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— Saturday, January 01st Baylor Bears @ Ole Miss Rebels
With the College Football Playoff semifinals now in the rearview mirror, it is time for the rest of the New Year’s Six Bowl games. The Allstate Sugar Bowl features Big 12 champion Baylor Bears (11-2) against the Ole Miss Rebels (10-2) from the SEC. Kickoff from the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans is set for 8:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, airing on ESPN.
These teams have only met one time, with Baylor winning 20-10 in 1975. All-time Baylor is 13-12 in bowl games and 1-1 in the Sugar Bowl. Ole Miss is 25-13 in bowl games all-time, 6-3 in the Sugar Bowl, and 12-2 in their last 14 games.
Smith Rushing Bears Toward 12th Win
The Bears are 9-4 ATS, and the under is 7-6 in their 13 games. They have allowed less than 20 points in three of their last four games and scored at least 30 points on six occasions. The defense ranks 15th in the nation, allowing 19.2 ppg, while the offense is 17th in rushing at 214.9 ypg.
Gerry Bohanon missed the last two games for Baylor with a hamstring injury but is expected to return for the Sugar Bowl. On the season, he has 2,160 yards, 17 touchdowns, and six interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes. Now-injured Blake Shapen took over and threw for 254 yards against Texas Tech in the regular-season finale before throwing for 180 yards and three scores in the Big 12 title game.
Running back Abram Smith has rushed for 1,429 yards on the season with 12 touchdowns. Smith needs 119 yards on the ground to break Baylor’s single-season rushing record. Trestan Ebner has 763 yards and two touchdowns, while Bohanon has added 303 yards on the ground.
Tyquan Thornton had 71 receiving yards in the Big 12 Championship and leads the Bears with 946 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. R.J. Sneed has 44 catches for 563 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Ben Sims has six receiving touchdowns with 31 catches for 361 yards.
Corral Leads Rebels Offense
The Rebels are 7-4-1 ATS, and the under is 9-3 in their 12 games this season. They are electric on offense, ranking fourth in the nation in total yards (506.6), ninth in rushing (224.7), 21st in passing (281.9), and 18th in scoring (35.9). The defense has allowed 183 rushing yards and 246 passing yards per game, ranking in the bottom 20 in the nation in both categories.
Quarterback Matt Corral has 31 touchdowns and 3,936 passing yards on the season. He is one of only four quarterbacks in the nation with over 20 passing and ten rushing touchdowns on the season. He’s thrown at least one touchdown in four straight games and topped 300 passing yards in two of the last four games.
Running back Jerrion Ealy has 703 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the season while adding 214 receiving yards and two more touchdowns. Snoop Conner has 605 rushing yards and leads the team with 13 touchdowns. Corral is the third-leading rusher with 597 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Dontario Drummond leads the Rebels with 924 receiving yards on the season and eight touchdowns. His 67 receptions are 37 more than the next-highest pass catcher, Ealy. Braylon Sanders and Jonathan Mingo both have three touchdown receptions on the season and have combined for 825 receiving yards.
The defense averages 3.3 sacks per game and needs two more to tie the school record set in 1999. Sam Williams leads the team with 12.5 sacks, tied for fifth-most in the nation.
Betting Analysis
- Baylor Bears +1.5 (-110). Money line +100
- Mississippi Rebels -1.5 (-110). Money line -120
- Total points 58. Over -110. Under -110
The Rebels have scored at least 27 points in all of their wins this season, with 20 and 21 in their two losses. Both teams are highly motivated as the winner will definitely finish ranked in the top 10 while also setting a school record for most wins in a season. Being on the national stage on New Year’s Day, look for the offenses to set the tone and carry the day.
Betting Pick: Over 58 points (-110)
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