The college football playoff games are over, less than a day since, and the sportsbooks have already posted the odds and spread on the National Championship game between LSU and Clemson on January 13th 2020. At the end of December we saw LSU just rout Oklahoma 63-28 to secure their spot in the final game of college football. In a much more interesting and contested game, Clemson managed to overcome a double-digit deficit and beat Ohio State 29-23 to punch their ticket to Louisiana in January.
Looking at the results of the college football playoff games, there is little surprise that the sportsbooks have LSU favorite to win the national title. At our favorite sportsbook, Bookmaker, the odds on LSU to win the game outright are currently at -240, while the Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are holding to opening odds of +200 to deliver the upset and repeat their last year’s achievement. The point spread on the Clemson vs. LSU game is currently at -6 points chalk LSU. The odds makers are expecting this game to be dominated by the offensive side of the ball, posting an under/over total of 69 points. For contrast we also took a look at the National Championship game odds at another popular offshore sportsbook, 5Dimes, where the spread is the same at 6 point, but at this betting site LSU is “only” -230 favorite and the Clemson Tigers are paying on +190 odds. This sportsbook has set the total on the Championship game at 70 points.
Frankly, the only surprise is not the National Championship odds and spread, but how fast the sportsbooks were ready with the betting numbers, after the winner of the Clemson - Ohio State game was decided. And while the LSU Tigers had no problem piling up the points against the Sooners, we were actually more impressed with the Clemson’s performance against Ohio State, especially their ability to handle adversity and come out on top. We certainly expect that -6 point spread to shrink quite a bit as money starts coming in on the National Championship game, so if the current number seems appealing to you, better lock it in at this junction in time. And for the bettor always in search for value, the 2/1 payout on Clemson is definitely a better proposition compared to the -240 odds on LSU. Regardless, the movement of the line over the two weeks leading to the National Championship game would definitely be just exciting to watch as maybe the game itself.