Patrick Everson
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
College Football Playoff first-round odds are all the fad proper now, with video games scheduled for December 20-21. Among the 12 groups within the expanded discipline, Clemson made its manner because the No. 12 seed.
But Caesars Sports head of soccer buying and selling Joey Feazel thinks the Tigers may show tough for No. 5 seed Texas. This regardless of the Tigers being the largest underdogs within the first spherical, selecting up 11 factors on the highway in opposition to the Longhorns.
“I do not suppose I might wish to play this Clemson group given their expertise in these massive video games,” Feazel stated.
In truth, Clemson is making its seventh College Football Playoff look, with the opposite six coming within the four-team format, the place coach Dabo Swinney & Co. has gained two nationwide titles.
Expert bookmakers and bettors supply their opinions on College Football Playoff first-round odds, together with a take a look at one of many sport’s most historic rivalries, as we dive into this week’s faculty soccer betting nuggets.
Respected cash
After 4 days of marinating CFP odds within the first spherical, two fights yielded massive cash for Caesars Sports: No. Indiana’s No. 10 vs. No. 7 Notre Dame and no. No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Ohio State.
The Hoosiers and Fighting Irish kick off CFP at 8 PM ET on December 20. Indiana is 11-1 SU/9-3 in opposition to the unfold (ATS), whereas Notre Dame is 11-1 SU/10-2 AT.
This means these two groups are among the many finest within the nation for bettors. Only Marshall (10-1-1 ATS) has a greater spread-coverage document than Notre Dame, whereas Indiana has the fifth-best unfold ranking in faculty soccer.
Caesars opened Notre Dame at -8 and rapidly moved to -7.5, with good cause.
“We’ve seen some cash from Indiana are available barely, at +8. And that is actually the silver lining,” Feazel stated.
However, Notre Dame is the nationwide model, and the lots of public bettors is not going to hesitate to rally behind that model.
“It’s principally Notre Dame cash on the unfold and Indiana on the moneyline. So proper now, we’d like Indiana to remain throughout the quantity and Notre Dame to win the sport,” Feazel stated.
Tennessee-Ohio State opened with the Buckeyes favored by 7 factors and went to Ohio State -7.5 (tied) in pretty brief order. But that half-point caught the curiosity of Vols bettors, together with the sharp play at Caesars on Tennessee +7.5 (-120).
“So far it is principally Tennessee cash, a good quantity on the unfold and a good quantity on the moneyline,” Feazel stated. “This is a extremely good sport on paper, with actually good defenses which have performed effectively all yr.
“I do not see this quantity going up. If something, it is shifting in direction of Tennessee. I feel we’ll land on 7.”
Heading into this 8 PM ET kickoff on December 21, Ohio State is 10-2 SU / 6-6 ATS and Tennessee is 10-2 SU / 7-5 ATS.
Army vs. Navy: CFB Week 16 Super Six
Violin within the center
The aforementioned Clemson vs. Texas matchup did not transfer the Longhorns as 11-point favorites at Caesars.
“People both wager Texas -11 or take Clemson on the cash line,” Feazel stated.
Clemson is +330 on the moneyline, which helps appeal to some bettors. If you wager $100 on the Tigers they usually handle to win, you’d earn $330 (whole win $430). Those who take Texas on the unfold are hoping for a win by greater than 11 factors.
“We name it the Super Bowl middle. It’s one thing we’re seeing in these playoff video games,” Feazel stated. “If they just like the canine, they will play the moneyline for that worth at 2/1 or 3/1. If they like the favourite, they will play the purpose unfold.
“So we’d like that half of the Super Bowl.”
It means Texas will win the sport and Clemson will cowl the unfold. The Tigers are 10-3 SU/6-6 ATS, whereas the Longhorns are 11-2 SU/7-6 ATS coming into this matchup, 4 PM ET on December 21.
No. 11 SMU and No. 6 Penn State are considerably comparable. The Nittany Lions (11-2 SU/6-7 ATS) opened as 8.5-point favorites, fell to -8, then fell again to -8.5, all in a matter of hours on Sunday.
As of Wednesday night time, Penn State remains to be -8.5 forward of SMU (11-2 SU/8-5 ATS), beginning ET at midday on Dec. 21.
“It’s principally Penn State cash, and just a little little bit of SMU on the cash line. So, once more, the center floor is what’s finest for the e-book proper now,” Feazel stated. “I feel we’ll see loads of motion at Penn State as we get nearer to kickoff.”
Best bets on Indiana vs Notre Dame, Memphis vs West Virginia
Sharp facet on campus
College soccer betting knowledgeable Paolo Pietra is just not but taking a look at odds for the primary spherical of the College Football Playoff. Rather, he is centered on the ultimate sport of the common season: Navy vs. Army at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
Army had an impressive season, profitable the American Athletic Conference title and considerably flirting with a College Football Playoff bid. The Black Knights are 11-1 SU/7-4 ATS, with their solely loss coming to CFP invitee Notre Dame.
Navy additionally had a strong yr, going 8-3 SU/7-4 ATS. Saturday’s 3pm ET kickoff marks the a hundred and twenty fifth assembly between these bitter rivals, and Army is the 6.5-point favourite.
The underdog has lined eight of the final 10 conferences of this historic sequence. But Stone recommends settling with the Army.
“I like Army’s total work higher,” Stone stated. “Certainly, loads of that facilities on the play of his bulldog of a quarterback, Bryson Daly. He’s a extremely fierce competitor and, maybe most significantly, he seems to be wholesome.”
Daly leads Army’s floor sport with 1,480 speeding yards this season (5.6 yards per carry). He has 29 speeding touchdowns below his belt, essentially the most of any participant within the nation this season. The strong 6-foot, 220-pound Texan additionally threw for 877 yards (11.2 yards per try) and eight touchdowns, in opposition to only one interception.
“These video games are typically shut,” Stone stated. “But I like this Army group and I see the cadets profitable by double digits.”
I like massive bets and I am unable to lie
The most fascinating bets are on the longest pictures within the College Football Playoff championship futures. Specifically, one bettor has three tickets at The SuperEbook and one at Circa Sports in Boise State, with bets positioned all through the summer season.
The 4 bets whole $1,300. If the Broncos shock the world and raise the trophy on January 20, the bettor would win $1 million.
Caesars Sports has made a few bets on CFP futures that would repay effectively. The greatest wager got here simply final week, when a buyer from Louisiana wager $1.5 million on Texas +390 to win the nationwide title.
If the Longhorns lead the desk, the bettor will pocket a whopping sum of $5.85 million, for a complete win of $7.35 million.
And a month in the past, a wager got here in – once more from Louisiana – for $50,000 on Georgia +500 to win the title. If the Bulldogs had been to win all of it for the third time in 4 years, the bettor would earn $250,000 (whole win $300,000).
Good payouts, the whole lot. Check again in six weeks to see how these bets labored out.
Patrick Everson is a sports activities betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist within the nationwide sports activities betting business. He lives in Las Vegas, the place he enjoys enjoying golf in 110-degree warmth. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
Want nice tales delivered proper to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports accountand observe leagues, groups and gamers to obtain a personalised publication day by day!
Get extra from College Football Follow your favorites to get data on video games, information and extra
