The best time to be a football fan is right now. Two college football semifinal games between four tremendous teams and six NFL Wild Card games will take place over the course of the next four nights.
Let's take a look at the odds for the two college football semifinal games and preview each matchup.
No. 10 Miami (FL) vs. No. 6 Ole Miss - CFP Semifinal
Date / Time | Location | Spread | Total | Money line |
Jan. 8, 2025 | State Farm Stadium | UM -3.0/MISS +3.0 | O/U 52.5 | UM: -165 |
No. 10 Miami overcame a double-digit spread and knocked off No. 2 Ohio State in the quarterfinals after beating No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round.
Miami will get a matchup against the impressive No. 6 ranked Ole Miss Rebels who also overcame a large spread and beat the Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal.
It's a matchup of strength on strength as EDGE rushers Reuben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor try to break through a stout Ole Miss offensive line and bring down a mobile quarterback in Trinidad Chambliss.
Miami will certainly try to drain the clock and make this game a grind with their big running back Mark Fletcher Jr. running behind perhaps the best offensive line in the country.
Carson Beck was efficient and never put the ball in harms way against Ohio State's No. 1 ranked defense last game, using his legs to pick up first downs rather than throwing the ball down the field.
Fletcher's rushing plus an explosive play by the dynamic true freshman Malachi Toney will be needed for Miami.
Ole Miss can score quickly with an offense that has an elite running back in Kewan Lacy and plenty of very good wide receivers. They should use tempo to tire out the thicker Bain and Mesidor who had their hands on their hips in the Buckeyes game.
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Indiana - CFP Semifinal
Date / Time | Location | Spread | Total | Money line |
Jan. 9, 2025 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | IU -3.5/UO +3.5 | O/U 49.0 | UO: +155 |
College football's best team throughout the course of the regular season, No. 1 Indiana, will play in a rematch of the Oct. 11 game in Eugene against the No. 5 Oregon Ducks.
Indiana's greatest strength - their defense - will face the best rushing team in the country that features three backs behind a terrific offensive line.
Jordon Davison and Noah Whittington each averaged over 5.3 yards per carry in the first matchup against the Hoosiers, but they only toted it 13 total times as Oregon was behind for most of the game.
Heavily leaning on the run will be the formula for Oregon to win this game. The Indiana defensive line isn't the largest and is still without defensive end Stephen Daley who led the Big Ten with 19.0 tackles for loss. He was injured in the post-game celebration after the Big Ten Conference Championship game.
The Hoosiers' pass defense is extremely difficult for young QBs to navigate. Rolling zones and pre-snap looks that look nothing like post-snap confused Dante Moore who threw two picks at home against them earlier. Stunts and screens on the defensive line make them slippery to block as they rush the passer.
Indiana has shut down two prolific offenses in their last two games - they allowed 10 points to Ohio State in the conference championship game which included an interception for Julian Sayin, and allowed just three points to Alabama who ended up benching Ty Simpson.
It will be interesting to see how Indiana's offense will do against a dominant Oregon defense. The Ducks shutout Texas Tech in the quarterfinal, but they'll have a tough task against a much better quarterback compared to Behren Morton in Fernando Mendoza.
Quick passing short and jump balls to Cole Becker and Elijah Sarratt deep is the identity of the passing game. Mendoza puts almost every ball on the money, but he's been susceptible to sacks and sometimes puts the ball in harms way.
Read our partner authors' expert betting picks and predictions article for Miami vs. Ole Miss on site.
Betting picks and predictions for Indiana vs. Oregon.
All odds in this article were correct at time of writing and are subject to change.
