College Football Playoff: Georgia, Michigan Favored Over Ohio State, TCU
The final weekend of the college football season was filled with chaos.
Utah topped No. 4 USC in the Pac-12 final. Kansas State edged No. 3 TCU for the Big 12 Championship. Both results gave hope to Ohio State and Alabama’s College Football Playoff chances.
Nick Saban turned into a pitchman at halftime of the Big Ten championship, appearing on the broadcast and stating why Alabama deserved to be in the playoff, citing the likelihood the Tide would be point-spread favorites against the other playoff contenders.
“How are they playing at the present?" he said. "If we played these teams in question, would we be underdogs in the game or not?"
But his pleas weren’t enough to sway the selection committee. Georgia and Michigan remained after capturing conference titles, while TCU remained at No. 3 and Ohio State replaced USC at No. 4. Alabama was out.
Ohio State Backers have Life
Following Ohio State’s loss to Michigan, multiple big bets poured in on Ohio State at Caesars Sportsbook. A Colorado bettor put $4,000 on Ohio State at +4000 before an Illinois bettor laid $5,000 on Ohio State at +3000 and a Pennsylvania bettor placed $3,333.33 on Ohio State at the same odds. About 5 1/2 hours after they were moved to +5000, after the loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes’ odds moved to +1400.
Two $10,000 bets on Ohio State at +1400 resulted in the Buckeyes falling to +750 before the start of the conference title games.
“I wasn’t surprised to see those big bets on Ohio State,” Joey Feazel, lead college football trader at Caesars Sportsbook, said last week. “If they get in the Playoff, they’d have even lower title odds, so I understand the potential value. Those were two well-respected bettors who bet it pretty close together yesterday.”
After making the playoffs, Ohio State is now +360 at FanDuel Sportsbook to win it all.
Georgia Favored to Win CFB Title
The defending national champions were as high as +450 coming into the season to repeat, ranking just behind Alabama as pre-season favorites. Georgia’s odds have continued to fall after each win, and the Bulldogs are now the favorite at -130.
The Bulldogs dominated LSU in the SEC championship, winning 50-30 to cap a 13-0 season. The 30 points were the most surrendered by Georgia this season and marked just the third time a team scored at least 20 points against its defense.
Georgia is a -6.5 favorite against Ohio State on FanDuel and -260 on the moneyline. The Buckeyes are +210, while the total is at 60.5.
Michigan, TCU Pre-Season Longshots
The other national semifinal will see two preseason longshots face off. Michigan was as high as +5000 at some books, while TCU was up to +23000 at points during the offseason and even at +12500 before Week 1.
DraftKings Sportsbook has Michigan as a -7.5 favorite against TCU and -315 on the moneyline. TCU is +260 to win and the over-under is at 59.5.
Sportsbooks still aren’t giving TCU much chance to win a national title. FanDuel has the Horned Frogs at +1800.
Michigan has the second-best odds behind Georgia at +300.
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