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Horse Racing Michigan Wolverines vs TCU Horned Frogs CFP Semifinal Best Bet: Fiesta Bowl Betting
Michigan Wolverines vs TCU Horned Frogs Best Bet: Saturday, December 31st
The first game of the CFP Semifinals will feature the #2 Michigan Wolverines against the #3 TCU Horned Frogs, and the winner of this game will go on to face either Georgia or Ohio State in the Championship game on January 9.
The Wolverines will be trying to chase down their first National Title since the 1997 campaign, but they’ll have to put recent history behind them after losing in this spot just a year ago. Michigan finally got over the Ohio State hump and now Jim Harbaugh can rewrite the history books with a 14th win of the campaign as favourites in the Fiesta Bowl.
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Michigan Wolverines vs TCU Horned Frogs Preview
December 31, 21:00 (UK time)
The Michigan Wolverines have not earned a National Title since the 1997 season, and when Jim Harbough took over as the head coach this is right where he hoped to be. It took quite a few hardships and getting past Ohio State provided the biggest obstacle until the last two years. Now that all of that is behind him,
Michigan was in this spot just a year ago but Georgia was the team that handed them a 34 – 11 thumping before going on to win another title last season. So, with a 13 – 0 record, Michigan has already broken the team record for wins in a campaign, but it will take two more wins and a 15 – 0 mark to claim this year’s trophy.
Being favoured by -7.5 points isn’t necessarily a good thing because I guarantee that the Horned Frogs locker room this week is full of signs pointing it out. Did you see it during the Ole Miss vs Texas Tech game? The Red Raiders players quite literally held up signs to the fans that read OLE MISS -3.5!
Hmm hmm, we call that bulletin board material, and Sonny Dykes has got to be going out of his mind this week. This is quite a jump from his former gig at SMU, but success in the postseason is something he knows nothing about. From his 5 years at SMU, Dykes lost both of his bowl game appearances with the Mustangs, and preparing for this stage is an entirely different animal than what he has seen before.
TCU was also chasing a perfect season, but a loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 Title Game is what held that back from happening. While many people thought Ohio State snuck into the CFP Semifinals, that loss left many people wondering if TCU would still be in the top 4 of the final rankings.
Speaking of rankings, the Michigan defense plays no games with people, and they rank 3rd against the run and in total yards allowed. The Big Ten Conference featured some respectable football this year, and many people still see TCU and the Big 12 Conference as weaker opponents, as do the line setters for this game.
Wolverine’s QB JJ McCarthy was given the opportunity to take this team to the promised land, and it looks like he has accepted the task at hand thus far. McCarthy went from a backup to the BMOC, and he is nothing more than a game manager. Hanf the ball off, don’t turn the ball over with bad decisions and try to keep the chains moving. Seems simple enough, but there is not a big playbook for McCarthy to utilize, and at this stage that will not be enough.
I think TCU and QB Max Duggan will give the Michigan defense all it can handle, and this game will be decided on the final drive. I have been thinking underdog throughout bowl season, and just because the games may seem bigger, it’s still just football. Everyone knows what’s on the line, and there is no tomorrow without a win today.
Michigan Wolverines vs TCU Horned Frogs Best Bet
In classic Ej fashion, you can give me those points every time! This line opened closer to -10, and I don’t care if the public moved the line or what the line setters are trying to indicate by moving it to -7.5. The final possession in a close affair will decide which team wins or loses the game, and whichever QB can handle that pressure will be playing next week in the title game.
- Selection: TCU +7.5
- Best odds: 1.93 (Pinnacle)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as of 9:00 am December 30, 2022. Odds may now differ.
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