Well sports bettors, this one is for all the marbles! Ohio State and Notre Dame will face off in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 20th at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in New Orleans.
The action kicks off at 7:30 Eastern on ESPN, and the college football world is pumped to see which team will hoist the trophy. Ohio State got by Texas in the Cotton Bowl to get here, while Notre Dame won a thriller over Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Get our top player prop for this incredible matchup below. Good luck and enjoy the action!
Online sportsbooks opened this line at Ohio State -9.5 after their impressive victory over Texas. A touch of money has come in on Notre Dame, so much so that the line is now Ohio State -8 at some shops in the nation. Could we see a flurry of Fighting Irish money to push this spread to the key number of 7?
As for the game total, there has been a little bit of movement for the Over up to this point. The line opened at 45.5 but has ticked up to 46.5 at some spots despite the strength of both defenses. As always, be sure to shop around for the best price no matter which side or total you're playing.
Everyone wrote off this Ohio State team after its disappointing loss to Michigan back in late November. However, all that defeat did was galvanize this Buckeyes team and they've been playing lights out ever since. It'll be interesting to see if OSU can ride that momentum all the way to a title.
Will Howard has been an excellent triggerman for the Buckeyes this season, as he's thrown for 3379 yards and 33 TDs. The Kansas State transfer has the best receiving corps in college football with Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate terrorizing opposing secondaries.
The offense gets most of the headlines, but the backbone of this Buckeyes team is its defense. Ohio State leads the nation in yards per play allowed and sack rate. Edge rusher Jack Sawyer sealed the deal for OSU against Texas with his fumble return for a TD, so the Fighting Irish O-line better have a plan to slow him down.
I've doubted this Notre Dame team all season long and they've proven me wrong time and time again. The Fighting Irish have a stellar defense and a powerful running game. However, I've always wondered if they have enough playmakers on the outside to beat elite teams.
Notre Dame relies on the 1-2 punch of Riley Leonard and Jeremiyah Love to power its running game. Since Love has been a bit banged up, Jadarian Price has helped carry the load. A key question for this offense will be how their O-line holds up against the Buckeyes All World D-line.
The Fighting Irish are exceptional on the defensive end, as they rank 2nd in points allowed and 5th in yards per play allowed. Xavier Watts leads the team with 6 interceptions, so Will Howard better be careful when throwing in his direction.
I'm still figuring out if I want to play the point spread in this game. My numbers say there's value on Notre Dame, but Ohio State's current form makes it hard to pull the trigger. I make the number Ohio State -6 but I'm not crazy about getting in the way of this Buckeyes train.
As you can see from my score prediction, if I had to play the total, I'd be a buyer on the Under. These two defenses rarely give up big plays, so I can't really see either team getting into the high 20s.
I love this Notre Dame rush defense, but we just saw them get gashed by the tough combination of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. This Irish D-line is super-talented, but they're banged up. Henderson has the potential to go Over this line in the first half if he breaks off a couple of key runs.
Henderson's median rushing yardage is 68 this season, and I think he gets at least that many in this one. The veteran OSU tailback is the heart and soul of this Buckeyes offense, so it wouldn't surprise me if Ryan Day gives him a few more carries during his last game. Give me the Over!
Henderson has gone Over this total in 11 of his 15 ball games this season
He's gone Over this line in 5 of his last 7 outings
His median yards per carry number is 7.6 this season!!!