CFP National Championship Best Bets, DFS Plays

It’s Natty day! This is the culmination of a terrific 2024-25 college football season, and it’s going to be an amazing championship game. Notre Dame got here by beating Indiana, Georgia and Penn State, while the Buckeyes dominated in victories over Tennessee, Oregon and Texas. We will see who shows up when the lights shine the brightest.

I will break down the top DFS targets for the Natty while also providing you with any advantageous bets. This is our final opportunity for those green screens and window trips…let’s get into it.

National Championship Game

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Ohio State -8.5, O/U 45.5

I’ve been backing Notre Dame throughout the playoffs and tabbed them as the “team of destiny,” which was even more apparent in that semifinal victory over Texas. Off the rip, I was all over Notre Dame +8.5, and now that the day of the National Championship is here, my thoughts haven’t changed.

The real question is: How will the Irish score points against this Ohio State defense? The offense will have to step up even more, but the Irish defense will be part of the scoring too, as odd as that sounds. Notre Dame is No. 1 in the country on defensive touchdowns and is +17 in turnover ratio, so the defense has created scoring opportunities better than any other program in the country.

Looking further into ND’s defense, they have allowed only 12 passing touchdowns this season and racked up 19 interceptions. Opponents’ combined QB completion rate is only 50.7%. Ohio State’s offense has a deeper war chest than any other program out there, and it will be interesting to see how they execute against ND’s terrifying man-to-man heavy defense.

The calling card of the Notre Dame offense has been explosive plays throughout the season, and that’s been the case even in the playoffs. However, without those explosive plays or the contributions from the defense, the offense has been stuck in the mud so to speak. They have run a total of 201 plays in the playoffs thus far and averaged 5.07 yards per play. That sounds fine until you dig even deeper and find that this number is propped up by the 54-yard TD catch by Jaden Greathouse, in which the Texas defender fell down, and the ridiculous 98-yard TD run by Jeremiyah Love against Indiana. Remove two plays, and that number plummets to right around 4.3 yards per play. That clearly won’t get it done.

We know that both defenses are going to keep everything in front of them, so short-yardage passing will be key for both, and each program’s running backs will be even more important than usual. This leads us into the prop market where there are a few items that I would consider to be extremely advantageous. 

Texas found success against Ohio State by peppering the RBs with targets, and that allowed the Longhorns to move the ball fluidly, especially in the first half. Jaydon Blue caught 5 passes for 59 yards and 2 TDs, while Quintrevion Wisner produced 6 catches for 42 yards. The Irish have a trio of backs they can lean on, and the recent emergence of Aneyas Williams has been clutch as Love has battled various injuries.

Williams reeled in 5 passes for 66 yards against Penn State and has a stat line of 11-86-0 in three playoff games. There isn’t a receptions prop for him, unfortunately, but I am all over his 23.5 receiving yards number on FanDuel. 

On the other side, Notre Dame is similar in terms of limiting big plays, but its man-to-man philosophies will be tested against star freshman Jeremiah Smith. However, I’m going back to a player whose props have been a print fest for us throughout the playoffs, TreVeyon Henderson. He hit his combo yards prop on one play against Texas when he busted a 75-yard TD right before halftime, which served as a spirit killer against the Longhorns. It currently sits at 83.5 yards on FanDuel, and I’m slamming the over once again. He has eclipsed this number in all three playoff games and has done it with supreme efficiency. Tonight will require more volume, which further solidifies this as one of the top props on the board and serves as our best chance to make a window trip. 

Additionally, Buckeyes’ tight end Gee Scott was active against Texas, catching 5 passes for 30 yards. With so much defensive attention on Smith, Scott found himself open in the middle often. His reception prop is 1.5 at -160 on FanDuel, and his receiving yardage is set at 17.5 at -114. He has at least 30 yards in each playoff game and 4 receptions or more in two of three.

In showdown contests, I will have heavy exposure to Williams and Henderson while sprinkling in the kickers throughout my various lineups. Riley Leonard has been instrumental to Notre Dame’s success and will have his work cut out for him against the Buckeyes defense, but his TD equity in this offense makes him a strong captain candidate in single-entry builds.

If the Irish are able to contain Smith like Texas did, then we will want exposure to Scott, Carnell Tate and Emeka Egbuka. Notre Dame options that deserve to be in our player pool include Mitchell Evans, Jordan Faison, Jadarian Price and Jaden Greathouse.

DFS Targets

Top Plays

• Tre Henderson
• Aneyas Williams
• Mitch Jeter
• Quinshon Judkins
• Gee Scott

Player Pool Options

• Carnell Tate
• Emeka Egbuka
• Jeremiah Smith
• Will Howard
• Riley Leonard
• Jadarian Price
• Mitchell Evans
• Jordan Faison

Best Bets

• Notre Dame +8.5 (-110, DraftKings)
• Aneyas Williams OVER 23.5 Receiving Yards (-114, FanDuel)
• Tre Henderson OVER 83.5 Rushing + Receiving Combo Yards (-112, FanDuel)
• Gee Scott OVER 17.5 Receiving Yards (-114, FanDuel)
• Gee Scott OVER 1.5 Receptions (-160, FanDuel)