It’s been a wild year in the world of college football, as the seeds of change have been planted.
It began when the College Football Playoff announced it would move to a 12-team format starting in 2024, ending the 10-year run of the four-team edition. Conference realignment took hold over the summer, as the Pac-12 disintegrated as a major conference before Deion Sanders and Colorado led the news during the early part of the season.
ESPN takes video footage of the NCAA football national championship trophy before the Tax Act Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
The Michigan sign theft scandal was all anyone could talk about a month before undefeated Florida was locked out of the CFP, sparking a massive debate over who belonged in the four-team playoffs.
All that is now a thing of the past.
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Washington and Michigan emerged from all the storylines as undefeated teams competing for the national championship Monday night in Houston.
Let’s take a look at some of the betting lines for the CFP national championship starting Thursday from Caesars Sportsbook.
Michigan Wolverines:
Money Line: -190 Spread: -4.5
Michigan needed a fourth-quarter comeback and overtime to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl, but they are now one win away from the program’s first national title since 1997.
Jim Harbaugh tried it on fourth down at the Alabama 40-yard line late in the fourth quarter, and the quarterback J. J. McCarthy He rewarded Harbugh’s faith with a completion to Blake Corum that went 27 yards.
The Wolverines scored to send the game to overtime, scoring on their first possession and stopping Alabama’s quarterback. Jalen Milroe on fourth down, sending Michigan players onto the field to celebrate.
“I wouldn’t say the Michigan win was pretty,” Caesars Sportsbook college football leader Joey Feazel told Fox News Digital. “They had a very dominant first half, but it didn’t show up on the scoreboard just because of some turnovers and really bad special teams play. But they fought until the end.” [and] He scored quickly in overtime to get the touchdown.
Michigan Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy, #9, celebrates with the winner’s trophy after the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in overtime of the CFP semifinal Rose Bowl game on January 2024, at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. . (Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“And then we can stop them. Maybe one bad play by Alabama, but it was enough to do it. Facing Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide in a playoff setting is not an easy thing to do.”
According to Caesars, the Wolverines have been the favorites to win the national championship for most of the year.
Michigan’s defense has been their calling card all season, allowing the fewest points per game (9.5) in the country and the second-fewest yards (239.7).
They will face their biggest challenge of the year against a Washington offense that runs the ball downfield and forces defenses to pay from sideline to sideline.
Washington Huskies
Moneyline: +158 Spread: +4.5
The Huskies are in the CFP finals for the first time and are looking to complete a magical season.
Washington enters the national championship with a 14-0 record and wearing the superior pass offense in the country (350.0 passing yards per game).
The Huskies dominated Texas in the second half of the Sugar Bowl before allowing the Longhorns to make it a game in the final minutes.
“It really was a dominant offensive performance all game against a pretty talented player. texas defense [that] It was awesome,” Feazel told Fox News Digital. “[It] I was close at the end, but it’s fun to watch. [It] I could have gone the other way but [it’s] just as it has been for Washington all year. [They’ve] “I’ve been in close games and I’ve been able to do it.”
Michael Penix Jr., No. 9 of the Washington Huskies, celebrates after a 37-31 victory against the Texas Longhorns in the CFP Allstate Sugar Bowl semifinal at Caesars Superdome on Jan. 1, 2024 in New Orleans. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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Washington’s last 10 games of the season have been decided by 10 points or less.
“Before the game, we had this anticipated confrontation at 7 [points]”Feazel said of the difference. “Given the circumstances and how well Washington played, it kind of went down.
“Despite only winning by six, we thought it was a dominant performance with Washington playing a very good Texas team,” Feazel continued.
The Huskies were underdogs in their last two games against Oregon and Texas.
Total points: Over/under 55.5
The over/under is set at 55.5 total points, according to Caesars Sportsbook, even though the Huskies scored the 10th most points per game in the country (37.6).
The dominance of Michigan’s defense is playing a huge role here next. holding alabama to just 288 total yards in the semifinals.
“The strength of this Michigan team, the strength they’ve had all year, is defense and the ability to stop a lot of power offenses,” Feazel told Fox News Digital. “We saw State of Pennsylvania [and] Ohio State won’t be able to do much. “There really hasn’t been anyone who’s been able to do much against this Michigan defense.”
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“Last year we saw another dominant defense with Georgia. Their offense was able to put up a lot of points, but TCU really couldn’t do much against a dominant defense,” Feazel added. “And that’s really what this total reflects: respect for Michigan’s defense, especially against a highly talented offense like Washington.”
Michigan and Washington play for the national championship on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium, which is the home of the Houston Texans.
