Ohio State opens as massive favorite against Notre Dame in CFP title game

Notre Dame won’t need to look too far for bulletin board material before it’s matchup with Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game next week. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have already given the Fighting Irish more than enough.

At BetMGM, the Buckeyes opened up as 9.5-point favorites to defeat Notre Dame in Atlanta on January 20th, marking just the second time all season the Irish have opened as underdogs. The only other instance was a Week 1 matchup at Texas A&M (-3) in the season opener for both schools. The Irish won outright, 23-13.

Some books, like BetRivers, already have Ohio State up to 10-point favorites. On the moneyline, Ohio State is -400 while Notre Dame is +325.

Michigan won outright in the title game last year as a 16.5-point underdog. Georgia won as a 13-5-point favorite the year before that, covering the spread in a blowout of TCU.

This is the first time Notre Dame has been an underdog of at least nine points since Week 1 of the 2022 season at — naturally — Ohio State. The Irish covered the spread in that one, but lost outright 21-10. The same thing happened last season, when the Irish were 3.5-point underdogs at home to Ohio State and lost 17-14. That game featured a chaotic ending with Notre Dame inexplicably fielding just 10 players on the final two snaps of the game.

If history is any indication — and with betting, it rarely is — Ohio State should like its chances heading into the CFP final.