The pick is already in for college football’s national title game. Now, we’re looking at the prop bets. Much like any big game, college football’s final game is not without some interesting prop bets.
Here’s a few that we’ll keep an eye for Monday’s game.
Team scoring first wins game?
If you choose “yes,” you’re getting worse value at -190, while the “no” response has +145. This is a pretty stupid bet to do any breakdown, since it’s pretty much just a chance pick anyway.
We’ll go with straight value on this pick and go with “no,” since we like the team to have the ball first to score. We like Alabama to win, but that could very well be Clemson, and we like its chances in the game’s first drive. — No (+145)
Team to call first timeout in game?
This is going out with equal action, with Clemson and Alabama going off at -105. We like the experience that Alabama plays with, since this isn’t unusual for it to be a game of this magnitude.
We like the Tigers to call the first timeout, based on some confusion in the early going. That should subside as the game wears on, but it affects them in the first quarter. Look for the Tigers to draw first blood with timeouts. — Clemson (-105)
Team to score first 10 points in game?
This doesn’t have equal action, as Alabama is heavily favored in this category. The Crimson Tide are going off at -175, while the Tigers are +135. Obviously this is heavily weighted toward what oddsmakers would predict to be the final outcome, with the Crimson Tide winning.
But, we’ll go with Clemson, based on value and the ability to start strong. We like Alabama to cover the touchdown spread, but this game should be close heading into the fourth quarter. The Tigers jump on the Tide early, and get to 10 first. — Clemson (+135)
Derrick Henry rushing yards, over/under 145.5
Clemson’s defense is legit. And we can’t imagine the Tigers are going to allow Henry to just run all of them.
Clemson will attempt to force Alabama to beat it through the air. Because that will be the gameplan, Henry should be held relatively in check, falling way short of 145.5 yards. We’re confident in this one. Take the under. — Under (-110)
Deshaun Watson rushing yards, over/under 56.5
College football accounts for sack yardage in totals, making this a very interesting prop bet.
On one hand, Watson can eclipse that mark in just one run. He is capable of breaking open any run. On the other hand, Alabama’s defense can get to the quarterback as well as any unit in the country. Watson will take some sacks, but will that hinder his rushing total under 56 yards?
We doubt it. We’re looking for Watson to run a little bit, especially in the first half before Alabama puts down the clamps on him. We’ll go with the over. — Over (-110)
First score of the game
There are several options in this one, with the most value coming as a safety, going off at 50/1.
The worst value comes with touchdowns, with Alabama going off at even and Clemson at 2/1.
We’re siding with the Tigers to score first, and we’re taking the second-best value option at a field goal. We’re getting 15/4 on that option, giving us a better bang for our buck. — Clemson field goal (15/4)
