Jan. 1 is for football. With no social obligations on the first day of the new year, you get to follow up the busiest night on the social calendar with an evening with Lane Kiffin. What could be better?
Baylor vs. Ole Miss (-1.5, 57)
Line movement
This one has done some dancing. Soft shoeing around pick'em, this game opened with Ole Miss as a short favorite and swung multiple times to Baylor as the favorite but has settled back toward the Rebels. Meanwhile, the total has steadily climbed from 51 to 57.
On the field
This game is a tale of two paces. Kiffin always wants Ole Miss to go, go, go, and Matt Corral has been the perfect conductor of Lane's orchestra. Baylor defensive mastermind Dave Aranda wants to play slowly, going back to the days when the two matched up as coordinators for Alabama and LSU.
Baylor's season hit legendary status in Waco with a goal-line stand in the Big 12 championship game. A preseason long shot to even make the contest in Dallas, the Bears pulled out the conference title by keeping Oklahoma State one yard short. They'll always have that moment and that banner no matter what happens. Gerry Bohanon is back at quarterback for Baylor, and the Bears will need his arm and legs if they're going to keep up with the Rebels.
Corral will play his last game for Ole Miss on Saturday, in a season in which he was a Heisman favorite for a large portion of it. The Rebels schedule piled up on them, though, as their 10-2 record is even more impressive with it featuring a stretch of: at Alabama, Arkansas, at Tennessee, LSU, at Auburn, Liberty, and Texas A&M. There were no bye weeks between those games either.
Things were a little easier on the Bears, as their toughest games were played at home (Iowa State, Texas, Oklahoma) and spread out throughout the season. You can only play who is put in front of you, but Ole Miss is the best team put in front of Baylor this campaign. Without the high of a conference title, Corral and the Rebels should be making this contest the pinnacle of their season.
How to bet the game
Ole Miss hasn't played since Thanksgiving, and now it's good to go on New Year's Day with all of Corral's toys healthy enough to play. That wasn't the case during their regular-season gauntlet. Kiffin had six weeks to go mad scientist with his offense in preparation for this matchup. Meanwhile, Baylor hasn't seen anything like the Ole Miss offense in the Big 12 this year. The Bears also don't need to win this game to consider the season a historic success. They could be in for a long night.
Pick: Ole Miss -1 (-115)
Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.
