College Football Playoff national championship odds: Early point spread released for Michigan Wolverines vs. Texas, Washington ahead of Sugar Bowl
One half of the College Football Playoff national championship is set after Michigan won a thrilling Rose Bowl over Alabama in overtime Monday night. Now, Texas and Washington are preparing to square off — but the early point spread has been released for the title game to see how both teams stack up, according to FanDuel.
Time: Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV
Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Michigan would be a 2.5-point favorite over Texas or a 6.5-point favorite over Washington, according to FanDuel.
Alabama struck first blood in Monday’s game, taking a 7-0 lead when Jase McClellan scored a first-quarter touchdown. But Michigan struck back right away as J.J. McCarthy hit Blake Corum to tie things up at 7-7. The Wolverines then took a 13-7 lead when Tyler Morris caught a 38-yard reception from McCarthy. A Will Reichard field goal cut it to 13-10 just prior to halftime.
After a quiet third quarter, Alabama jumped back out in front thanks in large part to a strong drive from Jalen Milroe. He set up McClellan’s second touchdown of the day which, thanks to the botched extra point earlier in the game, put the Crimson Tide up by four points, 17-13. The Wolverines failed to capitalize on a Milroe fumble, but got the ball back with just over four minutes left to try and make something happen.
They did just that. McCarthy found Corum on a 4th and 2 to extend the drive, and it ended with a Roman Wilson touchdown to tie things up at 20-20. That gave Alabama the ball back with 1:34 to play, but the Crimson Tide came up empty — and the game went to overtime. Corum took the second hand-off of the extra period in for a touchdown, and Michigan punched its ticket to the national championship with a 27-20 victory.
That set the table for the second game of the CFP semifinal double-header. Washington and Texas came in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the final rankings to clinch appearances in the Sugar Bowl. The Huskies pulled off a perfect 13-0 season, which culminated with one final Pac-12 title, while the Longhorns went 12-1 en route to a Big 12 championship before heading to the SEC.
Monday night’s matchup at the Caesars Superdome is a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl, which Washington won 27-20. This year, Texas is a 3.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel.
The Sugar Bowl between Texas and Washington is set to kick off at 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN.
