Sugar Bowl Betting: Auburn vs. Oklahoma Odds, Analysis and Pick

Auburn, playing through three coaching regimes, is 9-3 straight up and 8-4 against the spread over its last 12 bowl appearances. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is 8-9 SU in bowls under coach Bob Stoops and just 6-11 ATS. The Big 12 champion Sooners, one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch, take on the Eagles in the 83rd playing of the Sugar Bowl.

Sugar Bowl point spread: The Sooners opened as 5.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark (line updates and matchup report).

Why the Auburn Tigers can cover the spread

Auburn is looking to rebound from a 30-12 Iron Bowl loss to Alabama in its regular-season finale. The Tigers took an early 3-0 lead on the top-ranked Tide and trailed only 13-9 at the half but faded from there against the best team in the country.

Auburn had used a six-game winning streak through the middle of the season to stay in contention in the SEC West, but a tough loss at Georgia killed those hopes.

Prior to the Alabama game, the Tigers had outgained six of their previous eight opponents and outrushed six of their previous seven foes. And in hanging on for the cover as 20-point dogs against the Tide, Auburn ran its ATS record to 7-2 over its last nine games.

Starting quarterback Sean White has missed recent action with a sore shoulder, but reports indicate he'll be good to go for this bowl.

Why the Oklahoma Sooners can cover the spread

Oklahoma carries a nine-game winning streak with it down to New Orleans after clinching the Big 12 title with a 38-20 victory over Oklahoma State in the Bedlam game. The Sooners trailed the Cowboys 17-10 late in the second quarter and then scored 28 of the game's last 31 points for the win and the cover as 12-point favorites.

On the day, OU outgained OSU 629-403, racked up 341 yards on the ground, as Samaje Perine totaled 239 yards on 37 carries and won time of possession by a 35-25 split.

The Sooners have now outgained and outrushed eight of their last nine opponents, going 6-3 ATS over that span while battling some big spreads along the way.

Smart pick

Oklahoma owns the edge on offense, but Auburn holds an advantage on defense. Also, the Sooners are often underachievers when it comes to bowl season. In fact, they've lost their last two bowl games, both to Clemson, by a combined score of 77-23. The OU offense features a pair of Heisman contenders and more, but the smart money here rides the Tigers.

Betting trends

Auburn is 7-2 SU and ATS in its last nine games.

The total has gone under in nine of Auburn's last 10 games against teams with winning records.

The total has gone under in four of Oklahoma's last five games.

All college football lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.