2013 BCS National Championship Game
Monday, January 7, 2013, 8:30 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
#2 Alabama Crimson Tide vs #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Sun Life Stadium – Miami Gardens, Florida
The 12-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the 12-1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2013 BCS National Championship game Monday in Miami. Obviously, there will be plenty of action on the sides, totals, money lines and first half and halftime wagering. However, there are plenty of props available to wager on as well. There aren’t as many as the Super Bowl, but Bovada has plenty up for Monday night’s game.
Let’s take a look at a few player and teams props from Bovada.
Total Passing Yards by A.J. McCarron (QB – Alabama) under 219 1/2 -120
McCarron is a very solid quarterback who doesn’t make many mistakes. However, the Alabama offense is based more on the run. McCarron has only thrown for more than 200 yards six times in a game this season, and only twice did he go over 220 yards. Notre Dame has a top 20 passing defense and allows less than 200 passing yards per game. McCarron will have to make some plays, but I don’t see him throwing for more than 219 yards in this game.
Total Interceptions by McCarron under 1/2 -110
McCarron has only thrown 3 interceptions all season. Two of those came in the loss to Texas A&M and the other came in the SEC Championship game against Georgia. Notre Dame has forced 16 interceptions this season, 7 by All-American linebacker Manti Te’o. Still, I just think the odds are McCarron won’t throw a pick in the game.
Total Rushing Yards by Eddie Lacy (RB – Alabama) under 90 1/2 -110
Lacy and T.J. Yeldon both rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Crimson Tide. However, Notre Dame had the #4 rush defense in the country allowing just 92.4 yards per game. The list of people who have rushed for 90 yards or more against Notre Dame is short: Denard Robinson (Michigan QB/RB, 90 yards), Stepfan Taylor ( Stanford 102 yards in overtime) and Ray Graham (Pitt, 172 yards in triple overtime). I don’t see Lacy or Yeldon rushing for over 90 yards individually, but together they very well could.
Total Passing Yards by all Notre Dame Quarterbacks under 205 1/2 -120
Notre Dame uses two quarterbacks, Everett Golson and Tommy Rees. Golson will start and take most of the snaps, but Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has brought in Rees at the end of close games. The Irish average 218.8 passing yards per game but like Alabama do more damage with their running game. Alabama has the #2 passing defense in the country allowing just 166 yards per game. I think they keep Notre Dame under 205 passing yards.
Total Tackles and Assists by Manti Te’o (LB – Notre Dame) over 8 1/2 -135
Te’o has 52 tackles and assisted on 51 more, for a total of 103. That conveniently works out to 8.5 per game. I think Te’o will want to put on a show in his last game for the Irish before he heads to the NFL. Even though Alabama has a great offensive line, I like Te’o to have more than 8.5 tackles and assists.
The First Score of the game will be a Field Goal or Safety +150
With these two bruising defenses, they might not even score a touchdown. Plus each team hasn’t played in more than a month, so the offenses could be a little rusty. Both teams hNotre dame’s ave good kickers in Alabama’s Jeremy Shelley and Notre Dame’s Kyle Brindza. I think a field goal is likely to be the first score of the game.
The longest touchdown of the game will be under 39 1/2 yards -120
Neither of the defenses give up a lot of big plays. There are lots of talented players for each team on both sides of the ball. I don’t see a touchdown of 40 yards or more.
Those are a few props I like, but there are tons available on Bovada.
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