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Goodyear Cotton Bowl Odds & Prediction

By Mike Marteny

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Odds and prediction for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl!

We have finally made it to the New Year’s Six Bowls! Unfortunately, that means that bowl season is nearing an end. Have your Bowl Mania picks been destroyed by upsets? Luckily you can still find places to play against the spread! I will continue with my picks until the very end. I am doing well in the points system, but I think I am struggling against the spread during bowl time. I am about six games behind, so maybe it gets better!

More from College Football Odds

In case you missed how the point scale works, here is a brief rundown:

5. A lock. I am comfortable making a sizable wager on this game.

4. Very confident. Not quite a lock, but I am comfortable making a decent sized wager on it.

3. Middle of the road. Good enough that I would make a small wager on it.

2. Could go either way. So much so that I wouldn’t bet on it.

1. Stay away from these.

Just in case you missed any:

Now for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl!

Michigan State vs. Alabama(-9.5) at Jerry World(4):

Michigan State(12-1, 8-1):

Wins: at Western Michigan(37-24), vs. Oregon(31-28), vs. Air Force(35-21), vs. Central Michigan(30-10), vs. Purdue(24-21), at Rutgers(31-24), at Michigan(27-23), vs. Indiana(52-26), vs. Maryland(24-7), at Ohio State(17-14), vs. Penn State(55-16), vs. Iowa(16-13)

Losses: at Nebraska(38-39)

Record vs. bowl teams: 9-1

Alabama(12-1, 8-1):

Wins: vs. Wisconsin(35-17), vs. Middle Tennessee State(37-10), vs. Louisiana-Monroe(34-0), at Georgia(38-10), vs. Arkansas(27-14), at Texas A&M(41-23), vs. Tennessee(19-14), vs. LSU(30-16), at Mississippi State(31-6), vs. Charleston Southern(56-6), at Auburn(29-13), vs. Florida(29-15)

Losses: vs. Mississippi(37-43)

Record vs. bowl teams: 10-1

Michigan State also played four bowl teams out of conference. The Spartans had to survive in a few games before the offense really got going. They couldn’t decide on a running back for the first two months of the season, so that hurt the productivity, but they are peaking at the right time. They had a fluke win against Michigan and a fluke loss against Nebraska. Those kind of offset each other. The Nebraska call was a judgment call, so there isn’t much you can do about that. You can say justice was served since they are in the playoffs anyway. The real question here is whether the defense can contain Heisman winner Derrick Henry.

Alabama’s cloak of invincibility was shattered with a week three loss to Ole Miss, at home no less. Alabama responded by rattling off ten straight wins. The only team that really tested them again was Tennessee. Alabama relies on a big play defense littered with NFL players and by leaning heavily on the running game. That plays right into the hands of Michigan State, who largely does the same thing. You wont see many plays downfield in this one.

This is what a playoff is supposed to be like. These two teams are very much alike. Alabama has a workhorse back where Michigan State doesn’t, but on the flipside, Michigan State has better receivers and a more experienced quarterback. The Alabama defense is going to make it very hard for the Spartans to do anything. That’s not to say that Sparty is going to roll over for Bama either. This line has risen two points, and I have no idea why. This is going to be a very close game even if Michigan State loses.

My pick: Michigan State

Next: The Picks For Every Bowl Game!

Stay tuned for the picks of every bowl game against the spread!