Welp, funny you should mention that Nash, because I shied away from the side on this game and my pick is U45. It's a lowish total for a college football game but I think this could develop into a slobberknocker. Michigan's defense is stout and has playmakers at every level, but I don't know that they really have Bama's DC tossing and turning at night. Unless someone gets out to an early multi-score lead, is either team gonna feel compelled to put the pedal to the metal and risk any major mistakes from their quarterbacks?
The month off is worrisome because you know that they add wrinkles to the playbook that the opponent hasn't seen on film, and if they're executed cleanly in timely situations they can often turn into big chunk plays. That's the inherent risk in bowl games, but I don't know that either offense can consistently matriculate the ball down the field without a negative play here or there to throw them off schedule.
Milroe vs. McCarthy doesn't exactly scream points to me. We'll see.
My thinking is that there'll be 13 or so D/ST points, but yeah, this won't be a Washington/Oregon air raid.
The over is just a lean, I personally think there's money to be made in the Washington/Texas game.
I'm hoping for a 24-17 final on the high side with the potential for a backyard brawl resulting in a 17-16 type of game.
And if for some reason the game is lopsided, hopefully it's because one team's offense can't muster enough to keep up. 31-13 works for me in that scenario.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is how I am approaching 2024<br><br>Happy New Years friends and degens <a href="https://t.co/AbJC6UfmGC">pic.twitter.com/AbJC6UfmGC</a></p>— NFL_TOTALS (@NFL_Totals) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL_Totals/status/1741720124024054223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" >January 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This was a dead under. The fumbled punt was a killer. Those cheap scores are a killer plus it changes the tempo of the game.
the title gm will go under
And without the mishandled snap on the PAT in the 1H Michigan probably wins in regulation 21-20.
Obviously Bama would not have punted on their final poss in regulation had they been trailing, but even if they convert the 4th down and get into scoring range, you have to believe they would've ended the game 23-21.