Ohio State vs. Oregon Betting Tips: College Football Championship Odds, Pick

The Ohio State Buckeyes will try to cap an improbable run to an NCAA title when they square off against the Oregon Ducks in the first ever College Football Playoff Championship Game on Monday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The fourth-seeded Buckeyes upset the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide 42-35 as 7.5-point underdogs in the Sugar Bowl, while the second-seeded Ducks knocked out the third-seeded and defending national champion Florida State Seminoles 59-20 as eight-point favorites in the Rose Bowl.

Oregon is a consensus 6.5-point favorite versus Ohio State and will look to end the season on a 10-game winning streak after earning a victory and covering the spread in nine straight games following its last loss.

The Buckeyes seem to be a team of destiny, though, so look for them to come through as dogs again and at least beat the spread in what should be a high-scoring affair with a total of 74 points.

And any Buckeye believers who bet their team back in late August are in line for a huge payout. After starting QB Braxton Miller was injured, Ohio State fell from 10-1 to 40-1 in college football future betting.

Ohio State Betting Tips

Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones is 2-0 in two starts since replacing the injured J.T. Barrett as the starter with four touchdown passes and one interception.

He has led the team to a pair of upsets as underdogs both times, including a 59-0 rout of the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship Game, and sportsbooks added a passing yard prop on the third-stringer at over/under 260.5 yards.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott has 450 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the last two games combined for the Buckeyes. Elliott only failed to rush for more than 65 yards in the first three games of the season, totaling a season-low 32 in a 35-21 loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies on September 6, the team’s only setback.

Urban Meyer’s teams have gone 18-5 against the spread as an underdog during his coaching career. That includes a perfect 5-0 mark straight up as a dog at Ohio State.

Oregon Betting Tips

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota has been outstanding during Oregon’s winning streak, throwing 25 touchdown passes with just three interceptions. He has topped 300 passing yards in the past four games, including 338 in the Rose Bowl while also rushing for 62 yards against the Seminoles.

Mariota will be without wide receiver Darren Carrington, who had seven receptions for 165 yards and scored two touchdowns vs. Florida State. Carrington is the second-leading receiver for the Ducks with 37 catches for 704 yards and four touchdowns, but he failed a drug test.

Three of his scores came in the last two games, which are the only two starts of the freshman’s career.

The Ducks are 5-1 SU in their last six games against Big Ten schools, going 3-3 ATS. However, the one loss came against the Buckeyes in the 2010 Rose Bowl.

Oregon routed the Michigan State Spartans 46-27 as a 14-point favorite back on September 6, scoring 28 unanswered points after trailing 27-18.

Odds Shark Computer Prediction: 44-36 Oregon

Odds and stats courtesy of Odds Shark.