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NFL betting usually rules the roost on the American sports wagering landscape.
But College Football Playoff quarterfinal odds are giving the mighty shield a run for its money at the moment — particularly in the Miami vs. Ohio State Cotton Bowl matchup, which kicks off the quarterfinals on Dec. 31, and the Alabama vs. Indiana Rose Bowl showdown on Jan. 1.
“These standalone College Football Playoff games really rival the NFL games,” Caesars Sports vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.
Mucklow serves up his insights on College Football Playoff quarterfinal odds for all four matchups.
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Bettors Backing Buckeyes
Ohio State is 12-1 straight up (SU), though that lone loss came in its last outing. The Buckeyes were 3.5-point favorites vs. Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game and fell short 13-10.
Still, with a 10-2-1 mark against the spread (ATS), Ohio State has been one of the best bets all season in college football. Only Texas Tech (11-2 ATS) is better at covering the number.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the public betting masses are all over No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Miami (11-2 SU/8-5 ATS) in the Cotton Bowl, for a 7:30 p.m. ET New Year’s Eve kickoff.
“Ohio State is a bigger loser for us on the spread than any of the NFL Week 17 games. And there’s still [five days] of betting to return,” Mucklow mentioned.
After Miami’s 10-3 first-round win at No. 7 Texas A&M, Caesars Sports activities opened the Buckeyes as 7.5-point favorites. That quantity sprinted to Buckeyes -10, with early bettors desperate to pile on Ohio State.
The Hurricanes really noticed sharp motion at +10, so Caesars adjusted Monday to Ohio State -9.5.
Backing Off ‘Bama
No. 9 Alabama (11-3 SU/8-5-1 ATS) has the SEC pedigree, which is normally enticing to the betting lots. However No. 1 Indiana (13-0 SU/8-5 ATS) has been an offensive juggernaut a lot of the season, and bettors prefer to again a great offense.
And regardless that the Hoosiers didn’t put up factors of their final outing, they did beat defending nationwide champion Ohio State within the Massive Ten title sport. That carries some weight, as effectively, for a 4 p.m. ET Rose Bowl conflict on New Yr’s Day.
Indiana opened as a 6-point favourite and moved out to -7 in brief order. Mucklow mentioned sharp motion on Alabama +7 led Caesars to decrease Indiana to -6.5. However a seamless flood of Indiana motion from the lots moved the Hoosiers as much as -7 once more.
“Bettors are throughout Indiana large time. That’s larger than our Ohio State choice,” Mucklow mentioned. “I hate to say it, however we’re Alabama followers by a good way.”
That mentioned, Mucklow famous Caesars has one angle working in its favor.
“Indiana has probably not been on this place earlier than. Alabama has been there, executed that,” he mentioned.
Quick Unfold
Oddsmakers consider No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech is probably the most aggressive matchup in CFP quarterfinal odds. The Geese opened as 1.5-point favorites and are as much as -2 vs. the Purple Raiders, for a midday ET New Yr’s Day begin within the Orange Bowl.
Oregon (12-1 SU/9-4 ATS) already has a CFP sport underneath its belt, coasting previous No. 12 James Madison 51-34. However the Geese fell wanting masking as large 20.5-point residence favorites.
As famous above, Texas Tech (12-1 SU/11-2 ATS) is one of the best spread-covering staff within the nation this season. The Purple Raiders have been resting since a 34-7 rout of BYU as 12.5-point favorites within the Massive 12 Championship Sport on Dec. 6.
Bettors are leaning towards the Geese, as of Friday afternoon.
“Oregon is a small loser for us, nothing drastic. There’s not a lot of a distinction between these two groups,” Mucklow mentioned. “I believe this sport will see two-way motion. It’s solely a 2-point unfold.”
Candy Rematch
One matchup in Faculty Soccer Playoff quarterfinal odds is definitely a rematch from the common season. In Week 8, Ole Miss and Georgia performed a thriller in Athens, Ga.
Ole Miss — then underneath Lane Kiffin, who has since left for LSU — led 35-26 late within the third quarter. However Georgia did the remainder of the scoring in a 43-35 victory, barely masking as a 7-point residence favourite.
Now, No. 3 Georgia (12-1 SU/6-7 ATS) and No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1 SU/8-5 ATS) meet on a impartial area on the Sugar Bowl. The unfold is just like the primary assembly, with the Bulldogs opening -6 and now as much as -6.5 for this 8 p.m. ET kickoff on New Yr’s Day.
“All the cash is for Georgia, which doesn’t shock me,” Mucklow mentioned. “You’ve given Kirby Good three weeks to organize for this sport.”
Cash Talks
Mucklow additionally ran via rating the 4 CFP quarterfinals primarily based on the amount of cash every sport is seeing to date.
“Alabama-Indiana is No. 1 by a distance. Then it’s Miami-Ohio State,” Mucklow mentioned. “Then there’s a reasonably important hole to Ole Miss-Georgia, and one other large hole to Oregon-Texas Tech. That’s the least in style of the 4, by a distance.”
Patrick Everson is a sports activities betting analyst for FOX Sports activities and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He’s a distinguished journalist within the nationwide sports activities betting house. He’s primarily based in Las Vegas, the place he enjoys {golfing} in 110-degree warmth. Observe him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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