Every week, Rock M Nation will post the SEC betting lines for that week’s slate of games. DISCLAIMER: Rock M Nation is not an online gambling operator, nor a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only. None of the staff will be using this information for gambling purposes and are not liable for any losses incurred due to the analysis contained within.
Best Bets continued it’s late-season push with a 2-1 showing during Championship
Week, though our picks finished 3-3 overall again for the umpteenth time this year. We’re back up and bumping against .500 for Best Bets now at 22-23 (45-45 overall) and after a week off, we’re ready to push this thing past the finish line and get everyone into the black before the season ends. This week we have our first round of playoff games and a smattering of early-bowl season picks to round us out.
Best Bets
Miami @ Texas A&M (-3.5)
This is, at least on paper, the most interesting match up of teams in the first round this season. To be honest, if this game was played in Miami with Miami as a favorite, I’d probably be picking Miami. That said, Kyle Field makes that much of a difference, in my opinion, so I’m going with the Aggies to cover. I think their defensive front will convince Carson Beck to fire off a few ill-advised throws leading to a couple turnovers and short fields for the Aggie offense. Miami will make a run of it, but ultimately I think Texas A&M pulls it out by a touchdown.
Tulane @ Ole Miss (17.5)
This game was an absolutely yawner the first time around, as the Rebels blew out the Green Wave by five touchdowns. While I think it’ll be closer than that this time around for a lot of reasons, Ole Miss is still clearly the better team and get to play at home. I think they’ll win comfortably and this one won’t be particularly interesting by the time the fourth quarter rolls around.
James Madison @ Oregon (-21.5)
In what is perhaps an even less interesting game than a repeat match up between Tulane and Ole Miss, I think the Ducks will absolutely house James Madison. That is not to say that I am upset the Dukes made it into the field. I love that they did. But Oregon is a wagon and will out-athlete JMU up and down the field. Additionally, I feel like Oregon is a dark horse to win the whole damn thing and I think they will be motivated by the fact that no one is talking about them in that light.
Worth a look
Alabama @ Oklahoma (+1.5)
I really went back and forth on this one quite a bit as there are good arguments for picking either team at such a small spread. Ultimately, I landed on the Sooners as the home underdog because I really don’t trust this Alabama team. They looked absolutely flaccid against Georgia and while they will get some players back from injury, I don’t know how a team just ramps it up after laying such a massive egg. Additionally, through two match ups in the last two years, Brent Venables clearly has Kalen DeBoer’s number. OU’s offense has been really bad, but their defense is even better than the UGA unit that destroyed the Tide. Plus this game is in Norman. I’ll take the Sooners.
Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl: Toledo vs. Louisville (-7.5)
After a very promising start to the season, including a huge upset of Miami on the road, Louisville had been limping to the finish down the stretch until a massive blowout of rival Kentucky to end the year. To that end, the Cardinals are coming into the Boca Raton Bowl riding high while Toledo just had their longtime coach Jason Candle poached by UCONN of all places. The vibes are quite different between the two programs so give me Louisville to carry those into the bowl and win convincingly.
New Orleans Bowl: Western Kentucky (-4.5) vs. Southern Miss
If this game were played a month ago, I’d take Southern Miss by a couple touchdowns. However their coach just took a new job at Memphis to replace now-Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield and the Golden Eagles are stuck looking for their third head coach in three years. WKU is always well coached and can always light up the scoreboard. I expect this one to be high scoring on both sides, but the Toppers will ride the vibes to victory.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See sportsbook.fanduel.com for details.
