College Football Playoff Odds: Alabama, Ohio State Are Peach, Fiesta Bowl Favorites
The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide will continue their drive toward a second straight national championship on New Year’s Eve when they take on the No. 4 Washington Huskies in the Peach Bowl as 14-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Alabama has been dominant while going undefeated straight up this season and enters Saturday afternoon’s Huskies vs. Crimson Tide betting matchup at the Georgia Dome riding a 25-game straight-up winning streak, dating back to Week 3 of the 2015 campaign.
The 13-0 Crimson Tide consistently shut down opposing offenses this year, leading the nation by surrendering just 11.8 points per game and only 34 total points over their past five games. The Crimson Tide have covered just once in their past three contests, but Alabama remains a clear -230 favorite to claim its fourth national title in eight years.
Washington advances to the College Football Playoff as a +1000 longshot to take the title after recording a 12-win season for the first time since claiming its last national championship 25 years ago. The 12-1 Huskies have emerged as one of the surprise stories of the year after opening their campaign at a distant +4000 on the national championship odds. They take a three-game SU win streak into their clash with Alabama.
However, Washington has struggled to record against-the-spread wins this season, going 7-6 ATS overall and 3-4 ATS in its past seven games. The Huskies also are 1-10 SU in their past 10 games as double-digit underdogs, but have covered in two of their past three.
Later Saturday, the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will be looking to advance to the national championship game for the second time in three years when they clash with the No. 2 Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl as three-point betting favorites. The 11-1 Buckeyes have surrendered three or fewer points on four occasions this season but have struggled to cover since early in the campaign, going 2-6 ATS over their past eight games.
The 12-1 Tigers also have been a shaky bet in recent weeks, covering in just two of their last seven games, but have tallied a whopping 45.8 points per game over their past five outings. Clemson also topped the Buckeyes in the sole meeting between the teams since 1978, recording a 40-35 upset win as a 2 1/2-point underdog in the 2014 Orange Bowl.
Ohio State sits at +500 on the national title odds, with Clemson a step behind them at +550.
Thumbnail photo via Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Images
