Best Bets for Saturday's College Football Playoff and NFL games

Best bets gathered from respected handicappers, plus info from sportsbooks

Dec 21, 2024

∙ Paid

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It’s a football lover’s Saturday, with two NFL games and the other three College Football Playoff first-round matchups on tap.

The betting public is backing Tennessee +7 to cover against Ohio State, as it’s the most-bet side by total ticket count and BetMGM and 65% of the wagers at DraftKings are on the Volunteers.

A quick CFP betting report from Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City:

“Haven’t moved the SMU-Penn State line from 8.5. Surprisingly balanced here, but I have a feeling we will see some Penn State money late. Everyone is on Texas in the second game. Respected money early on, then grabbing the better numbers, but the public hasn’t let up even after the number has moved.”

In the NFL, the betting action is much more evenly split in Texans-Chiefs (-3.5) and Steelers-Ravens (-7). I would recommend seeing how Patrick Mahomes looks early on with that high ankle sprain before investing too heavily in the Texans-Chiefs matchup — there’s a pretty steep drop-off between him and Carson Wentz.

Below, I’ve aggregated best bets on the today’s College Football Playoff and NFL games from a variety of sources and have public betting information from BetMGM and DraftKings. I’ve also added a few sharp plays from my conversations with oddsmakers into the paid chat.

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Enjoy your Saturday!