Fiesta Bowl picks: TCU-Michigan betting splits for spread, over/under, ML

The College Football Playoff is finally here and the first matchup on New Year's Eve will be the Fiesta Bowl as the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs will meet the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines at 4 p.m. ET. The game will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, and will air on ESPN.

Michigan successfully ran the table and won defended its Big Ten Championship en route to making its second straight trip to the playoffs. Meanwhile, TCU experienced a surprise 12-1 campaign under the guidance of first-year head coach Sonny Dykes to make it to this point. This matchup poses to be an interesting clash of styles as the physical Wolverines will go up against the explosive Horned Frogs.

Before both of these teams do battle in the Fiesta Bowl, we'll go over the betting splits courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and see how the public wagered on this matchup.

Betting splits for TCU vs. Michigan

TCU +7.5: 45% of action, 39% of bets
Michigan -7.5: 55% of action, 61% of bets

The public is siding with Michigan here as both the money and a sizeable majority of bets are on Jim Harbaugh's crew to cover the 7.5-point spread. This doesn't come as a surprise as the Wolverines are a returning playoff team that has had only two games that have come within a single score all year. Meanwhile, the public isn't too confident in a TCU team that has had its fair share of close calls this season. This comes despite the Horned Frogs being 9-3-1 against the spread this year.

Over 58: 42% of action, 63% of bets
Under 58: 58% of action, 37% of bets

Interesting contrast here as the money is leaning towards the under while the total number of overall bets are on the over hitting. If you think that the TCU trio of Max Duggan, Kendre Miller, and Quentin Johnston are able to spring a bunch of explosive plays in this one, you probably bet the over. If you think that the Michigan defense will put the clamps on the Horned Frogs like it has so many opponents this year, you probably put your money on the under.

TCU ML (+255): 28% of action, 17% of bets
Michigan ML (-305): 72% of action, 83% of bets

Once again, the overwhelming majority of bettors are on Michigan to handle business in the desert on New Year's Eve. That's not saying that TCU doesn't stand a chance here, but it most likely needs to execute close to a perfect game to have a shot at advancing to the title game.

  
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