The longest college football season and playoff in history comes to a close on Monday, when the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish play in Atlanta.
Ohio State has been a regular in the College Football Playoff, and the winner of eight national championships in school history. Notre Dame is a traditional power with 11 national championships going all the way back to 1924. The last of those 11 came in 1988.
The controversy of the early seedings, host teams, and bye weeks are a thing of the past. We are left with the two best teams playing one final game to decide the champion. For all its faults, the first 12-team College Football Playoff has been a success.
Game Line: Ohio State (-8.5)
The 8.5-point line may seem big for a national championship game. But in three CFP games this postseason, Ohio State has won by at least two touchdowns in all three games. In Dallas against Texas, the OSU defense allowed just 14 points on their way to a 28-14 semifinal win.
The Buckeyes are 3-0 against the spread in the CFP after going 6-6 against the spread in the regular season.
Notre Dame is also 3-0 in the CFP, creating a championship matchup between two teams that didn’t get a bye. Notre Dame is also 3-0 against the spread after beating the spread in seven straight games to end the regular season.
It took everything the Irish had to get past Penn State in the CFP semifinals, 27-24. A diving interception with just 33 seconds left led to a field goal with just seven seconds left, and Notre Dame upset the Nittany Lions to move on to Atlanta.
They are more than a touchdown underdog in this one, their largest spread as an underdog since the College Football Playoff three years ago.
Ohio State Scoring Props
On its first offensive drive of the game, Ohio State is a good bet to score. Any score, touchdown or field goal, is paying +115. A failure to score on their opening drive pays -160. Ohio State has scored a touchdown in all three of their opening drives in the CFP, and they are -188 to get the game’s first points in this one.
OSU is even money to score over 28 points for the game, and the total team touchdown line is set at 3.5. They are -125 to score first in the game and go on to win. A bet on Ohio State to win by shutout pays +1900.
Notre Dame Scoring Props
When Notre Dame first gets the football, they are +195 to score on offense. No score on that opening drive pays -280. In the semifinal against Penn State, Notre Dame was shut out in the first quarter, and didn’t get any points until a field goal to end the first half. Notre Dame is +145 to score first.
Notre Dame is even money to score at least 20 points, and their team touchdown line is 1.5. However, the over does pay -238. If the Irish do score first and go on to win the game, that bet pays +425. The odds of Notre Dame winning by a shutout pays a hefty +3000.
Winning Team Margins
Ohio State
To win by 1-6 points (+360)
To win by 7-12 points (+400)
To win by 13-18 points (+450)
To win by 19-24 points (+600)
Notre Dame
To win by 1-6 points (+600)
To win by 7-12 points (+1000)
To win by 13-18 points (+2000)
To win by 19-24 points (+3500)
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
