Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
By Chris Marler
The opening betting lines have been released for all four College Football Playoff quarterfinal games, which will be played Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 in the Sugar, Cotton, Orange and Rose bowls.
Current Betting Lines
- No. 1 Indiana (-7) vs No. 9 Alabama
- No. 2 Ohio State (-10) vs No. 10 Miami
- No. 3 Georgia (-7) vs No. 6 Ole Miss
- No. 4 Texas Tech vs No. 5 Oregon (-1.5)
A few things stand out, starting with Alabama’s line against Indiana. The Crimson Tide were 1.5-point underdogs to Oklahoma and quickly fell into a 17-0 deficit. They closed the game on a 34-7 run to win 34-24. Now they face the 13-0, No. 1 team in the nation led by a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Pasadena, Calif.
The line is currently at -7, but it opened late Friday night at -6 and even -5 in some sportsbooks. The line moving up a full point isn’t surprising. What is surprising is imagining someone telling you five years ago that Alabama and Indiana would meet, and the 13-0 team with a Heisman-winning quarterback would be from Bloomington, not Tuscaloosa.
The other thing that stood out is the underdogs in the Orange and Cotton Bowls. Miami just went on the road in College Station and became the second team in the 12-team playoff history to win on the road. Their reward is a second round game against the team that was No. 1 for most of the season, Ohio State. The opening line is double digits for this game with the Buckeyes being a -10 point favorite.
Then there’s Texas Tech who has been brilliant all season and especially against the spread. The Red Raiders are 11-2 against the spread this season, yet they are a 1.5 point underdog to Oregon in round one. Oregon’s offense looked strong in its first CFP game, but sportsbooks have been begging bettors to fade Texas Tech all year. The best example is the BYU matchups, when Tech was favored by 11.5 and 13.5 points and still won by 22 and 27, respectively.
Lastly, there’s the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. It’s surprising that the SEC Champion was only favored by seven in a game where they’ve already beaten Ole Miss by eight and will be facing a coach in his second career game as a head coach on the biggest stage. Georgia fans will no doubt fill New Orleans, but Ole Miss fans could also flood the city and make it feel like a home game again.
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