Michigan vs. TCU picks, predictions: College Football Playoff odds, spread, lines

Picks and predictions for Michigan vs. TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinal

The first game of the College Football Playoff is set as Big Ten champion Michigan squares off against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on New Year's Eve.

Michigan is the defending Big Ten champion for a second-straight season, coming off another big win over Ohio State before defeating Purdue for the conference title, and coming into the game with a 13-0 mark for the first time ever

TCU was one of the surprises of the college football season, emerging quickly under first-year head coach Sonny Dykes and making a change at quarterback, installing Max Duggan, who went on to become one of the nation's most efficient passers at the helm of an offense that was one of eight nationally to average more than 40 points per game. (Michigan is one of the other seven.)

The Horned Frogs came close to winning the Big 12 Championship Game, but ultimately fell to challenger Kansas State in overtime. Still, the CFP selection committee kept the team as the No. 3 seed, declining to move it down in the poll.

What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.

Michigan vs. TCU: College Football Playoff picks, predictions

Michigan vs. TCU picks, predictions for College Football Playoff / USA Today Images

Michigan prediction: The computer is siding comfortably with the Wolverines, who have the 67.0 percent chance to defeat TCU and move on to the national championship game.

TCU prediction: That leaves the Horned Frogs with a 33.0 percent edge to pull off the upset, according to the index projections.

Point spread: Michigan comes into the game as 7.5 point favorites against TCU, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook.

Total: 58.5 points

Moneyline: Michigan -333 | TCU +240

Spread consensus pick: Michigan -7.5

It's official: College Football Playoff semifinal, New Year's bowl games are set

Score prediction: Team Rankings projects that Michigan will beat TCU by an estimated score of 32.1 to 25.2 (TCU +7.5, Under 58.5)

How to watch: The game is set for Sat., Dec. 31 at 4 p.m. Eastern on the main ESPN network and streams on fuboTV (Try for free).

College Football Power Index

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.

How to watch and stream college football every season

fuboTV provides live coverage of the top college football games on the NCAA schedule every season from the major TV networks as well as the SEC Network, Big Ten Network, ACC Network, Pac-12 Network, and others — all without cable, in addition to 100+ channels of live TV and thousands of hours of on-demand titles.

You can stream college football, the NFL, and other programming from any device, including your phone. There’s no contract, no hidden fees, and DVR is included.

>> Click here to watch college football for free on fuboTV

College Football Playoff top 25 rankings

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. Ohio State
5. Alabama
6. Tennessee
7. Clemson
8. Utah
9. Kansas State
10. USC
11. Penn State
12. Washington
13. Florida State
14. Oregon State
15. Oregon
16. Tulane
17. LSU
18. UCLA
19. South Carolina
20. Texas
21. Notre Dame
22. Mississippi State
23. NC State
24. Troy
25. UTSA

---

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Facebook