SI Gambling analyst Roy Larking breaks down his betting card for Cincinnati vs. Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and Auburn vs. Northwestern in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl.
Happy New Year! Prior to College Football Playoff semifinal action, bettors can wager on a pair New Year’s Six bowl games. The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is first up and features No. 8 Cincinnati battling No. 9 Georgia. An hour after that contest kicks off, Auburn and No. 14 Northwestern meet in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl. With betting odds posted at DraftKings Sportsbook - here is a breakdown and picks for those two matchups that are slated for Thursday, January 1, 2021.
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Peach Bowl: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. 9 Georgia (-6.5) | TOTAL: 50.5
New Year’s Day bowl game action kicks off with No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats battling No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET on January 1, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Bearcats are representing the American Athletic Conference and the Bulldogs are representing the Southeastern Conference. There isn’t recent history between these teams as the lone meeting was during the 1976 NCAA season.
Playing a rather light schedule, Cincinnati finished first in the AAC with a 9-0 record. Defense led the way as the Bearcats outscored their opponents by a 354-144 margin. Their signature win was against No. 24 Tulsa as they defeated the Golden Hurricane 27-24 to claim the AAC Championship. Cincinnati has won two straight bowl games as the Bearcats defeated Virginia Tech 35-31 in the 2018 Military Bowl and Boston College 38-6 in the 2019 Birmingham Bowl.
Facing a much tougher schedule, Georgia finished second in the SEC East with a 7-2 record. The two losses were blowouts as the Bulldogs were blasted 41-24 by Alabama and 44-28 by Florida. Georgia closed their season with wins over Mississippi State (31-24) South Carolina (45-16) and Missouri (49-14). A change at quarterback sparked the late season surge as JT Daniels replaced Stetson Bennett. Daniels tossed nine touchdowns and just one INT over the final three games.
Cincinnati is led by QB Desmond Ridder who posted 17 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing scores. The Bearcats air attack needs to be productive in this game as the Georgia defense allowed just 69.3 rushing yards per game. It will help that cornerbacks Eric Stokes and DJ Daniel, plus LB Monty Rice won’t suit up for the Bulldogs. While those are key losses, Georgia is deep and their backups played often during the regular season. Bet on the Bulldogs to cover the spread.
Peach Bowl Pick: Georgia Bulldogs (-6.5) at DraftKings
Citrus Bowl: No. 14 Northwestern (-3.5) vs. Auburn | TOTAL: 43.5
First established as the Tangerine Bowl, back in 1947, the 2020 Vrbo Citrus Bowl features No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats battling the unranked Auburn Tigers. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. ET on January 1, 2021, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Wildcats are representing the Big Ten Conference and the Tigers are representing the Southeastern Conference. The only other meeting between these teams was a 38-35 victory by Auburn in the 2010 Outback Bowl.
Following a 3-9 last place finish in 2019, Northwestern rebounded with a 6-1 regular season record and finished first in the Big Ten West. Defense led the way as the Wildcats outscored their opponents by a 177-102 margin. Northwestern's signature win was a 17-7 victory against Wisconsin who was ranked No. 10 at the time. The Wildcats’ last game was a 22-10 loss to Ohio State as Buckeyes RB Trey Sermon racked up 331 rushing yards in the Big Ten Championship game.
A tumultuous season for Auburn (6-4) featured the firing of head coach Gus Malzahn. The Tigers opened with a 2-2 record that included a 27-6 loss to No. 4 Georgia. Auburn rebounded with wins against Mississippi (35-28), LSU (48-11) and Tennessee (30-17). That was followed a 42-13 loss to No. 1 Alabama and a 31-20 loss to No. 5 Texas A&M. The Tigers closed the regular season with a 24-10 victory against Mississippi State who finished the season with a 2-7 record.
Northwestern averaged 23.4 points per game on offense and allowed 15.5 PPG on defense. Auburn scored 25.7 PPG on offense and allowed 23.7 PPG on defense. This projects as a low scoring defensive battle that may end with a field goal late in the game. After watching Ohio State shred the Northwestern run defense, the Tigers will lean on RB Tank Bigsby who averaged 6.0 yards per carry this season. Feeling he is the difference maker – take the points and bet on Auburn.
Citrus Bowl Pick: Auburn Tigers (+3.5) at DraftKings
2020 NCAA Football Record: 14-7 ATS
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