Now that all of the complaints are over, it is time to get down to business for the 2025 College Football Playoff.
The CFP begins in prime time on Friday night when the Oklahoma Sooners host the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Kickoff time is 8 p.m. ET with coverage on ABC and ESPN.
Saturday features a College Football Betting tripleheader.
First on the Saturday docket is the Miami-FL Hurricanes playing at the Texas A&M Aggies. Kickoff at Kyle Field in College Station, TX, is at Noon ET with coverage on ABC and ESPN.
At 3:30 p.m. ET, the Ole Miss Rebels will host the Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, MS, with coverage on TNT.
Finally, the Oregon Ducks will host the James Madison Dukes at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on TNT.
Notable CFP First Round Odds
Alabama (-1.5) is an intriguing price on the road against Oklahoma, a team that beat the Crimson Tide (23-21) in Alabama earlier this year.
The Texas A&M (-3.5) line against visiting Miami-FL is interesting. The Aggies’ last game was their first loss (27-17 at Texas) and worst performance of the year.
Ole Miss (-17.5) catches attention as a massive home favorite against Tulane, whom they previously bombarded 45-10 in a September home game.
Oregon (-21.5) catches attention against lightly regarded James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference. Most gamblers see this as a personnel mismatch.
College Football CFP First Round Best Bets
Oklahoma is a surprise Offshore betting home dog to the Crimson Tide, whom the Sooners beat earlier this season. Perhaps that result is baked into the price. It is difficult to beat a team like Alabama twice in one year. Especially when a team like Oklahoma is so offensively challenged, Alabama makes sense.
The Miami-FL Hurricanes closed strong with four consecutive College Football Betting wins. And Texas A&M is coming off a dreadful performance at Texas that exploited all of its weaknesses.
Tulane was routed at Ole Miss earlier this season and was exposed as not having the roster to keep up with one of the most talented teams in the nation. Ole Miss is eager to score a big win to prove it can win without Lane Kiffin.
James Madison is getting an appealing price at Oregon and has enough to cover as the Mountain West Conference champions.
SBG CFP Opening Round Best Bets:
Alabama, Miami-FL, Ole Miss, James Madison
College Football CFP First Round Betting Trends
- Alabama lost only three of its most recent 12 games against the spread.
- The Crimson Tide went under the total in its most recent five games.
- Oklahoma covered the spread in four of its last five games with Alabama.
- Oklahoma got the cash in four of its most recent six games.
- Oklahoma went under the total in 11 of its last 13 games.
- OU and Bama went under the total in four of their last five meetings.
- Miami went under the total in six of its last nine games.
- Texas A&M failed to get the cash in 12 of its last 17 games.
- The Aggies went over the total in five of their last seven games.
- Miami won eight of its last 12 road games straight up.
- Miami has exceeded the total in eight of its last nine games as a favorite.
- Tulane went under the total in eight of its last ten games.
- Ole Miss covered five of its last six games against Tulane.
- The Rebels went under the total in six of their last nine games.
- Tulane and Ole Miss went under the total in four of their last five games.
- James Madison went over the total in five of their last seven games.
- The Dukes covered six of their last eight games as a dog.
- Oregon covered the spread in 10 of its most recent 15 games.
- The Ducks are 9-4 against the spread as a favorite.