How and what to watch for Cotton Bowl: No. 7 Florida vs. No. 6 Oklahoma

The first New Year’s Six bowl on the docket will see two top-10 powerhouses battle it out at Jerry World with the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners heading down to Dallas to meet the No. 7 Florida Gators.

Lincoln Riley’s 8-2 Sooners officially wrapped up their sixth straight Big XII championship with a 27-21 victory over Iowa State in league title game. Quarterback Spencer Rattler threw for 272 yards and a touchdown but the difference was made by the OU secondary, who picked off ISU QB Brock Purdy three times.

Tre Brown, who got the game-clinching interception in the final minute, will opt out of the Cotton Bowl to prepare for the Senior Bowl and the NFL Draft.

In the SEC Championship game, Dan Mullen’s Gators threw everything including the kitchen sink at Alabama from an offensive standpoint, but it wasn’t enough in a 52-46 loss to the Crimson Tide. Quarterback Kyle Trask surpassed 4,000 passing yards for the season by going 26-of-40 for 408 yards and three touchdowns in the title game while Kedarous Toney and Kyle Pitts combined for 15 receptions for 282 yards and two touchdowns.

A potential top-10 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Pitts has opted out of playing in the Cotton Bowl, as did receivers Toney and Trevon Grimes. In addition, wideout Jacob Copeland will not be available after testing positive for COVID-19.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Florida vs. Oklahoma in the 2020 Cotton Bowl on Wednesday, December 30th at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. You can stream it via WatchESPN or the ESPN app with a cable or streaming service login.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Florida vs. Oklahoma (-5.5)
Point Total: 68.5
Money line: Florida +155, Oklahoma -195

• Oklahoma is 7-3 against the spread this season, Florida is 5-5-1.
• The OVER and UNDER split 5-5 in Oklahoma games this season, the OVER hit in seven of Florida’s 11 games.
• Florida is 3-5-1 against the spread as a favorite this season, this is Oklahoma’s first game as an underdog.

Cotton Bowl Betting Splits

Florida: 30% of handle, 48% of bets
Oklahoma: 70% of action, 52% of bets

The Best Bet

Well, let’s see what Kyle Trask can do without Florida’s top FOUR pass catchers. This line has swung quite a bit as the Gators had been favored earlier in the week. If you got in on Oklahoma as underdogs, you’ve gotten one final Christmas gift. Rather than go toward the point spread in this game, I actually like the under. For as much criticism as the Sooner defense has gotten in the past, this unit ranked 24th in college football in terms of yards per play. I like Oklahoma quite a bit, but I like the under more.

Pick: Under 68.5

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