Four teams remain in the hunt to win a national title, as the College Football Playoff prepares for the semifinal round. Let’s check out the odds for the semifinal games at DraftKings Sportsbook as of January 5, as well as what to know about each game.
No. 7 Notre Dame (-1.5, -130) vs. No. 6 Penn State (+110) in the Capital One Orange Bowl on January 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with an over/under of 46.5. Notre Dame figures to be a defensive dogfight, between two defenses that have allowed a combined 51 points in four total CFP games. The Fighting Irish have arguably the most impressive win of the two squads, knocking off SEC champion Georgia in the quarterfinals, 23-10. The line will surely shift over the coming days, but for now, Notre Dame has opened as a slight favorite.
No. 8 Ohio State (-6, -225) vs. No. 5 Texas (+185) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on January 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with an over/under of 53.5. Ohio State meets No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and it looked like the No. 1 team, leading 34-0 in the second quarter before cruising to a 41-21 win. Meanwhile, Texas faced No. 4 Arizona State and despite leading 24-8 in the fourth quarter, needed two overtimes to pull off a 39-31 win. Now, the Buckeyes have opened as a solid favorite over the Longhorns, and OSU is also the new favorite to win the CFP title. Their key weapon is freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who absolutely torched the Ducks for 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns. If the Longhorns can’t at least slow Smith down, it could be a long night for Matthew McConaughey and Co.