[h=1]College Football Playoff Betting Consensus Report & Why Bookies Are Rooting For An Alabama Title[/h]Zack Jones
Forbest 12/26/18
Both the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers opened as hefty favorites in their respective College Football Playoff semifinals matchup, but now that bettors have had nearly four weeks to pound these lines into place, how have the initial offerings held?
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Sportsbooks initially opened the Orange Bowl odds with the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide as two-touchdown favorites over the 4th ranked Sooners. Aside from their 4th quarter comeback in the SEC Championship matchup against Georgia (35-28), Alabama had beaten every previous opponent by at least 22 points.
Oklahoma enters this game off of an -9.5 point cover over Texas in the Big 12 Championship game, ending a 0-3-1 ATS streak. The 39-27 victory saw QB Kyler Murray put up MVP numbers, and the performance not only earned his team a spot in the playoffs but secured his Heisman Trophy victory in the process.
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“The bet count on Oklahoma-Alabama is dead even. 50-50” shared BetOnline’s Dave Mason. Like most sportsbooks, BetOnline first released the odds at 14, and have held firm ever since due to split action.
The odds movement taking place in the Orange Bowl lies on the matchup’s total. The initial offering of 79 points has now fallen anywhere between 76.5 and 77.5, depending on where you shop, with Sportsbook Review reporting 56% of betting action coming in on the Under.
Cotton Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Clemson Tigers
The betting action is not so split for the Cotton Bowl matchup between the No. 2 Clemson Tigers and the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with early action siding with the dog.
“As of now, 59% of bettors are on the Irish” shared Dave Mason, as BetOnline’s opening offering of Clemson -10.5 has now shifted a full two points to -12.5 to reflect the money coming in on Notre Dame.
The Cotton Bowl total mostly sits at 55 points across the board, slightly under the 55.5 offering when the line first opened.
Who Is Your Bookie Rooting For?
As we reported earlier, sportsbooks are still looking for a big payday if Alabama clinches another championship victory.
As one bookmaker put it, an Alabama win would be “Another Christmas for our side of the counter.”
A Notre Dame victory would also see bookies earning a small profit, while a Sooners title would hand them a small loss. Clemson clinching the championship would yield an even smaller loss to the books, but a loss none the less.
2018-19 College Football Champion Odds
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Forbest 12/26/18
Both the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers opened as hefty favorites in their respective College Football Playoff semifinals matchup, but now that bettors have had nearly four weeks to pound these lines into place, how have the initial offerings held?
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Sportsbooks initially opened the Orange Bowl odds with the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide as two-touchdown favorites over the 4th ranked Sooners. Aside from their 4th quarter comeback in the SEC Championship matchup against Georgia (35-28), Alabama had beaten every previous opponent by at least 22 points.
Oklahoma enters this game off of an -9.5 point cover over Texas in the Big 12 Championship game, ending a 0-3-1 ATS streak. The 39-27 victory saw QB Kyler Murray put up MVP numbers, and the performance not only earned his team a spot in the playoffs but secured his Heisman Trophy victory in the process.
<fbs-ad position="inread" progressive="" ad-id="article-0-inread" aria-hidden="true" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></fbs-ad>
“The bet count on Oklahoma-Alabama is dead even. 50-50” shared BetOnline’s Dave Mason. Like most sportsbooks, BetOnline first released the odds at 14, and have held firm ever since due to split action.
The odds movement taking place in the Orange Bowl lies on the matchup’s total. The initial offering of 79 points has now fallen anywhere between 76.5 and 77.5, depending on where you shop, with Sportsbook Review reporting 56% of betting action coming in on the Under.
Cotton Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Clemson Tigers
The betting action is not so split for the Cotton Bowl matchup between the No. 2 Clemson Tigers and the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with early action siding with the dog.
“As of now, 59% of bettors are on the Irish” shared Dave Mason, as BetOnline’s opening offering of Clemson -10.5 has now shifted a full two points to -12.5 to reflect the money coming in on Notre Dame.
The Cotton Bowl total mostly sits at 55 points across the board, slightly under the 55.5 offering when the line first opened.
Who Is Your Bookie Rooting For?
As we reported earlier, sportsbooks are still looking for a big payday if Alabama clinches another championship victory.
As one bookmaker put it, an Alabama win would be “Another Christmas for our side of the counter.”
A Notre Dame victory would also see bookies earning a small profit, while a Sooners title would hand them a small loss. Clemson clinching the championship would yield an even smaller loss to the books, but a loss none the less.
2018-19 College Football Champion Odds
| Team | Current Odds | Preseason Odds |
| Alabama | -200 | +175 |
| Clemson | +280 | +600 |
| Oklahoma | +1100 | +2500 |
| Notre Dame | +1100 | +4000 |
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