Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs Houston 12/28/21 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars clash Tuesday in the college football Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. Houston is sitting at 11-2 on the year. The Cougars are coming off a loss to Cincinnati. As for Auburn, they’re 6-6 and fresh off a 4OT loss to Alabama. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Houston started out the year with a loss to Texas Tech, then hit their groove with wins over Rice, Grambling State, Navy, Tulsa, Tulane, East Carolina, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Memphis and UConn. The Cougars took their second loss December 4 versus Cincinnati. 

In the Cincinnati matchup, the Cougars had a 14-13 deficit at the break. Houston gave up 21 points in the third quarter and couldn’t come back in a 35-20 defeat. QB Clayton Tune put up 250 yards with two scores and a pick, while Nathaniel Dell caught nine balls for 152 yards and a TD. 

Over on the Auburn side, they went 6-2 over their first eight games, losing to Penn State and Georgia along the way. Since then it’s been four straight losses for the Tigers. Auburn has fallen to Texas A&M, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Alabama in their last quartet. 

In the November 27 game versus Alabama, Auburn gave up 10 fourth-quarter points to force overtime. After going back and forth for four extra periods, the Tigers finally fell 24-22. QB TJ Finley managed 137 yards with two TDs, and Cartavious Bigsby had 63 rush yards. 

Houston is 1-5 ATS in their last six neutral-site games and 0-4 ATS in the last four bowl gams. The Cougars are 0-6 ATS in the last six in December and 4-1 ATS in the last five after an ATS loss. 

Meanwhile, the Tigers are 7-2 ATS in the last nine in December and 2-5 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win. Auburn is 1-4 ATS in their last five bowl games and 5-1 ATS in their last six on turf. 

PICK: I’m going to try Auburn in this one. The Tigers have had some bad luck over their last four games, but to be fair they’ve faced a series of solid teams. In the Alabama game, Auburn held the Tide in check for three quarters, and even surrendered just 68 yards of offense in the second half. It was very nearly an epic victory, but became the most frustrating of losses. 

As for Houston, they were buried by one bad quarter in the Cincinnati game but otherwise posted some solid numbers. Houston did give up 8.9 yards per play and 210 rushing yards, though. Auburn will want this one to be a lower-scoring, hard-nosed football game with points at a premium. If the Tigers can keep that defense dialed in I can see them powering out a cover here. Should be a great matchup and a must-see game.