Opening College Football National Championship Game Odds: LSU Favored Over Clemson

UPDATE: At the conclusion of the Clemson-Ohio State game, which Clemson won in a thriller, FanDuel Sportsbook posted the following spread for the 2020 National Title Game: LSU -3. But it didn't stay there long.

The book — which operates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia — moved from LSU -3 to -3.5 to -4.5, where it sits as of 12:45 a.m. ET.

DraftKings was the first to post an over/under, which came in at 71 and dipped down to 70.5 right away. The spread at DraftKings got as high as LSU -6.5, before getting immediately bet down to the current number of LSU -5.5. It never touched the key number of 7.

The title game will be played don Monday, Jan. 13. Be sure to stay tuned to The Action Network for how the odds shift in the coming days.

[In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana or West Virginia? Bet now at FanDuel]

UPDATE: At halftime of the Oklahoma-LSU game, Circa Sports lists the Tigers -4.5 over both Clemson and Ohio State for the national title game.

Circa opened at LSU -3 and moved immediately to -4.5.

FanDuel still has these lookahead lines up at halftime of the LSU-Oklahoma game, and lists the Tigers is a 3-point favorite with different juice on each.

• LSU -3 (-130) vs. Ohio State (+110)
• LSU -3 (+110) vs. Clemson (-130)

Entering Saturday, our power ratings made Clemson a 4-point favorite over LSU and Ohio State a 2.5-point favorite.

[In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana or West Virginia? Bet now at FanDuel]

The College Football Playoff Semifinals have yet to be played, but that didn't stop FanDuel Sportsbook, which is legal and live in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia, from posting early lines for the four possible National Championship matchups:

• Ohio State vs. LSU
• Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
• Clemson vs. LSU
• Clemson vs. Oklahoma

Let's take a quick look at the spreads for each possible game and compare them to our early power ratings to see if any are worth betting right away.

The 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship will be played on Monday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET in New Orleans. The game will be aired on ESPN.

An important note: If you bet one of these matchups and it does not end up coming to fruition after Saturday's semifinal games, the bet will be listed as No Action and your money will be refunded.

Odds as of Friday morning and via FanDuel, where Action Network users get a risk-free bet up to $500.

College Football National Championship Game Odds & Spreads

Ohio State vs. LSU

Spread: LSU -1

This would be a fascinating matchup of one of the most dominant defenses this season (Ohio State) and an offense that can seemingly score at will with Heisman winner Joe Burrow running the show (LSU).

Our power ratings for the game give Ohio State, not LSU, the slight advantage with a projected spread of Ohio State -1.5.

[In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana or West Virginia? Bet now at FanDuel]

Ohio State vs. Oklahoma

Spread: Ohio State -9.5

Oklahoma is significant underdogs against mighty LSU in the CFP Semifinals, so these early National Title spreads with OU are certainly factoring in how the public would overreact to the Sooners' upset over the Tigers.

This would be a matchup of the No. 1 offense in yards per play (OU) vs. the No. 1 defense in yards per play (Ohio State) during the regular season.

Our early power ratings are right in line with what FanDuel opened at: Ohio State -9.5.

[In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana or West Virginia? Bet now at FanDuel]

Clemson vs. LSU

Spread: Clemson -1.5

This is a fascinating game to handicap from a lookahead standpoint. LSU is nearly a two-touchdown favorite in the Semifinals against Oklahoma, so there's a real chance the Tigers make yet another statement on a huge stage and win by 3+ touchdowns.

If that happens and Clemson squeaks by a good Ohio State team in the other Semifinal, you likely will not see LSU open as an underdog.

Our early power ratings favor the Tigers by a decent amount (Clemson -4), but again, this is all about when you want to buy Dabo Swinney & Co. and that's entirely dependent on how you see Saturday's semifinal playing out.

[In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana or West Virginia? Bet now at FanDuel]

Clemson vs. Oklahoma

Spread: Clemson -10

Clemson's defense would have a significant edge in this matchup, as the Tigers finished the regular season ranked second in yards per play allowed, compared to 42nd for Oklahoma.

Our early power ratings are again bullish on Clemson, making this spread Clemson -12.

[In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana or West Virginia? Bet now at FanDuel]

Stay tuned for complete coverage of the College Football Playoff National Championship in the coming weeks.