- What: 2024 College Football Playoff first round
- Who: Tennessee Vols vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
- Where: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
- When: Saturday, December 21
- How to watch: ESPN
Here we go. The 2024 NCAA football regular season came to a close and there were some thrilling conference title games over the weekend too. In the end, only 12 teams remain to try and win the National Championship. With the first round almost here, people can't wait for things to get started. With that said, Ohio State is among teams favored for Round 1 of the College Football Playoff. Will they win?
The Buckeyes were hoping to win the Big Ten title game, but a loss to Michigan in the regular season finale ended those dreams. Now, Ohio State, the No. 8 seed, will be hosting No. 9 Tennessee in Columbus for a first-round showdown. Ohio State is hoping to make a statement, but Tennessee wants to surprise people too. Head coach Josh Heupel is going to have his players ready to rock against OSU.
| CFP Round 1 odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State to win | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Tennessee to win | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over 48.5 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 48.5 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
“Certainly excited about being in the playoff, and obviously playing a great program that’s had a ton of success in recent history, but throughout their program history, certainly what they’ve done on the field this year,” Heupel said about taking on Ohio State in Round 1. “Excited that we get an opportunity to play an elite program like that."
According to the best sports betting sites, Ohio State holds -110 football betting odds to post a win. If the Buckeyes come out on top, they'd then move on to face No. 1 Oregon in the quarterfinals. That game would take place in Eugene. This is going to be a tight one, but we think Ohio State will come out on top in the end. We're going with the Buckeyes as our pick.
Booger McFarland: “Ohio State struggles against the run so Tennessee should feel good about this”
*Ohio State is 5th nationally in rushing defense*
— The Victory Bell (@VictoryBellOSU) December 8, 2024
Texas and Notre Dame should take care of business in the first round
In other highly-anticipated showdowns, Texas and Notre Dame should take care of business in the first round. Texas is coming off a heartbreaking loss in the SEC Championship Game to Georgia. It was a game the Longhorns were expected to come out on top of, but they blew it in the second half. Because of that, this team will now be motivated to take down Clemson.
Dabo Swinney is one of the best coaches of his generation, and he'll have Clemson fired up to post an upset over Texas. However, we think that's going to be a tall task. There's plenty of speculation Texas and Steve Sarkisian might roll with Arch Manning as QB1, but if Quinn Ewers makes the start, he'll be quite motivated to silence his haters. Texas needs to post a bounce-back game.
Arch Manning is the highest graded Longhorn on the Texas offense per @PFF_College
He has the 12th highest grade among all of the FBS pic.twitter.com/cxNIdNcoM2
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) December 9, 2024
“This was a heck of a football game,” Sarkisian said after Texas lost to UGA in heartbreaking fashion. “And they’re, like I said, I have a ton of respect for their program and their team, what Kirby's (Smart) done here for seven, eight years now. So we knew it was going to take 60 minutes. I didn’t know it was going to take 60 minutes plus overtime.”
Elsewhere, Notre Dame will be hosting Indiana, and the Fighting Irish hold -275 betting odds to move on to the CFP quarterfinals. Indiana has been a great story this year, but people are still talking about them getting destroyed by Ohio State not long ago. On top of Ohio State, we believe that Texas and Notre Dame are also going to post Round 1 victories. We're confident in those picks.
Penn State is no question our pick to take down SMU in the CFP first round
Lastly here, Penn State is no question our pick to take down SMU in the CFP first round. With the greatest respect for SMU, they're lucky to even be in the playoff. However, the committee decided not to punish them too badly for losing the ACC title game on a long walk-off field goal. With that said, Penn State is not going to make things easy for them.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a tough loss in the Big Ten title game to Oregon. It was a game the Nittany Lions were fighting tooth and nail in, but the Ducks were the ones to make the necessary plays late to post a heart-stopping victory. It was easily one of the best games of the weekend across the board.
Come Dec. 20, the Nittany Lions are going to want to remind everyone that they're dominant on both sides of the ball. Will quarterback Drew Allar be able to have a big game? That's the hope. Looking to place a bet or two on the CFP? Check the BetOnline promo codes and promotions for the latest deals, as this year's playoff is going to be fun to watch from start to finish. Soon enough, a champion will be crowned.
