How the public is betting the Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs. Houston

Tuesday will bring us an AAC vs. SEC matchup in the Birmingham Bowl as the No. 20 Houston Cougars will meet the Auburn Tigers at brand new Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama.

So where are sports bettors going as we get closer to game time? Let’s take a look. All odds and info were provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.

Point Spread

Auburn is a two-point favorite against Houston. 75% of the handle and 68% of the bets are on Auburn.

Is the public right?

This could be answered in two ways. If the public thinking that Auburn cover by a small margin, then they’re close to being right. If they’re just looking at the names of the two programs and think that Auburn will simply dominate in its home state, then they’re wrong.

Both of these teams literally side-by-side in the most recent SP+ rankings with Houston sitting at 33 and Auburn sitting at 34. The Cougars have something to prove even after falling to Cincinnati in the AAC Championship game while the Tigers are still the more talented of the two teams on both sides of the ball. If Auburn were to cover and win, they’d have to sweat it out for all four quarters.

Over/Under

Total points is installed at 50.5. 57% of the handle and 89% of the bets are on the over.

Is the public right?

No. The strong points of both of these teams were their respective defenses, which ranked as Top 25 units in SP+. You should be thinking the under in this one.

Moneyline

Auburn is a -125 favorite while Houston is a +105 underdog. 51% of the handle and 59% of the bets are on Houston.

Is the public right?

Yes. Auburn had both quarterback Bo Nix and running back Tank Bigsby transfer out in the last month, leaving TJ Finley to take charge of the offense. As mentioned before, Houston has something to prove and this could be a good showcase spot for quarterback Clayton Tune heading into next season. Houston on the moneyline is the correct pick.

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