Ohio St. opens as 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in CFP

Ohio Stateopened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Damein the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.

If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was a 13.5-point favorite against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama gave up 9.5 points against Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.

Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.

However, Notre Dame was on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.

Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season. It has covered as the favorite in every CFP game thus far, including its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.

The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, Ohio State had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook's greatest liability.

Ohio State opened at +700 to win the title this season and is now -350 with one game to play.br/]