Caleb Wilfinger
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Following a long and eventful college football season, the National Championship game is finally here. This year’s installment features a showdown between 2 of the premier brands in the sport, as the Ohio State Buckeyes are set to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Will the Buckeyes finish off a dominant College Football Playoff run, or will the Fighting Irish pull off one more shocking upset to capture a national title? It’s almost time to find out.
Let’s get into our best Ohio State vs Notre Dame player prop bets for the National Championship game, which kicks off at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN. You can also find out our college football picks on the side and total for this matchup.
Read our full Ohio State vs Notre Dame predictions to find out our expert’s 3-star best bet
Will Howard (OSU) over 9.5 rushing yards (-110)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to 10.5
Ohio State’s offense has been dominant in recent games, and Will Howard’s prowess in the passing game has certainly been a part of why the Buckeyes are just 60 minutes away from their first championship in 10 years. However, the matchup this week against an elite Notre Dame secondary is one that will put the veteran quarterback to the test.
The Fighting Irish often play a lot of man coverage, but they likely won’t be able to hold up against this elite Ohio State wide receiver room if they stick with employing a ton of Cover 1 on Monday. Instead, I’d expect just a little more zone coverage from Al Golden’s group, with linebackers dropping into coverage and the secondary focused on stopping the likes of Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. That’s where Howard’s legs are going to come in, as he’s still a very mobile quarterback and should be able to pick up a couple of first downs on scrambles and/or designed runs in this one. Remember that sacks do count toward a quarterback’s rushing total, but as long as Howard is able to avoid taking multiple sacks on Monday, he should be in a position to cash this ticket.
Add some extra spice to this matchup with our Ohio State vs Notre Dame Same Game Parlay picks at +776 odds
Aneyas Williams (ND) over 24.5 receiving yards (-110)
Odds widely available at time of publishing. Playable to 25.5
The receiving options for Notre Dame have been fairly inconsistent over the majority of the campaign, and one player who has stepped up recently is running back Aneyas Williams. The freshman happens to already be one of the better receiving options on the roster, and he’s already recorded 11 receptions for a combined 81 yards over his last 3 games played heading into this matchup. Given that Ohio State’s excellent defensive front will likely be putting tons of pressure on Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, we can expect Williams to slip out of the backfield and catch at least a few passes to combat an aggressive defensive front. All things considered, this is my favorite look when targeting the Notre Dame side of things in the National Championship.
Find out our Ohio State vs Notre Dame touchdown scorer best bets for the National Championship game
