Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Friday, December 30th, at 8:00 P.M. the Michigan Wolverines will take on the Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Michigan 32.2 – Florida State 26.6 with an over/under of 58.7.  The Vegas Line has a final score of Michigan 29.8 – Florida State 22.8 with an over/under of 52.5.

2016-17 Statistics (127 total teams):

Passing offense: Florida State 267.6 YPG > Michigan 216.1 YPG

Rushing offense: Michigan 223.3 YPG > Florida State 206.8 YPG

Scoring offense: Michigan 41.0 PPG > Florida State 35.3 PPG

Scoring defense: Michigan 12.8 PPG > Florida State 24.4 PPG

Passing defense: Michigan 135.9 YPG > Florida State 225.9 YPG

Rushing defense: Michigan 116.8 YPG > Florida State 131.3 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Michigan +0.5 > Florida State +0.2

Strength of schedule:

Michigan is (10-2) with wins over Hawaii, UCF, Colorado, Penn State, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan State, Indiana, and Maryland.  Their losses came against Iowa and Ohio State.  Florida State is (9-3) with wins over Ole Miss, Charleston Southern, South Florida, Miami, Wake Forest, NC State, Boston College, Syracuse, and Florida.  They were defeated by Louisville, North Carolina, and Clemson.

Summary:

I, for one, believe that even with two losses, Michigan belonged in the college football playoff.  The Wolverines are only behind Alabama in fewest points allowed per game (12.5).  They are one of only two teams to rank in the top 12 in scoring offense and defense.  Michigan is loaded on defense but will have their hands full with Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.  Cook rushed for over 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns cementing himself as a first round pick.  Florida State can really stuff the run on defense, but look for Michigan to exploit their weakness in the secondary.  In terms of point differential Michigan (+28.2) blows Florida State (+10.9) away.  Only twice all season has Michigan allowed an opponent to exceed 23 points.  I like Michigan to win this one by double digits.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s episode features an in-depth discussion about the return of Tiger Woods with golf pro Jason Birnbaum.

Note:

To be eligible to enter a Crowd’s Line contest you must be over 18 years of age, a resident of the United States/Canada, and submit your score prediction on our prediction tool (blog widget). The winner will be selected according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology.  If more than one entrant has the same winning score the winner will be selected by random drawing.  Only one prize will be awarded per contest and that winner will receive their prize in 5-7 business days.