One of the year’s most significant games is approaching in the second round of the College Football Playoffs, as the No. 1 Oregon Ducks face off against the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. With a Cotton Bowl opportunity at stake, many see this as a preliminary version of the national championship, considering the Ducks and Buckeyes as the top two teams in the country at this moment. Although there are anticipated uneven contests in the second round of the playoffs next week, the matchup between Oregon and Ohio State is expected to be a thriller. The betting lines have indicated this so far, but a recent shift demonstrates that a distinct favorite is starting to take shape.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Buckeyes are now favored by 2.5 points in this game, which is taking place in Pasadena, California at 5 p.m. ET on January 1. Ohio State opened up as 1.5-point favorites, which was a surprise to many, considering that Oregon is the No. 1 seed, the only 13-0 team in the nation, and won the only matchup between these two teams earlier this year, 32-31. However, the way in which you view this matchup depends on which you value more, momentum or rest. The Buckeyes are coming off of arguably their best game of the year, a 42-17 blowout win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Dan Lanning and the Ducks have been off since their December 7 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship Game. Will that rest turn into rust for Oregon and be detrimental? Will the Buckeyes feel the rest disadvantage in this game and not be as deep or explosive as the Ducks next Wednesday? That’s the question that will decide who comes out on top. At the moment, but betting public appears to think that momentum is the bigger factor, but time will tell.
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