With only four teams left in the College Football Playoff, two games will decide who gets the opportunity to play in the national championship game. The quarterfinal round solidified Ohio State as the odds-on favorite to win the title (-110). The Buckeyes easily handled 1-seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day in a 41-21 victory. The Buckeyes now will take on Texas in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The Longhorns narrowly defeated Arizona State in Peach Bowl, needing two overtimes to do so. Ohio State opened as a five-point favorite over Texas and that line has since ticked up to -6 ahead of the Friday night matchup.
In the other semifinal game, Notre Dame, fresh off a victory over No. 2 seed Georgia, will meet Penn State in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night. Penn State had a runaway victory over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Years Eve while the Fighting Irish, behind a strong defense, stopped Gunner Stockton and the Bulldogs offense from doing much in the Sugar Bowl. As a result, the line for the Orange Bowl opened at Notre Dame -1.5 but moved up a half a point to ND -2.
Here are the betting odds and lines for each College Football Playoff semifinal game.
All odds are accurate as of time stamp. All times Eastern. For the latest odds go to ESPN BET.
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 7 Notre Dame -2 at No. 6 Penn State
Thursday, Jan 9, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Records: Notre Dame 11-1, 4-0 vs. AP top 25 teams; Penn State 11-2, 1-2 vs. AP top 25 teams
Opening Line: Notre Dame -1.5, O/U 44.5
Money line: Notre Dame (-130); Penn State (+110)
Over/Under: 45.5 (O -115, U 105)
FPI Projection Notre Dame by 1.7 points, 55% probability to win game
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
No. 8 Ohio State -6 at No. 5 Texas
Friday, Jan 10, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Records: Ohio State 10-2, 2-1 vs. AP top 25 teams; Texas 11-2, 4-2 vs. AP top 25 teams
Opening Line: Ohio State -5, O/U 54.5
Money line: Ohio State (-230); Texas (+195)
Over/Under: 53.5 (O -110, U 110)
FPI Projection Ohio State by 1.3 points, 54% probability to win game