Notre Dame takes on Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Here is how to bet on player props for this game at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
Ohio State is an 8.5-point favorite over Notre Dame on DraftKings Sportsbook in the title game. Two of the biggest brands in college football are facing off for a national title and it should be an amazing game. Here is my favorite player prop from each team for the National Championship Game:
Carnell Tate 40+ Receiving Yards (-130)
Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka are both superstar wide receivers for Ohio State. Carnell Tate is the often overlooked and forgotten about WR3, but on many teams, he would be the clear WR1. Tate is a fantastic receiver and proved himself against Texas in the semifinal. After Jeremiah Smith dominated the first two Ohio State playoff games, Texas decided their defensive game plan would be to take away Smith and make everyone else beat them. It was by far the best anyone had defended Ohio State in the CFP, holding them to only 21 offensive points in the game. There is no reason why Notre Dame’s elite secondary, which ranks first in the nation in defensive EPA/pass, shouldn’t adopt the same strategy and try to take away Jeremiah Smith.
Carnell Tate was the recipient of a lot of Smith’s normal workload in that semifinal game. Tate finished the game with seven catches for 87 yards. Tate had at least 40 receiving yards in nine of 11 regular season games this year, so it was not an anomaly for him to have such a good game. Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Day confirmed after the Texas game that Smith was basically a decoy once they realized how Texas was defending him. The fact that Smith is a good enough teammate to take on that role means that Tate could be the recipient of a large portion of Smith’s normal targets once again. That is why I am backing Tate to have 40 or more receiving yards in the title game.
Riley Leonard Anytime TD (+120)
Riley Leonard has been fantastic for Notre Dame this season. He is not a great passer, but manages the game really well and is an exceptional runner. Leonard has 19 passing touchdowns and 16 rushing touchdowns this season, so he is just as much of a runner as he is a passer. Leonard has scored in two of Notre Dame’s three playoff games so far and had a season-high 18 carries against Penn State in the semifinals. Notre Dame’s offense was outmatched by the Penn State defense and they will again be outmatched by Ohio State’s defense as well. They will not be able to methodically move the ball down the field against the Buckeyes, so they will need to get creative and use Leonard in the running game to keep possession.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love left the quarterfinal matchup against Georgia with a knee injury. He was able to return for the semifinal contest against Penn State but was nowhere near 100%. Love not being able to take on his normal workload only encourages Leonard to run the ball more himself, especially in the red zone. Leonard should scramble and get designed runs called when Notre Dame gets close to the end zone. It has been their best offensive game plan all season, and against Ohio State’s elite defense, it should be their most popular call once again. Leonard knows he needs to put the team on his back to compete with this seemingly unstoppable Ohio State team, which should lead to him finding the end zone with his legs.
