Michigan vs. Alabama CFP: Preview, best bets, predictions
The Michigan Wolverines are slight favorites to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, as a semi-final in the College Football Playoff.
Diehards wait all year for college football playoff betting. Michigan sports fans are a bit spoiled, with an opportunity to win while supporting the Wolverines.
Michigan is making its third consecutive appearance in the CFP, but first as the No. 1 seed. They will face Alabama, who defeated defending national champion Georgia in the SEC title game. The winner will face the winner of the other national semi-final, between No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Texas.
The Michigan game is about a month away. But let’s take an early look at the matchup between the two winningest schools in college football history, as well as promos from some of Michigan’s top sportsbooks.
Michigan is not a defense-only juggernaut. No, the Wolverines have a talented quarterback in J.J. McCarthy, whose shoulder and legs make Michigan a threat on the offensive side of the ball.
Alabama for once, has a deficit in their QB play compared to their opponents. That edge, and McCarthy’s fiery leadership, give Big Blue a chance to keep the football away from the Crimson Tide.
In a game that will probably be high-scoring, McCarthy can be expected to exceed his 202 YPG average through the air. The Michigan QB only ran into the end zone three times this season for a score, but in a game of this magnitude, we like the chances of a rushing TD for McCarthy.
After Coach Harbaugh took the mic accepting the Big 10 Championship trophy, he covertly tolled the ocean of Michigan haters by uttering a single word, “bet.”
As he spoke these three letters, FanDuel Sportsbook opened their books with Michigan +1.5 as the betting favorites with the over set at 46.5 (-110).
This line is sure to move as we get closer to January 1st, so hurry and take advantage of the many valuable sports betting promo codes from MLive.
Michigan has the sixth-ranked run defense, allowing just 87 YPG on the ground. That means Bama QB Jalen Milroe may be forced to make plays to supplant the run deficiency. Milroe is a solid player, but he’s not proven yet that he can take over a game. Michigan will be the biggest, most lock-down defense he’s ever seen.
Whether Alabama can find a way to move the chains may be the story of this game. Michigan will get big plays on their offense, it’s simply a question of Bama having a plan to pass short or even use the swing pass to their running backs, in an effort to get their points.
All eyes will obviously be on the playmaking abilities of Jalen Milroe and J.J. McCarthy. With so many exciting and eye-catching Michigan-Alabama odds and lines, there are countless opportunities to cash in on juicy odds. Check out these juicy odds from DraftKings Sportsbooks.
These storied schools have met only five previous times, with Bama holding a 3-2 edge. Four times they have played in a bowl game, splitting those meetings.
The Michigan Wolverines won their 1,000th game earlier this season, the most of any college football program. Michigan won the very first Rose Bowl game, in 1902, by the score of 49-0 over Stanford. That type of dominance is not anticipated in this meeting.
Alabama has 979 victories, the second-most in college football history. In this century, the Tide have won six national championships. The CFP has been like a home for Alabama: they have appeared in the CFP in eight of the 10 years since it was instituted in 2014-15. In 2021, Alabama played in this same Rose Bowl and won to advance to the national championship game.
This semi-final, which is reportedly receiving record-setting early wagers, with a lot of the money going on underdog Alabama, also pit two of the most heralded coaches in the sport. Jim Harbaugh has a 116-46 record as a head coach in college, and has led his team to nine bowl games in 13 seasons. Alabama’s Saban has six national titles, and three since the CFP was formed.
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The Wolverines and Crimson Tide can be expected to keep the scoreboard lights flashing, National championship semi-final games have been bi-scoring affairs of late. Eight of the last 10 semi-final CFP games have featured 45 points or more. Last season in the CFP semi-finals, Michigan tallied 45 points.
What’s a stat to keep an eye on for your CFP betting? Penalties: Michigan is penalized for only 26.3 YPG, the lowest total in the nation. Alabama is only 7-19 against the spread against opponents that are penalized less than 40 yards during the Saban era. Disciplined teams are very tough to beat, and Michigan is the most disciplined team in college football.
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