No. 13 Texas takes on No. 18 Michigan in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve in Orlando, Florida.
Texas enters as a seven-point favorite with the total set at 47.5 points. This is the best college football player prop bet to consider on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Citrus Bowl.
Texas vs. Michigan Player Props
Texas and Michigan go head-to-head in one of the best bowl games of the season. This is an increasingly rare case, where two top-20 teams that just missed out on the College Football Playoff are close to full strength for a bowl game. Texas did see a number of opt-outs on defense and in the running back room, but star quarterback Arch Manning will be playing after announcing his plan to return to Texas next season. The same goes for Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood and the large majority of the Michigan roster, despite the unexpected coaching change made a couple of weeks ago.
However, the limited opt-outs do play a major role in what my favorite prop bet is. Michigan will be without Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, the only two players on the Michigan roster with at least three sacks on the season. Moore ranks top 15 in the country with 10 sacks on the season. Michigan will really miss those two players when attempting to contain Arch Manning on the ground. Manning was inconsistent as a passer most of the season, but he regularly showed his athleticism on the ground. Without Moore protecting the edge and Barham at the next level, Manning should have much more success on the ground than he would have against a full-strength Michigan defense.
My favorite prop bet is for Arch Manning to rush for a touchdown. Texas will be without its top three running backs after Quintrevion Wisner, CJ Baxter and Jerrick Gibson all decided to hit the transfer portal. It will likely be a combination of freshmen Christian Clark and James Simon at running back, both of whom had fewer than 40 carries this season. Therefore, Steve Sarkisian should call plenty of designed runs for Manning in this game. Manning had eight rushing touchdowns on the season, including one in each of the team’s final two games of the regular season. The combination of opt-outs on both teams set up perfectly for Manning to be able to use his legs to find the end zone in this game.
