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Outback Bowl Odds & Prediction

By Mike Marteny

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We have the odds and pick against the spread for the Outback 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 Outback Bowl!

Northwestern vs. Tennessee(-8.5) at Tampa, FL(2):

Northwestern(10-2, 6-2):

Wins: vs. Stanford(16-6), vs. Eastern Illinois(41-0), at Duke(19-10), vs. Ball State(24-19), vs. Minnesota(27-0), at Nebraska(30-28), vs. Penn State(23-21), vs. Purdue(21-14), at Wisconsin(13-7), vs. Illinois(24-14)

Losses: at Michigan(0-38), vs. Iowa(10-40)

Record vs. bowl teams: 6-2

Tennessee(8-4, 5-3):

Wins: vs. Bowling Green(59-30), vs. Western Carolina(55-10), vs. Georgia(38-31), at Kentucky(52-21), vs. South Carolina(27-24), vs. North Texas(24-0), at Missouri(19-8), vs. Vanderbilt(53-28)

Losses: vs. Oklahoma(24-31), at Florida(27-28), vs. Arkansas(20-24), at Alabama(14-19)

Record vs. bowl teams: 2-4

Northwestern didn’t take long before turning heads. They opened the season by shutting down Stanford’s offense and earning the win. Of course, Christian McCaffrey wasn’t the focal point of the Cardinal offense yet, so it might be different if they played it now. The Wildcats only allowed more than 28 points twice, and they lost both of those games. If they can keep Tennessee’s high powered offense in check, they have a great chance of winning this game. However, the two teams that beat them ran the ball down their throats. You can bet that Tennessee will do that will the super talented Jalen Hurd.

Tennessee had problems closing out games early in the season. First Oklahoma, then Florida overcame double digit fourth quarter deficits to win. They also gave the game to Arkansas, and were the only team besides Ole Miss to give Alabama a good fight. They have the talent to play with anyone, but will they show up? Tennessee has not played a bowl bound team since October 24th. That is over two months of not facing the kind of competition that they will here.

Northwestern’s defense is good enough to hold Tennessee in check, so even if the Vols do win, they aren’t going to cover this spread. I expect Tennessee to come out somewhat flat since they haven’t been tested in a long while. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Northwestern won outright, so I can’t possibly take this kind of spread.

My pick: Northwestern

Next: The Picks For Every Bowl Game!

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