The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-2) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-1) meet Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the College Football Playoff National Championship. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s college football odds around the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish meet for the first-ever championship in the era of the 12-team College Football playoffs. On Monday night, college football wraps up with the equivalent of the NFL’s Super Bowl. While the interest isn’t quite there, with plenty of states legalizing sports wagering in recent years, the popularity of prop bets on the title game is growing exponentially.
We’ll go down the list and select a handful of solid prop bets to enhance your viewing pleasure on Monday night for the big game.
– Rankings: US LBM Coaches Poll, conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports
- CFP Championship Game: Picks and predictions
Best Ohio State vs. Notre Dame prop bets
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:09 a.m. ET.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (-140) – ANYTIME TD SCORER
The super freshman WR Jeremiah Smith was nearly invisible in the national semifinal against Texas, going for just a single 3-yard reception in the Cotton Bowl. That might have been on the more surprising storylines from that victory. With its best receiver doing next to nothing, the Buckeyes were still able to double-up the Longhorns.
Notre Dame has been hard on the pass, allowing just 177.1 yards per game through the air. However, Smith had 5 games this season with 100 or more yards, including hitting the century mark with 2 TDs apiece in the first 2 playoff games against the Tennessee Volunteers and Oregon Ducks. He has 14 TDs to date.
Smith is a big-time player, and he should be able to find the end zone in his title battle.
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Ohio State QB Will Howard – OVER 245.5 passing yards (-115)
Yes, the Fighting Irish have a tremendous defense, so it is expected that QB Will Howard struggles a little more than usual. However, he has really picked up the pace in the postseason, going for 311 passing yards with 2 TDs against Tennessee, 319 yards and 3 TDs against Oregon, and 289 yards and 1 TD against Texas.
To be fair, Howard threw for 246 or more yards just 3 times in the final 9 regular-season games, including a season-low 175 yards in the stunning finale loss against the rival Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 30.
Still, Howard has been playing his best football when it matters most, in the playoffs, and he should be able to get Over the projections here.
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Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins (-115) – ANYTIME TD SCORER
The Buckeyes struck gold in the transfer portal in the offseason. Not only did it add Howard to run the offense, but sometimes the addition of RB Quinshon Judkins can be overlooked.
Judkins has been a bowling ball down near the goal line, and the go-to back when it comes to short-yardage situations.
He opened the scoring against Texas with a 9-yard scoring run, and if you’re a little more adventurous, he can help you multiply up by 5 times (+500) if you select Judkins as the game’s first TD scorer. Judkins also had a 1-yard scoring plunge in the fourth quarter against Texas.
Judkins also had a pair of 1-yard TD runs against Tennessee in the first-round, on-campus victory back on Dec. 21. He has 12 rushing TDs and 1 receiving score across 15 games with the Buckeyes. Judkins is a good bet to record his 14th TD against the Irish.
Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard (+100) — 40+ ALTERNATE RUSHING YARDS
The Fighting Irish also did well in the portal in the offseason, landing Leonard from Duke to run their offense.
And run, QB Riley Leonard has definitely done. He has completed a career-high 66.4% of his passes for 2,606 yards with 19 TDs and 8 INTs, which aren’t necessarily eye-popping numbers, but he also has career highs with 866 rushing yards and 16 TDs.
The Buckeyes are stout on defense, especially against the run, although they have had some issues at times against running QBs. Leonard has 30 or more rushing yards in each of his past 13 games, so he is always eager to take off and display his wheels. He went for 80 rushing yards to lead the team in the Sugar Bowl win over Georgia in the quarterfinals, too.
While, yes, Ohio State is No. 3 in the nation with just 89.9 rushing yards per game allowed, when the Irish are advancing the sticks on the ground, it will likely be due to the legs of Leonard.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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