Texas Longhorns CFP National Championship Favorite, As Quarterfinals Kick Off

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The College Football Playoff (CFP) continues tonight in Phoenix with the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl between No. 3 Boise State squaring off against No. 6 Penn State at State Farm Stadium. As the quarterfinals kick off, No. 5 Texas is the betting front-runner to win the National Championship at +300.

College Football Playoff CFP National Championship — The quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff get underway tonight in Phoenix with the Fiesta Bowl. The action continues with three games on New Year’s Day — the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. (Image: College Football Playoff)

Only eight teams remain with a shot at winning the CFP National Championship. Along with Texas, PSU, and Boise St., they are No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 7 Notre Dame, and No. 8 Ohio State.

Texas, which went 12-2 in its first year in the SEC, is heavily favored against Big 12 champion Arizona St. in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. BetMGM has the Longhorns a 12.5-point favorite against the Sun Devils at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Peach Bowl kicks off tomorrow at 1 pm EST.

With Texas seemingly having the easiest road to the semifinals where they’d play either OSU or Oregon, bettors think the Longhorns represent smart money for the natty.

BetMGM says about 10% of its tickets and over 13% of the overall money is on Texas to win it all. Only Ohio State has more tickets and cash at 13% and 16%. BetMGM isn’t overly scared regarding the Buckeyes action, as OSU’s line remains slightly longer than Texas at +350.

Oregon is next at +450 followed by Georgia and Penn State (+525), Notre Dame (+650), and Arizona State and Boise State (+6600).

Big Ten, SEC Favored

Boise St., Arizona St., Oregon, and Georgia received CFP first-round byes for winning their conference championships. Bettors and many college football pundits feel the byes for Boise and ASU, which respectively won the Mountain West and Big 12, were unjust, as their conferences were considerably weaker than the Big 10 and SEC.

The CFP will likely amend its 12-team ranking system for next year, with the top four overall teams receiving byes instead of automatic byes for the four strongest conference winners. For this year, however, Boise and Arizona St.’s byes present attractive semifinal pathways for Texas and Penn State.

In tonight’s quarterfinal opener, the Nittany Lions are 11-point favorites. BetMGM tells Casino.org that 62% of the money is on PSU.

In the Rose Bowl, Ohio State is a 2.5-point favorite for redemption against Oregon after losing to the Ducks 32-31 in October. BetMGM says 66% of the action is on the Buckeyes. “The Granddaddy of Them All” kicks off tomorrow at 5 pm EST from Pasadena.

Tomorrow’s nightcap is the Sugar Bowl between ND and Georgia. The Bulldogs are 1.5-point favorites. BetMGM says 61% of the money is on Georgia despite starting Gunner Stockton at QB in place of the injured Carson Beck.

Boise’s Jeanty Key

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty finished second in this year’s Heisman race. The junior ran for nearly 2,500 yards on 344 carries for a 7.3-yard per carry average. He scored 29 touchdowns and added a receiving TD for 30 total trips to the endzone.

Tonight will be a different test for Jeanty. The Nittany Lion defense, led by defensive end Abdul Carter, who is expected to go early in next year’s NFL Draft, is among the best in the nation. The Penn State D held its opponents to just 15.9 points and 280 yards a game.

While Jeanty was the top back in the country this year averaging 192 yards a game, BetMGM has his over/under for tonight at 131.5 rushing yards. He’s still expected to score a touchdown at -250.

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