Caleb Wilfinger
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On the heels of a long and grueling season of college football, it’s time to turn our attention to the National Championship game. This game is a matchup that not many saw heading into the season with a high-flying Washington Huskies team taking on the top overall seed in the Michigan Wolverines. This is a contest where I have wagers on both the side and the total, but the player prop market is also ripe with value for plenty of bettors to take advantage of.
Without any further ado, let’s get right into my best player prop bet for the National Championship game. Also make sure to check out our full Michigan vs Washington predictions.
Jack Westover, TE, WAS, Over 26.5 receiving yards (-110)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to over 29.5
Much is made of the Washington receiving corps, and for good reason. But given the attention that Michigan will pay to the likes of Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan, I think the Huskies’ tight end is in good position to shine in a role where he should see more targets than expected. Part of my reasoning is due to how Michigan is going to look to attack Michael Penix Jr. and this Washington offense. The Wolverines made life miserable for Jalen Milroe and the Alabama passing game, and I expect Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer to scheme up plenty of looks for Penix to get the ball out quickly and avoid taking sacks when the pocket heats up.
Enter Jack Westover, who has been a security blanket of sorts for Penix down the stretch this season — including last week against Texas. Over his last 7 games played, Westover has had 4 games with 5 or more targets. Furthermore, he is coming off of a 6-catch, 59-yard effort against a Longhorns team that sent pressure at Penix constantly in the Sugar Bowl. Michigan also was perfectly happy to allow yards to tight ends, as the TEs for both Ohio State and Maryland cleared this number with room to spare. Given that Washington should be in passing downs for the majority of the game and Michigan will be looking to heat Penix up in the pocket, I expect the veteran quarterback to get the ball out quickly and find Westover on multiple occasions throughout Monday’s game.
