Since New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday, which has long been the domain of the NFL, the remaining college bowl games that precede the championship take place during the Monday observance of the holiday. There is no unlikelier team to be playing than Tulane, which rebounded from a 2-10 season by going 11-2 and winning the AAC. As it opposes high-profile USC and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams in the Cotton Bowl, we’re backing a Green Wave grinder for our top prop:
The bet: Over 48½ receiving yards for Tulane wide receiver Shae Wyatt (FanDuel)
Having played his first two seasons at Division II Central Missouri, Wyatt typifies this team’s work ethic. In 2019, he accumulated 1,452 receiving yards and scored 12 touchdowns under coach Jim Svoboda, who now serves as Tulane’s offensive coordinator.
Wyatt easily cleared this number in each of the last three games, posting 62 yards against Cincinnati’s stingy secondary and topping the century mark in the other two. He helped defeat UCF for the conference crown by catching five passes for 110 yards and a pair of scores.
USC fields easily the worst pass defense of the teams competing today, ranking 113th of the 131 FBS schools. The Trojans have allowed an opposing quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in six of their last seven games.
With Tulane’s Michael Pratt needing just 224 passing yards to reach 3,000 for the season, he’ll frequently look for the senior Wyatt to keep make making plays.
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