LSU Now Favored by 13.5 Points Over Oklahoma in Peach Bowl After Opening as 9.5-Point Favorite

• No. 1 LSU opened has -9.5 favorites over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl
• The Tigers are now -13.5 favorites after early bettors hammered the favorite
• How will this line shift leading up to kickoff?

No. 1 LSU (13-0, 8-0 SEC) is now favored by 13.5 points over No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1, 8-1 Big 12) in the Peach Bowl after opening as 9.5-point favorites.

The Tigers beat Georgia 37-10 in the SEC Title Game and have the best National Championship Odds. The Sooners earned a spot in the CFP after beating Baylor 30-23 in overtime in the Big 12 Title game.

How will this line shift heading into kickoff on December 28?

LSU vs Oklahoma Odds

All odds taken Dec. 13

LSU Now 13.5-Point Favorites

This line opened with LSU being 9.5-favorites, but it quickly jumped up to 12.5 with early bettors hammering the favorite. The line has moved slightly more in LSU’s favor over the course of the week, as the Tigers are currently being listed as 13.5-favorites at most sportsbooks.

LSU opens as a 9.5-point favorite over Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl @SuperBookUSA.

— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) December 8, 2019

It’s no surprise bettors are backing the Tigers. LSU is ranked first in the College Football Playoff rankings and are ranked first nationally in total offense. The Tigers are also 8-5 ATS this season, while Oklahoma has covered the spread in just five of their 12 contests.

Can Jalen Hurts Help Sooners Keep Pace?

One of the reasons this line isn’t ascending too rapidly is the play of Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts. The dual-threat QB was named a Heisman finalist thanks to a stellar season in which he’s accounted for over 4,600 yards of offense and 51 TDs.

Big expectations, big results for @OU_Football.@JalenHurts is @HeismanTrophy finalist 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/3GzpTQN80P

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 9, 2019

Hurts proved this season that you can never count him out. He led the Sooners to an incredible comeback victory over Baylor in the regular season and is playing in the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight season. His experience playing in big games will help him not crack under pressure against LSU.

I don’t doubt Hurts and CeeDee Lamb’s ability to score on the Tigers, but Oklahoma’s defense is going to be a problem against LSU’s prolific offense.

Oklahoma’s Defense Will Be Exploited

LSU has been scoring on good SEC teams all season and are averaging 554.4 yards and 47.8 points per game. Oklahoma has given up 30 points on four different occasions and haven’t had to face a high-powered offense like LSU’s.

Joe Burrow is the runaway Heisman favorite and is going to do major damage against Oklahoma’s secondary. Georgia is a much better defensive team than Oklahoma, and Burrow and the Tigers were able to score 37 points and put 481 yards of offense against the Bulldogs.

Oklahoma’s chance at winning can come by making this a shootout and relying on their offense. I still don’t like their upset chances considering they’ve hurt themselves with mistakes all season. The Sooners have the most penalty yards in all of CFB and own an ugly -7 turnover margin. If they don’t clean up their mistakes, LSU could run away early with this one.

Will the Line Continue to Move?

I don’t see this line moving drastically in either direction leading up to kickoff. It could climb a point or two more in LSU’s favor, but money should start coming in on the underdog.

Oklahoma is capable of a backdoor cover if this spread climbs a bit higher, but LSU is a good bet while the spread is in the 14-point range.

Wait to see if the spread can go any higher before betting Oklahoma, but jump on LSU now while there is still value.