New Year’s Eve is always an exciting time, but if you’re a college football fan, it’ll be even more exciting this year. Both semi-final games in the College Football Playoffs will be played on December 31st, as the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl will host the semi-final matchups.
Let’s preview the two games that will take us to the National Championship game so you can continue betting against the College Football Bowl Odds.
College Football Betting Preview for Cotton Bowl Classic and Orange Bowl
Cotton Bowl: Alabama Crimson Tide -550 vs Cincinnati Bearcats +375
The Cotton Bowl Classic has a lot of storylines surrounding the game. Not only is it one of the two semi-final games for the College Football Playoffs, but it also has the #1 seed in the playoffs. The Alabama Crimson Tide has the most College Football Playoff appearances.
They’re coming off of a thrashing of the previously undefeated Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game. Alabama has all of the momentum in the world heading into this one.
The Crimson Tide will face the first Group of Five team to qualify for the playoffs, the Cincinnati Bearcats. Many people wanted to see the undefeated Bearcats in the playoff, but their resume didn’t stand up to some of the others that were in consideration.
Their only big win was over Notre Dame, and they played some very close conference games. When Alabama beat Georgia, Cincinnati got their wish, and now they’re a playoff team.
Heisman trophy winner Bryce Young and the Alabama offense will face off against one of the best secondaries in the country. Alabama’s offense struggled at times this season, but they put things together when they needed to. They made a mockery of the Georgia defense, a defense that many had thought was one of the best in the history of college football.
The Bearcats will be able to put up some points, but will they be able to go score for score with Alabama? Everyone loves an underdog, and Cincinnati will have a lot of fans on their side. We shall see if the Cinderella story can prevail over the #1 team.
Orange Bowl: Michigan Wolverines +245 vs Georgia Bulldogs -305
Prior to the last week of the regular season, who would’ve thought that the Michigan Wolverines would be the #2 seed in the College Football Playoffs?
After beating Ohio State soundly and destroying Iowa in the Big 10 Championship game, Jim Harbaugh’s squad is making its first playoff appearance. Harbaugh had been criticized for being unable to win the big game, and he finally did it this year. We’ll see if he has another big win in the future.
Georgia was rolling along, and many thought that the #1 seed in the playoffs was a foregone conclusion. Well, the Alabama Crimson Tide had something to say about that as they upset the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game. With that loss, the Bulldogs ended up as the #3 seed in the playoffs.
The Wolverines and Bulldogs will square off in the Orange Bowl for the right to play for the National Championship. We’ll see a ton of smash-mouth football in this one. Both teams have elite defenses that can stop the pass and the run.
Both squads also have very talented offensive lines. We’re going to see a game that may not see much scoring, but we’ll see some very athletic plays on both sides of the ball.