Ohio State Back in College Football Playoff Discussion After Michigan Win, Notre Dame Secures Spot

Posted on: November 26, 2018, 08:51h. 

Last updated on: November 26, 2018, 08:51h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
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Ohio State (11-1) is once again in the College Football Playoff (CFP) discussion after routing rival Michigan (10-2) 62-39 in Columbus Saturday afternoon.

Ohio State CFP rankings football odds
Win a win over Michigan, Ohio State has raced back into College Football Playoff consideration. (Image: Dave Zapotosky/Toledo Blade)

The so-called “revenge tour” the Wolverines were on came to a screeching halt at the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes were underdogs entering the game, something they hadn’t experienced since the 2015 National Championship in which they won, and OSU’s Urban Meyer again out-coached Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.

Las Vegas sportsbooks had Michigan spotting Ohio State five points. With the upset, the Buckeyes moved up four spots to No. 6 in the AP poll.

The CFP rankings will be unveiled Tuesday, with the coveted four playoff spots of utmost importance. The top three spots will presumably be unchanged, as No. 1 Alabama (11-0), No. 2 Clemson (11-0), and No. 3 Notre Dame (11-0) all took care of business in week 13.

No. 4 Michigan will of course fall, and its chances of making the playoff are essentially zero.

Notre Dame and Three Others

The Fighting Irish will need no luck to land one of the four CFP spots. With their 24-17 win at USC, and no conference championship since they’re independent, the undefeated team is heading to its first College Football Playoff.

Alabama is also almost a lock, but does play No. 5 Georgia (10-1) on Saturday in the SEC Championship. Even with a loss, ESPN’s College Football Playoff Predictor still puts the Crimson Tide fourth.

As for the Georgia matchup, the Westgate SuperBook has the Tide favored by 13 points.

Like Alabama, Clemson is also nearly a sure thing so long as unranked Pittsburgh (7-5) doesn’t pull off the upset in the ACC Championship. The Tigers are favored by 25 points.

With Notre Dame in, and assuming Alabama and Clemson take care of business, the only remaining question is which team grabs the fourth spot. Ohio State plays No. 21 Northwestern (8-4) in the Big Ten Championship, and the Buckeyes are favored by 13.5 points.

The only team with a fighting chance of inclusion is No. 5 Oklahoma (11-1), which will need to win the Big 12 Championship over No. 14 Texas (9-3). The Sooners are favored by seven, but even with a win, the odds say they’ll be the first team left out of the CFP barring an OSU loss.

Title Odds

As for winning two CFP games, Alabama remains the Las Vegas favorite at -250, or implied odds of 71.43 percent. A $100 bet nets just $40. The Crimson Tide have won five national titles since 2009.

Clemson is next at +350, with a $100 wager returning $350 should the Tigers win their second title in three years. Notre Dame and Georgia are both at +1200, and Oklahoma and Ohio State are at +2000.

The University of Central Florida (11-0), the only other remaining unbeaten team in Division I-A college football, would need chaos to occur this weekend to reach the CFP. The Knights are +100000 to win it all. Just a $10 bet would net $10,000 on those unthinkable odds coming true.