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The College Football Playoff National Championship Game is just a few hours away, and the betting public is backing the LSU Tigers over the Clemson Tigers in a big way. LSU is a 5-point favorite, and as of Monday morning, 67 percent of the handle and tickets bet are on LSU to cover. The line opened at 3.5 two weeks ago, but was up to 5.5 within a couple hours. It had remained there before coming down to five this morning.
We’ve seen an interesting development in the point total. It opened at 71 and dropped down to 69. With a few hours until kickoff, it has now dropped down to 67 points. This game features a pair of dynamic offenses and strong defenses. College offenses often seem to dominate quality defenses, so there might be some value on the over at this point.
While bettors are strongly supporting LSU, prop bet fans might think garbage time will be big for Clemson. DraftKings Sportsbook offers a host of player prop bets, and bettors are backing a pair of overs for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. You can bet the over/under on Lawrence passing yards (294.5) and rushing yards (51.5) and the betting public is hammering the over. 76 percent of the handle is on the over for his passing yards and 57 percent of the handle is on the over for his rushing yards.
Meanwhile, 69 percent of the handle on Travis Etienne rushing yards (94.5) is on the under. It seems logical to deduce that people see Clemson falling behind by a large margin and having to play catch-up through the air rather than on the ground.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is coming off the best game of his career in the semifinals, throwing for 493 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for a touchdown. His yardage total is 365.5 and 68 percent of the handle is on the under. One possibility is bettors see this as a blowout in which Burrow does not play the whole game.
We have an interesting split for LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushing yards. The total sits at 99.5 and while 78 percent of bets are on the over, 55 percent of the handle is on the under. He’s coming off a hamstring injury that resulted in him sitting after the Tigers blew the doors off Oklahoma. He is reportedly looking good at practice, but the more casual bettors might be hesitant to back him.
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