The college football national championship is set and it’s exactly what we expected — at least on one side.
The No. 1-ranked Indiana Hoosiers will look to complete their undefeated dream season with a win in the Jan. 19 title game against the No. 10-ranked Miami Hurricanes.
Given the history of each of these two teams, it may seem like we’re living in bizarro world looking at the odds.
Miami has won five national championships in its history and Indiana has never been to a national championship game in football its 127-year history as a program.
Despite that fact, Indiana checks in as 7.5-point favorites against Miami in a game that will be played on the Hurricanes’ field at Hard Rock Stadium.
Early betting shows the Hoosiers are getting the bulk of the action with 84 percent of bettors taking them to cover the spread, as of Saturday morning.
College Football Playoff national championship odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | +7.5 (-110) | +240 (-110) | o48.5 (-110) |
| Indiana | -7.5 (-110) | -300 (-110) | u48.5 (-110) |
It just might be the year of the Hoosiers.
Indiana dominated every game in its College Football Playoff run, including a 56-22 drubbing of Oregon in the semifinal matchup.
The Hoosiers have a plus-69 margin of victory against the No. 9 Alabama and No. 5 Oregon.
Heisman trophy winner and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has been a revelation this season.
If you factor in his play in the Big Ten Championship win against then-No. 1-ranked Ohio State, Mendoza has amassed 591 passing yards, nine touchdowns and one interception while completing 78 percent of his passes.
In a season in which everything has come up Indiana, it’s only right that their star quarterback, a Miami native, will play the national championship game in his hometown.
But it won’t be a cakewalk for the Hoosiers.
The Hurricanes, according to SP+ ratings, have the sixth-best defense in the nation and are playing in their own stadium, which is no small detail.
The Hurricanes might have been the last team to make the College Football Playoff field, but they have proved the committee right with this run.
They took down a Texas A&M team that finished tied with the best record in the SEC, the pre-tournament favorite Ohio State and Ole Miss, the other would-be Cinderella story over the past month.
The Hoosiers enter this game as the dominant force but the Hurricanes have been battle tested, leaning on their defense in their first two playoff games and proving they could win a shootout in the semifinals.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past month, it is to expect the unexpected in the final college football game of the season.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
