Michigan Wolverines vs. Texas Longhorns Citrus Bowl prediction, preview (3:00pm ET)
Michigan and Texas both entered the season with clear College Football Playoff ambitions, particularly the Longhorns, who were the preseason No. 1 ranked team. While playing in a bowl is a bit of a letdown, Texas also still feels like it has something to prove — that it feels its a CFP team had it not played such a difficult schedule.
The Longhorns will be thin in the backfield for the game due to opt outs, but the bigger hits come on defense. Texas was an elite defense all season, which means plenty of NFL prospects. The Longhorns will be without at least six starters on the defensive side of the ball, but still have plenty of talent. Texas has a pretty deep defense, and while the opt outs hurt, plenty of talented prospects will be ready to step up against a lackluster Michigan offense.
Of course, Michigan’s been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons since the regular season ended. Sherrone Moore is out, and Kyle Whittingham is in to begin next season. But for now, Biff Poggi takes over at head coach for the Citrus Bowl, which could lead to plenty of opt outs. Michigan should see plenty of turnover heading into next season, and a lot of players have a business decision to make here.
Yes, plenty of talent will be missing on both sidelines, but I believe Texas is deeper and will be more prepared without any distraction leading up to the game. I lean to the under at 48.5 too, as both offenses are in position to struggle, but all the defensive opt outs give me some pause.
I don’t want to lay a touchdown in what could be a low scoring game, but have been preaching the Texas moneyline as a parlay piece on DKN Daily Bets since the beginning of December. I have the Longhorns tied into a few parlays that all conclude this afternoon. But if you’re late to the party, there are other ways to go about betting this one without laying points.
If you think the Longhorns win wire-to-wire, the Halftime/Fulltime (lead at halftime and win game) is priced at -135 on DraftKings Sportsbook. But I think the stronger play at this point is to pair Texas with Ohio State in the New Year’s Eve CFP game. The Buckeyes are 9.5-point favorites over Miami, and I expect them to come off the bye and advance.
