College Football Best Bets: CFP National Championship Pick

Well, bowl season has come to an end with just one more game left on tap, though it’s the biggest one of the year: No. 1 Alabama vs No. 3 Ohio State for the national championship.
It has been a wild and weird 2020 college football season with its share of ups and downs, but I’m grateful that the NCAA was able to get players on the field in a safe manner and we got the season in.
We’ve had an OK bowl season, going 12-11 with our picks, although our full-season record will be a disappointing one sitting at 41-51. But, let’s try to close out the year on the right foot with a national championship best bet to get us feeling good ahead of the 2021-22 season in just a few months.
Without further ado, here is my NCAAF CFP National Championship Best Bet.
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College Football Best Bowl Bets
- CFP National Championship Game: Ohio State +8 vs Alabama (Matchup Report)
- Previous Picks:
- Gator Bowl: NC State vs Kentucky OVER 49.5 (Matchup Report)
- Outback Bowl: Ole Miss vs Indiana -8.5 (Matchup Report)
- Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs Iowa State UNDER 58 (Matchup Report)
- Orange Bowl: Texas A&M vs North Carolina OVER 65.5 (Matchup Report)
- Myrtle Beach Bowl: App State vs North Texas OVER 65.5 (Matchup Report)
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Tulane -1.5 vs Nevada (Matchup Report)
- Boca Raton Bowl: UCF vs BYU UNDER 76.5 (Matchup Report)
- New Orleans Bowl: LA Tech vs Georgia Southern -6.5 (Matchup Report)
- Montgomery Bowl: Memphis vs Florida Atlantic OVER 51 (Matchup Report)
- New Mexico Bowl: Hawaii vs Houston OVER 59.5 (Matchup Report)
- Camellia Bowl: Marshall vs Buffalo UNDER 54 (Matchup Report)
- First Responder Bowl: Louisiana -14 vs UTSA (Matchup Report)
- LendingTree Bowl: Western Kentucky vs Georgia State OVER 50.5 (Matchup Report)
- Cure Bowl: Liberty vs Coastal Carolina -7.5 (Matchup Report)
- Cheez-It Bowl: Oklahoma State vs Miami +2 (Matchup Report)
- Alamo Bowl: Texas -9.5 vs Colorado (Matchup Report)
- Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs Wisconsin UNDER 52.5 (Matchup Report)
- Cotton Bowl: Florida vs Oklahoma OVER 72 (Matchup Report)
- Armed Forces Bowl: Tulsa -1 vs Mississippi State (Matchup Report)
- Arizona Bowl: Ball State +9.5 vs San Jose State (Matchup Report)
- Liberty Bowl: West Virginia vs Army OVER 41 (Matchup Report)
- Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Georgia vs Cincinnati +7 (Matchup Report)
- Citrus Bowl: Auburn vs Northwestern UNDER 43.5 (Matchup Report)
Ohio State Buckeyes +8 vs Alabama Crimson Tide
Ohio State was getting a lot of flak and there was considerable debate whether the team should be selected for the CFP after playing just five regular-season games plus the Big Ten championship game. After Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney ranked OSU as the 11th-best team in the coaches poll just to point out the lack of belief in them, the Buckeyes collided with the Tigers in the CFP semifinal. Well, the Buckeyes silenced the doubters when they cruised past the Tigers 49-28, winning outright as a 7.5-point underdog.
But don’t anticipate such an easy path to victory in the national championship game as a worthy opponent awaits in Alabama. The Crimson Tide had the second-best offense in the nation and have had very few sweats en route to their title game berth, with just one win by fewer than 10 points.
Both of these teams are stacked, with Alabama having two players as Heisman Trophy finalists in QB Mac Jones and the winner, WR DeVonta Smith. That said, the Ohio State combination of QB Justin Fields and WR Chris Olave is no joke either. In the Buckeyes’ win over Clemson, Olave had 132 yards receiving and caught two of Fields’ six touchdown passes.
On the ground, it is also a wash. Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon has emerged down the stretch as the clear No. 1 back for Ohio State, rushing for 331 yards and two touchdowns vs Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game and another 193 yards and a major vs Clemson. Meanwhile, Crimson Tide tailback Najee Harris led the nation with 24 rushing touchdowns and had the third-most rushing yards at 1,387.
Defensively, the teams are very comparable, with Alabama allowing an average of 19.5 points per game and Ohio State allowing 21. The Tide had a pile of points put on them against Ole Miss and Florida but were quite stingy against Auburn, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and others. The Buckeyes had far fewer games and had some issues earlier in the year but clamped down as the season progressed.
Overall, I think these teams are very evenly matched, which is why I will back Ohio State at +8 and I might even sprinkle on the moneyline because of the value, though deep down I do think that Alabama will ultimately win this duel.
As well, the OVER 75.5 points may seem like a scary option with two elite teams but I don’t think it’s that crazy to consider because both squads can rack up points with huge chunk plays. Should be a fun one!