The 20th-ranked Houston Cougars will take on the Auburn Tigers on Tuesday afternoon inside of Protective Stadium at Birmingham, Alabama, for the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
The Cougars are 11-2 and are coming off a 35-20 road loss against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Junior quarterback Clayton Tune finished 17-of-26 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Tigers are 6-6 and are riding a four-game losing streak and coming off a 24-22 quadruple overtime home loss against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Sophomore quarterback TJ Finley went 17-of-26 for 137 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Houston at Auburn Stats
Looking at the Houston Cougars stats
Sophomore wide receiver Nathaniel Dell has been doing extremely well for Houston as he has recorded 80 receptions for 1,179 yards (14.7 yards per catch) with 12 touchdowns receptions and a five-yard carry. In his last game against Cincinnati, Dell had nine catches for 152 yards (16.9 yards per reception) with a touchdown grab.
The Houston Cougars have been playing incredibly well on the defensive side of the field this year as they are allowing 21 points per game. In their previous game against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston gave up 35 points on 400 total yards of offense (190 passing, 210 rushing).
The Bearcats were 0-of-8 on third-down tries and failed to convert their only fourth-down attempt. Houston also allowed 7.5 rushing yards per carry.
Looking at the Auburn Tigers stats
Sophomore running back Tank Bigsby has been playing very well as he has 207 carries for 1,003 yards (4.8 yards per rushing attempt) with ten rushing touchdowns as well as 16 receptions on 116 yards (7.3 yards per catch). In his last game against Alabama, Bigsby finished with 29 rushing attempts for 63 yards (2.2 yards per carry) and a three-yard catch.
The Auburn Tigers have been playing well defensively as they are giving up 22.2 points per game this year. In their previous game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn allowed 24 points on 388 total yards of offense (317 passing, 71 rushing).
The Crimson Tide were 8-of-22 on third down attempts and 1-of-4 on fourth down opportunities. The Tigers defended the run extremely well as they gave up 1.9 rushing yards per attempt.
Betting Trends for Houston Cougars at Auburn Tigers
- Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last five games after allowing 200+ rushing yards in their previous game
- Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following an ATS loss
- Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral site games as an underdog
- Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last five bowl games
- Tigers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games after allowing under 100 rushing yards in their last game
Who to Bet Cougars at Tigers
The top sportsbooks in the entire country are currently listing the Auburn Tigers as under a field goal favorite in a neutral site matchup.
The Tigers are depending on their backup quarterback as Bo Nix transferred during the middle of the regular season. The difference is the offensive output, as Houston is scoring 37.3 points per game this year while Auburn is averaging 29.4 points thus far.
All in all, go with the Houston Cougars to dominate this game and cover the spread as an underdog in this matchup.