2018 Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl Odds And Prediction

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: A general view of the exterior of the Rose Bowl before the 102nd Rose Bowl Game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Iowa Hawkeyes on January 1, 2016 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images) /

2018 Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl Odds And Prediction

All is quiet on New Year’s Day. Unless you are a college football fan! Now we are down to the playoffs. I’m still not a fan of putting 2018 on there. This is for the 2017 season, right? Confusion aside, we are on to the first playoff game, the Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl.

More from College Football Odds

For the rest of the bowl season, you will get my picks against the spread and point wagers just like I did all season long. I had a solid regular season, but I can make it look a whole lot better with a strong bowl season!

Just in case you missed any:
R+L Carriers New Mexico Bowl
Autonation Cure Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Raycom Camellia Bowl
Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl
DXL Frisco Bowl
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl
Bahamas Bowl
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Birmingham Bowl
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Dollar General Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
Zaxby’s Heart Of Dallas Bowl
Quick Lane Bowl
Cactus Bowl
Walk On’s Independence Bowl
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Foster Farms Bowl
Academy Sports And Outdoors Texas Bowl
Northrup Grumman Military Bowl
Camping World Bowl
Valero Alamo Bowl
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
Belk Bowl
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Taxslayer Gator Bowl
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Playstation Fiesta Bowl
Capital One Orange Bowl
Outback Bowl
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
Overton’s Citrus Bowl

ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 02: Nick Chubb #27 and Sony Michel #1 celebrate beating the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

(3)Georgia(-2.5) vs. (2)Oklahoma at Pasadena, CA(4):

Georgia 12-1, 8-1 (1st SEC):

Wins: vs. Appalachian State(31-10), at (24)Notre Dame(20-19), vs. Samford(42-14), vs. (17)Mississippi State(31-3), at Tennessee(41-0), at Vanderbilt(45-14), vs. Missouri(53-28), vs. Florida(42-7), vs. South Carolina(24-10), vs. Kentucky(42-13), at Georgia Tech(38-7), vs. (2)Auburn(28-7)

Losses: at (10)Auburn(17-40)

Record vs. bowl teams: 7-1

Georgia has the best tandem of running backs in the country with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. It has been very hard for a defense to stop both of them for an entire game because one of them is always on somewhat fresh legs. However, as we saw in that game in Auburn, if Georgia gets down early, they are in a load of trouble. Freshman Jake Fromm was thrown into action early, but he has done very well. Of course, it’s hard not to when you just have to hand off to those two.

Georgia allowed just 13.2 points per game, which was fourth best in the nation. Missouri and Auburn in the first meeting were the only teams that scored more than 20 points on them. Now the big question: can they stop that Oklahoma offense?

Oklahoma 12-1, 9-1 (1st Big 12(10):

Wins: vs. UTEP(56-7), at (2)Ohio State(31-16), vs. Tulane(56-14), at Baylor(49-41), vs. Texas(29-24), at Kansas State(42-35), vs. Texas Tech(49-27), at (11)Oklahoma State(62-52), vs. (6)TCU(38-20), at Kansas(41-3), vs. West Virginia(59-31), vs. (11)TCU(41-17)

Losses: vs. Iowa State(31-38)

Record vs. bowl teams: 8-1

So Oklahoma has a good offense. What else is new. Well, despite all the big names on this offense last year that played in the NFL this year (Joe Mixon, Sterling Shepard, and Samaje Perine), this year’s offense may be even better. The emergence of sophomore RB Rodney Anderson in the Texas game made this offense even better with a significant rushing threat. We all know what Mayfield can do. It was Anderson that really kick started this thing.

The Oklahoma defense was not very good in the first half of the season. They blew a big lead to Baylor before pulling that one out, and did the same the next week to Iowa State, one they couldn’t come back from. However, after switching starters at CB after the Texas game, this pass defense became much better. Oklahoma’s defensive strength is stopping the run, so this was as good of a matchup as they could have hoped for.

Prediction:

Oklahoma embarrassed themselves in the first playoff against Clemson, but this is a different team. The Sooners have beaten the last three SEC teams they have played, including that massive spread against Alabama in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. Strangely enough, this will be the first ever meeting between Georgia and Oklahoma on the gridiron.

As I mentioned earlier, this is as good of a matchup as Oklahoma could hope for. I am curious to see how Georgia’s defense does against Mayfield. It wasn’t Stidham that did the bulk of the damage on the plains, it was Kerryon Johnson. Anderson is going to need to have a big game here.

This may be homerism, but I don’t see where Oklahoma is significantly worse than the other three teams. The playoff looks wide open this year, so why not us?

Pick: Oklahoma

Next: 2017 Capital One Bowl Mania Picks

Stay tuned for the rest of the bowl picks against the spread, and our DFS picks for the NBA, NFL, and even some NHL action! We have something for everyone