a strong against-the-spread pick for Wednesday's big Texas-Missouri showdown. Visit SportsLine now to see Barrett Sallee's best bets for Dec. 27, all from one of the top college football experts in the nation who is a blistering 20-10 on his best bets on SportsLine.