College Football Playoff Odds

The semifinal game between LSU and Oklahoma features the second-highest spread and over/under in College Football Playoff history.
 
LSU is currently a 12.5-point favorite against the Sooners, and the game's total is 75 points.
 
According to closing odds from SportsBetting.ag, there has only been one higher spread and one higher total in CFP history. The complete list is below.
 
The other CFP semifinal, featuring Ohio State and Clemson, shows the Tigers as 2-point favorites over the Buckeyes with an over/under of 63.5.
 
The combined current total of both games is the highest for any two CFP semis in the same year.
 
Here are the championship odds:
LSU +125
Clemson +225
Ohio State +250
Oklahoma +1000
 
Current bowl odds: https://www.sportsbetting.ag/sportsbook/football/ncaa
 
(semifinal games are in bold/italics)
 
List of CFP Spreads (sorted by biggest spread)
2018/19 Orange Bowl: Alabama (-14.5) vs. Oklahoma
2019/20 Peach Bowl: LSU (-12.5) vs. Oklahoma
2016/17 Peach Bowl: Alabama (-12.5) vs. Washington
2018/19 Cotton Bowl: Clemson (-10.5) vs. Notre Dame
2015/16 Cotton Bowl: Alabama (-10) vs. Michigan State
2014/15 Sugar Bowl: Alabama (-7.5) vs. Ohio State
2014/15 Rose Bowl: Oregon (-7.5) vs. Florida State
2016/17 CFP NCG: Alabama (-6.5) vs. Clemson
2015/16 CFP NCG: Alabama (-6) vs. Clemson
2014/15 CFP NCG: Oregon (-6) vs. Ohio State
2018/19 CFP NCG: Alabama (-5) vs. Clemson
2017/18 CFP NCG: Alabama (-3.5) vs. Georgia
2017/18 Sugar Bowl: Alabama (-3.5) vs. Clemson  
2015/16 Orange Bowl: Oklahoma (-3.5) vs. Clemson
2017/18 Rose Bowl: Georgia (-2.5) vs. Oklahoma
2019/20 Fiesta Bowl: Clemson (-2) vs. Ohio State
2016/17 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State (-1) vs. Clemson
 
- Favorites are 7-3 straight-up and 6-4 ATS in semifinal history
- Favorites are 8-7 straight-up and 6-9 ATS in CFP history
 
List of CFP Totals (sorted by highest totals)
2018/19 Orange Bowl: Alabama vs. Oregon (80.5)
2019/20 Peach Bowl: LSU vs. Oklahoma (75)
2014/15 Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Florida State (74)
2014/15 CFP NCG: Oregon vs. Ohio State (72.5)
2019/20 Fiesta Bowl: Clemson vs. Ohio State (63.5)
2017/18 Rose Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Georgia (62.5)
2015/16 Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Oklahoma (61.5)
2014/15 Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Ohio State (58)
2018/19 Cotton Bowl: Clemson vs. Notre Dame (58)
2018/19 CFP NCG: Clemson vs. Alabama (57.5)
2016/17 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Clemson (56)
2016/17 CFP NCG: Alabama vs. Clemson (51)
2016/17 CFP NCG: Alabama vs. Washington (50.5)
2015/16 CFP NCG: Alabama vs. Clemson (50.5)
2017/18 Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Clemson (46.5)
2017/18 CFP NCG: Alabama vs. Georgia (45.5)
2015/16 Cotton Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan State (45.5)  
 
- Overs are 8-7 in CFP history
- Overs are 4-6 in CFP semifinal history
 
List of CFP Upsets (sorted by biggest upset)
2014/15 Sugar Bowl: Ohio State (+7.5) over Alabama
2016/17 CFP NCG: Clemson (+6.5) over Alabama
2014/15 CFP NCG: Ohio State (+6) vs. Oregon
2018/19 CFP NCG: Clemson (+5) over Alabama
2015/16 Orange Bowl: Clemson (+3.5) over Oklahoma
2016/17 Fiesta Bowl: Clemson (+1) over Ohio State
 
- The CFP has had six teams reach it with undefeated records. Those teams are 4-2 straight-up and 3-3 against the spread (ATS) in semifinals and 3-4 straight-up and 4-3 ATS in the playoff overall. Clemson is the only undefeated team that has gone on to win the National Championship in the CFP era.
 
All-Time CFP Records
LSU: 0-0 SU / 0-0 ATS
Ohio State: 2-1 SU / 2-1 ATS
Clemson: 5-2 SU / 6-1 ATS
Oklahoma: 0-3 SU / 0-3 ATS
 
- Oklahoma is trying to become the first team from the Big 12 to ever win a CFP game. The Big 12 is the only Power Five conference that has yet to win a CFP game.
 
- LSU is 1-0 SU and ATS against Oklahoma, winning the 2004 Sugar Bowl (LSU 21-14, LSU +6)
 
- Clemson is 2-0 SU and ATS against Ohio State, winning the 2016 CFP Semifinal (Clemson 31-0, Clemson +1.5) and the 2014 Orange Bowl (Clemson 40-35, Clemson +2.5)

Insightful Comments from Charles Barkley

Say what you want about Sir Charles, but he's right on the mark here!

Zion Williamson should make the decision!

Kindle Book Pick of the Week: Getting to Us: How Great Coaches Make Great Teams

What makes a coach great? How do great coaches turn a collection of individuals into a coherent “us”?
 
Seth Davis, one of the keenest minds in sports journalism, has been thinking about that question for twenty-five years. It’s one of the things that drove him to write the definitive biography of college basketball’s greatest coach, John Wooden, Wooden: A Coach’s Life. But John Wooden coached a long time ago. The world has changed, and coaching has too, tremendously. Seth Davis decided to embark on a proper investigation to get to the root of the matter.

In Getting to Us, Davis probes and prods the best of the best from the landscape of active coaches of football and basketball, college and pro—from Urban Meyer, Dabo Swinney, and Jim Harbaugh to Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim, Brad Stevens, Geno Auriemma, and Doc Rivers—to get at the fundamental ingredients of greatness in the coaching sphere.

Player and coaches have unique relationships and this book takes us behind the scenes of some of the men we call, coach."

In the 204 pages of this book, Getting to Us, we come to feel a deep connection with the most successful and iconic coaches in all of sports—big winners and big characters, whose stories offer much of enduring interest and value.

With Elite 8 games on this weekend, this book is even more relevant.

Social Media Takes Flight During March Madness

NCAA pre-tournament social media analytics from leading international social intelligence firm Talkwalker.

March Madness Buzzing with More Than a Half Million Social Media Mentions

Kansas, North Carolina and Virginia are Social Media’s Favorite


#1  KANSAS

#2  NORTH CAROLINA

#3  VIRGINIA

#4  OKLAHOMA

#5  SYRACUSE

#6  UCLA

#7  VILLANOVA

#8  XAVIER

#9  DUKE

#10  CINICINNATI

March Madness is just underway with the First Four games in Dayton, but social media has been in a tournament frenzy since Sunday when the brackets were revealed.  More than 557,000 mentions of March Madness, NCAA Tournament or related terms have been recorded across all social media in the past week, according to international social media analytics firm Talkwalker.

Mentions of March Madness have spiked up nearly 300% over the last 48 hours as the tournament teams were finalized on Selection Sunday. The biggest peak came between 6-7pm ET during the CBS live selection show with more than 73,000 social posts in that one hour referencing the tournamen.

The hashtag #MarchMadness has already been used more than 183K times over the last 7 days. The other major hashtag being used in the buildup was #SelectionSunday which has been used nearly 96K times over the last 7 days. This Bleacher Report Instagram post is the tops among all mentions of March Madness, revealing the four top seeds and garnering nearly 200,000 likes. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgMy9ZLAeS/

This top-trending Tweet from BarStool Sports broadcaster Dan Katz summed up many fans’ feelings about the way the bracket was revealed – in alphabetical order instead of by region and seed.  https://twitter.com/BarstoolBigCat/status/972957624957317122

But who is going to win? Only two of the four top seeds are among social media posters favorites to win the tournament.  According to Talkwalker, the early leaders out of the gate for most mentions are: One-seed Kansas with 20.1K mentions since Sunday, Two-seed North Carolina with 17.5K and One-seed Virginia with 16.8K.

Oklahoma is the fourth most mentioned team with 16.1K posts, but not for a reason that Sooners fans would like – most mentions are because of the feeling that OU maybe should have been left out of the tournament this year.  Syracuse also garnered many mentions (11.8K) for the same reason as did UCLA (12.2K).

The other two top seeds the tournament came in fifth (Villanova with 14.9K) and 11th (Xavier with 11.3K).  Among the other second-seeded teams, Duke was sixth overall in mentions with 14.3K, while Cincinnati with 11.2K and Purdue with 6.1K finished out of the top 10.

Among brands trending is perennial March Madness sponsor Pizza Hut, with this Instagram post featuring its “Pie Tops” which attracted 6,400 likes.  https://www.instagram.com/p/BgEsChNg1kK/

Have fun this March Madness.

Record Breaking Final Four

A good read on how Arlington... err North Texas did...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/ncaa-tournament/the-game/20140406-despite-national-media-complaints-north-texas-delivers-record-breaking-final-four.ece