College Football Playoff Sharp Report: ND-Clemson Drawing Professional Action

The College Football Playoff is finally here, and sharp bettors are taking notice. While both semifinal matchups feature double digit point spreads, sharps have deemed one of those numbers to be too low.

That's not to suggest that they're waiting around for the playoff games to take part in Saturday's action, however. In fact, two games prior to the playoff have also drawn significant activity from sharp bettors.

Belk Bowl: South Carolina vs. Virginia

12 p.m. | ABC | Charlotte, NC

Sharp angle: Virginia (moved from +6 to +4.5)

Sharps didn't waste any time pouncing on an opening spread they believed to be too high for this matchup.

Within a day, Virginia had moved from its opener of +6 down to +4, and remained there for over a week. That's when oddsmakers attempted to push the line back toward South Carolina, but sharps hit Virginia once again, reaffirming their position on the Cavaliers.

Wiseguys have triggered three Sports Insights Bet Signals on Virginia, indicating at least three instances of market-wide line movement caused by sharp action.

Also revealing Virginia as the sharp side has been the bet vs. dollar discrepancy on the Cavs. Despite attracting only 38% of bettors, they've landed 59% of money being wagered, indicating bigger and probably sharper bets are behind them.

Cotton Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Clemson

4 p.m. ET | ESPN | Arlington, TX

Sharp angle: Clemson (moved from -11 to -12.5)

Only 25% of bettors are laying the points with Clemson in the first of Saturday's two playoff matchups. If that number holds, it would make Clemson the least popular bowl game favorite in our Bet Labs database (since 2005).

Despite that, Clemson's point spread has actually increased since opening thanks to sharp action.

A Sports Insights Bet Signal revealed sharps hitting the Tigers at -11.5, which at the time moved this line to -13, and even -13.5 at a number of books. The move back to -12.5 was largely based on the announced absence of star lineman Dexter Lawrence.

Arizona Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Nevada

1:15 p.m. ET | CBSSN | Tucson, AZ

Sharp angle: Under (moved from 58.5 to 56.5)

As was the case with the bets behind Virginia, the bets on this under have accounted for a much higher percentage of actual dollars. Specifically, 35% of bettors have made up for 67% of money being wagered, meaning it's attracting the bigger, sharper players.

Per Sports Insights' Bet Signals, sharps hit the under on six separate occasions, most recently at a total of 57, which, working with the market percentages, has caused this line to fall.