CFB BOWL GAME OF THE YEAR (Pinnacle)
Handicapper: Wayne Root
League: NCAAF
Competition: Alabama vs Michigan
Time: Monday, January 1, 05:00 pm ET
Bet Type: Point Spread
Pick: Michigan -2 (-110) (Consensus 3)
Rotation #: 280
Analysis:
Pinnacle on Michigan The drive to the CFP Finals begins with the Rose Bowl, where No. 4 Alabama faces No. 1 Michigan on Monday. The Crimson Tide (12-1 SU, 9-4 ATS) forced their way into this position with a heroic, 27-24, victory over No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship. The Wolverines (13-0 SU, 7-5-1 ATS) rolled to the Big Ten title by shutting out No. 16 Iowa, 26-0, in the championship game. This season, the Michigan Wolverines were 3-0 SU versus ranked opponents and Alabama was 4-1 SU. This will be the Tide’s second straight game against the top ranked team in the country. They managed 306 yards against Georgia’s defense, leaning on the rush more with 41 attempts, compared to 23 pass attempts. The Wolverines are holding teams to just 80.7 rushing yards per game and kept Iowa at just 35 rushing yards in the Big Ten title game. They know how to shut teams down and it is looking as if the bigger the moment gets, the more the Wolverines are up for it. Of course, we do know that one of these teams has a better handle on things when it comes to this time of year, but this time around will be different, at least for this one game. Michigan is 7-2 ATS over their last nine games. The coaching is also about as good as it gets at this level. So, which side wins out? In this situation, I think the offenses will be more than capable of doing enough to tilt another over. The Wolverines faced three of the top 5 defenses in the country and managed to average 26.7 points per game against them. They can and they will score. They’ve put up at least 30 points in 11 games this season.
