The College Football Playoff National Championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame has arrived. Here are the betting splits and most popular player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Ohio State is an 8.5-point favorite over Notre Dame with a total of 46.5 in the National Championship game.
Betting Splits
Ohio State has dominated its way through the College Football Playoff. They blew out their first two opponents and even in a closer game against Texas, they won by 14 points. Ohio State’s closest game of the CFP was that 14-point win, while all three of Notre Dame’s wins have come by less than that. They had to come from behind and kick a game-winning field goal against Penn State, and it took a special teams touchdown and a takeaway that put them into immediate scoring position to beat Georgia. However, Notre Dame has shown that they can survive any test (other than Northern Illinois) and this should be a great defensive battle between the two teams.
Despite Ohio State’s dominance through the CFP, the public is leaning towards Notre Dame to cover the spread. The 8.5-point spread is pretty significant and bettors seem to be conflicted on which side they want to take. Notre Dame has received 52% of the bets and 44% of the handle. That indicates that Ohio State is taking some of the bigger bets. The public could have some bias that they are hoping for a great National Championship Game and want Notre Dame to keep it within this number. However, six straight National Championship Games have been decided by at least two scores with some major blowouts mixed in there, so history does not indicate that this game is going to be very close.
When it comes to the moneyline, it is the opposite of the spread in terms of tickets and handle percentage. A majority of the bets are on Ohio State with 56% of tickets, but only 44% of the handle is on the Buckeyes. Bigger moneyline bets have come in on the Fighting Irish, giving them 56% of the moneyline handle. These conflicting numbers indicate that bigger bettors think this is going to be an all-or-nothing effort from the Irish. Either they will play the perfect game and find a way to win outright, or they will be completely outclassed and the Buckeyes will blow them out of the water and cover the spread.
The total is set at 46.5 with two of the nation’s best defenses in the mix. Notre Dame ranks second in the country in defensive EPA/play and Ohio State ranks third. That being said, there is an extreme difference in bet percentage and handle percentage when it comes to the total. 63% of the bets are on the over but this includes only 25% of the handle. It is very common for the majority of the public to be on the over with some bigger and sharper bets coming in on the under for any game. However, this is a dramatic difference between bet and handle percentage that indicates bigger bettors really like the under at 46.5.
Most Popular Player Props
Here are the top five most-bet player props for the CFP Championship Game:
- Jeremiyah Love Anytime TD (+125)
- Jeremiah Smith Anytime TD (-125)
- Riley Leonard Anytime TD (+115)
- Emeka Egbuka Anytime TD (+110)
- Quinshon Judkins Anytime TD (-135)
Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love is the most bet-on player to score a touchdown on Monday night. Love has scored at least one touchdown in every game he has played this season except for the quarterfinal game against Georgia which he left early. There is a discount on what this price would normally be because Love is still dealing with that injury. However, Love bounced back and scored in the semifinals despite the knee injury, and bettors are trusting him to do so again.
Ohio State’s two star wide receivers, Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, are both among the most popular anytime TD bets for this game. Smith was the superstar of the first two rounds of the CFP, combining for four touchdowns in the two games. However, he was basically used as a decoy in the semifinal game against Texas, making just one catch for three yards. Egbuka only has one touchdown in the first three playoff games but has performed consistently well throughout the season and the CFP.
Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard to score is also among the most popular player prop bets. Leonard is a great rushing threat and has scored a touchdown in two out of three playoff games so far. He has 16 total rushing touchdowns this season, nearly matching his passing touchdown total.
Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins is the fifth most-bet player to score a touchdown. Judkins is a part of the dangerous running back duo at Ohio State along with TreVeyon Henderson. Judkins is the more bet-on player for this game but Henderson has been the standout player in the CFP. Henderson has five total touchdowns in the CFP and Judkins has four, so you can’t really go wrong with either one. Bettors are slightly favoring Judkins but both are always good bets to find the end zone.
Check out my favorite player prop bets for the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame game here.
