2024 college football national title game odds: Michigan opens as favorite against Washington

Michael Penix Jr. was on fire throughout the semifinal win against Texas, but Michigan is still favored in the national title game. The Wolverines opened as 4.5-point favorites. Kickoff for the title game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET Monday at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Michigan trailed by seven points late in the fourth quarter against Alabama in the first semifinal, but came up with a game-tying drive and ended up winning 27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines’ special teams were a mess throughout the game and the offense went silent for most of the second half, but Michigan has been viewed strongly by sportsbooks all season. Michigan has been favored in every game this season, including closing as a 2.5-point favorite against Alabama.

Meanwhile, Washington has been the underdog in three of its last four games. The Huskies were a 1-point underdog at Oregon State, a whopping 9.5-point underdog against Oregon in the Pac-12 title game and were getting 4.5 points against Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

Penix will pose a different test for the Michigan defense than what Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe did. Milroe is more of a running threat whose season-high for passing yards in a game was 321 while Penix averages north of that number and leads the nation in passing yards. Penix put on a show against Texas with 430 yards and two touchdowns on 29-for-38 passing in a 37-31 win.

Michigan has the best-scoring defense in the country, and Washington has one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country. Will the Wolverines be able to disrupt Penix, Rome Odunze and the Washington passing attack?

The total opened at 54.5 points, which is the second-lowest number for a Washington game this season. The Huskies had a 48.5-point over/under line against Utah, a game that finished 35-28. This is the second-highest total for a Michigan game this season. Only three Michigan games went over 54.5 this season while nine Washington games did.

Both teams enter with undefeated records and are the only two unbeaten teams remaining after Florida State and Liberty lost their bowl games. Michigan leads the all-time series 8-5, including a 31-10 win in 2021 in Ann Arbor. These two teams will also play next season in a Big Ten regular season game.

This is the first national title game appearance for both teams, dating back to the BCS era.