Cotton Bowl picks: Tulane-USC betting splits for spread, over/under, ML

The New Year's Six bowl games continue on Monday as the No. 16 Tulane Green Wave will meet the No. 10 USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl at 1 p.m. ET. The game will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, and will air on ESPN.

Tulane successfully pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds in history, going from 2-10 in 2021 to winning the AAC Championship with an 11-2 record. This will be the Green Wave's first appearance in a major bowl game since 1940. On the other side, USC returned to national prominence and fell just short of making the College Football Playoff. The Trojans are led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams, who will be playing in this game despite suffering a hamstring injury in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

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

Betting splits for Tulane vs. USC

Tulane +2: 24% of action, 18% of bets
USC -2: 76% of action, 82% of bets

The public is overwhelmingly on USC to cover as a 2-point favorite in Arlington, TX. That may come from the reassurance of Williams playing in this contest and guiding the offense, but the Trojans will be without star receiver Jordan Addison as well as veteran offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees in this one.

Over 63.5: 87% of action, 67% of bets
Under 63.5: 13% of action, 33% of bets

The public is expecting things to get pointsy at Jerry World with the over and they're onto something here. USC exited the season with the No. 2 rated offense in SP+ and its defense can be described as opportunistic, but vulnerable. Meanwhile, if you're not familiar with the Tulane offense, pay attention to running back Tyjae Spears. He broke off over 1,300 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns this season and can absolutely have a field day against this Trojan defense.

Tulane ML (+110): 29% of action, 21% of bets
USC ML (-130): 71% of action, 79% of bets

Once again, the public is on USC to handle business with a win here and I think they're underestimating the motivation factor with the Green Wave here. Tulane will be fired up by playing in its first major bowl game in nearly century while USC is still stinging from the disappointment of losing the Pac-12 title game and missing the playoffs. If they get down early, there's a chance they check out.

  
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