New Years Day has a monster slate of playoff possibilities
New Years Day is always two things: the start of something new and a day where it’s almost always expected to be a lazy waste of space and watch football most of the day. This year’s version is no exception, as the College Football Playoff quarterfinals continue throughout the day. And with great football comes great opportunity to pad that pocketbook.
First on the football agenda is the Peach Bowl, where the Texas Longhorns and Arizona State Sun Devils will duke it out at 1PM. Last night saw the team that played in the first round pick up where they left off, as Penn State walloped Boise State, and today’s spread seems to indicate another blowout may be on the horizon. The matchup of note is Arizona State’s big back, Cam Skattebo and the Texas defense. As we saw last night, with Boise’s Ashton Jeanty, defense travels and one-dimensional teams often struggle. This is the largest line of the quarterfinals at 12.5 for the Longhorns.
For some reason, I have a sneaking suspicion this game gets out of hand early and Skattebo is limited first by the Texas defense and then by the scoreboard. I look for an early jump out for the Longhorns, and then cruise control for most of the second half. Arizona State has a puncher’s chance, but I think Texas is strongest where Arizona State needs to excel. And that does not bode well for the Sun Devils.
Peach Bowl Best Bets:
Texas -12.5
Under 53.5 total points
Cam Skattebo under 110.5 rushing yards
As usual, don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose and let’s always be cashing.