Happy New Year! Best bets for a huge football weekend

We won't be talking again until Tuesday of next week with the New Year, so we're getting you fully covered for the weekend of football awaits. We've got a packed Week 17 in the NFL, and the two college football semis will bookend the weekend on Monday. Get your bets in now and then go enjoy the next few days!

NFL Week 17

Cowboys ML & CeeDee Lamb 80+ yards (-102 FanDuel)

Dallas is back home on Saturday night hosting the Detroit Lions in a massive NFC showdown. We've been fading the Cowboys the past few weeks, but we'd be happy to back them here now that they're back in Dallas, where they are 7-0 this season.

The Lions' secondary has had its leaks of late, especially as it relates to allowing explosive plays from opposing WRs. We'll pair the Cowboys to win with CeeDee Lamb to pile up some yards.

49ers -12.5 (-110 DK)

This one is quite simple on our end. San Francisco is coming off a loss, and is just so far superior to the product that the Washington Commanders are putting on the field right now. Expect the passing game to get going against this porous secondary, and Washington's run defense is growing into a serious problem as well. This game could be over by the half.

D'Andre Swift TD (+107 ESPN)

The Arizona Cardinals are allowing the second-most yards per game to running backs and the second-most touchdowns to the position. That should give D'Andre Swift plenty of opportunities here to deliver a score on Sunday. The Eagles offense has been a bit out of sorts, and establishing the run game could go a long way to accomplishing that. Expect a big Swift day.

College Football Semis

Alabama +1.5

The first game of the CFP semis, Alabama-Michigan, should be an absolute treat. We lean Alabama here simply thanks to the presence of Jalen Milroe. Michigan doesn't see many scrambling quarterbacks in Big Ten play, and that is a massive part of Milroe's game. That element should make things difficult on the Wolverines defense, and we don't want to be betting against Nick Saban in the CFP.

Washington +4

We've been betting the undefeated Washington Huskies as underdogs over the past few games, and those wins are most definitely still fresh on the mind as we look at this spread against Texas on Monday night. It seems sportsbooks and the public just continue to not be sold on Michael Penix Jr. and this Washington offense. We'll take that chance and grab the points in what should be an entertaining and high-scoring affair.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll, the guy who won $8K on a $20 NFL parlay. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.