Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Prediction
The SEC will once again take on the Big Ten on Saturday when the Florida Gators take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl at 12:00 p.m. ET. Laying 5.5 points, are the Wolverines a good bet or will they come out flat for this one after having their eyes set on a bigger prize this season?
Game Snapshot
249 Florida Gators at 250 Michigan Wolverines
12:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, December 29, 2018
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Wolverines are 5.5-point favorites to beat the Gators. The total, meanwhile, sits at 51 points. As of this writing, 55% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Wolverines.
Florida Gators
Florida redshirt sophomore QB Feleipe’ Franks completed 16-of-26 passes for 254 yards with three touchdowns in a 41-14 victory over Florida State on Friday. Franks also added 46 yards on the ground on 12 carries. This was a relatively close game at halftime, but Franks and the Gators blew the Seminoles out of the water in the second half. He was able to get the ball down to his wideouts — particularly Tevon Grimes and Van Jefferson — and he avoided the turnovers that have plagued him at times. Franks has taken a big step forward in 2018, and because of it, the Gators are going to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game.
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan sophomore WR Tarik Black (foot) is “back to his normal self.” Black has been limited by foot injuries during his early career, but he’s a widely respected talent that just needs to stay healthy. When asked about Black, teammate Grant Perry said, “He’s flying around. He’s back to his normal self… He’s back in that groove. He’s a playmaker.” That’s certainly a good sign as Black and the Wolverines have a tough matchup against Florida’s No. 28th ranked pass defense on Saturday. Expect Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, and Tarik Black as the top receivers of the game.
Betting Trends
Florida
The over is 5-1-1 in the Gators’ last seven games overall.
Michigan
The over is 7-0 in the Wolverines’ last seven games versus SEC opponents.
Prediction
It’s difficult to handicap motivation when it comes to these bowl games. Why would Auburn be motivated to humiliate Purdue, for example? But the Tigers were and the Boilermakers found themselves in a 42-7 hole early in the second quarter on Friday. So, let’s avoid falling into the trap of trying to decide how motivated Michigan is for this game after missing out on the college football playoff. The bottom line is that Feleipe Franks won’t be able to expose Michigan’s weakness defensively, which Ohio State proved was its pass defense. The Gators will attempt to keep the ball on the ground, which plays into the Wolverines’ strength on defense. Despite Florida finishing the year strong and Michigan getting blown out by Ohio State, I don’t trust the Gators offense.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Prediction: Michigan Wolverines -5.5