The College Football Playoff national championship game is set. The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-2) will tackle the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-1) on Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Buckeyes opened as a -10 point favorite at Circa Sports Las Vegas. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Fanatics all made Ohio State a -9.5 point favorite, and the game total ranges from 45.5 to 47.5 points.
The SuperBook in Las Vegas also reached -10 on Ohio State.
CFP National Championship Game
College Football Playoff odds from FanDuel and leading online sportsbooks fresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. All times Eastern. Bet types, odds and terms with listed point spreads on favorites (-) along with over/under total points.
- No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Ohio State (-9.5), total 46.5 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Moneyline: Ohio State (-410), Notre Dame (+315)
Select leading online sportsbooks offer alternate points spreads and team totals. Using -110 odds, the national championship team total for Notre Dame is over/under 18.5 points, and Ohio State 28.5 points.
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This is the 11th year of the College Football Playoff era, but the first with 12 teams. Ohio State’s last title game appearance was in the 2021 national championship game when the No. 3 seed Buckeyes lost to No. 1 Alabama, 52-24. The Buckeyes won their last national championship following the 2014 season – the first year of the 4-team CFP. The No. 4 seed Ohio State beat Oregon 42-20 in the 2015 national championship game. Notre Dame played in the 2013 BCS championship game following the 2012 season, and the No. 1 ranked Irish lost to Alabama 42-14.
College Football Playoff Results
Betting favorites have delivered in a big way for bettors during this year’s first 12-team College Football Playoff. Favorites are 10-0 straight up and 9-1 against the spread (ATS). Links below to boxscores of each Notre Dame and Ohio State CFP contest.
First round (On-Campus) Dec. 20-21, 2024
- No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17
- No. 6 Penn State 38, No. 11 SMU 10
- No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24
- No. 8 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Tennessee 17
Quarterfinals Dec. 31-Jan 1, 2025
- No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17
- No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14 (Fiesta Bowl)
- No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (2OT) (Peach Bowl)
- No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21 (Rose Bowl)
Semifinals Jan. 9-10, 2025:
- No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 6 Penn State 24 (Orange Bowl)
- No. 8 Ohio State 28, No. 5 Texas 14 (Cotton Bowl)
Both semifinal games were close and decided with key plays in the closing minutes. The spread and total flipped late in the Penn State-Notre Dame game causing bettors a roller coaster ride. The Nittany Lions lead 10-3 at halftime with the game total looking like a can’t miss to stay under 45.5 points. Penn State lead 24-17 when Notre Dame broke off a 54-yard touchdown pass inside of 5 minutes remaining to tie the game 24-24. Both teams had another possession but had to punt before Penn State’s gut-wrenching mistake and interception with 30 seconds remaining set up Notre Dame at the Penn State 42-yard line. The Irish made a first down and kicked the game-winning 41-yard field goal in the closing seconds for a 27-24 win as a 1-point favorite. Late money came in on Penn State just ahead of kickoff and the Nittany Lions even closed a 1-point favorite at select sportsbooks.
Ohio State and Texas were also locked in a defensive duel 7-0 Buckeyes late in the first half before the Longhorns broke through with an 18-yard touchdown pass in the closing 30 seconds. But millions of dollars changed hands and more bettors cashed in on the Buckeyes when they broke off a 75-yard screen pass for a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead into the first half intermission. You can’t make this stuff up, but Texas bettors will feel greater pain later in the game.
Texas tied the semifinal contest 14-14 late in the third quarter on a 26-yard TD pass. The Buckeyes retook the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a 1-yard TD run. Texas drove to the Ohio State 1-yard line and had first-and-goal inside of 3 minutes remaining. A questionable wide sweep run on second down lost 6 yards. An incompletion followed by a 4th down scoop-and-score 83 yards by the Buckeyes defense put the game away in a misleading final 28-14 with Ohio State (-6) and under the game total bettors getting the money.
At most leading online sportsbooks, Ohio State had taken more than 75% of the best and money (handle) against Texas.
“Ohio State looks like a runaway freight train now,” John Murray, a veteran Las Vegas bookmaker with the Westgate SuperBook, told ESPN ahead of the Ohio State-Texas semifinal game.
But noteable futures bettor and Texas sports enthusiast Mattress Mack balanced the book at Caesars with a $1.5 million bet on the Texas Longhorns (+390) to win the national championship ahead of the Ohio State game.
The bookmakers have adjusted the Buckeyes line upwards again for the national championship game, and will need the underdog and luck of the Irish to avoid yet another favorite winning and covering in this year’s College Football Playoff.
Check back for more college football news, updates and information you can bet on. Prop bets and player props will add more engagement, entertainment and interest to the national championship game.
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