What a fun season this has been. This year, our picks finished with a positive record after barely missing one a season ago in 2022. Bowl season has been very good to our picks with a better than 2:1 record and we are looking to finish things out with a bang by picking both the FBS and FCS National Title games.
National Championship College Football Picks and Predictions
Last Week: 3-2 (0.600)
Bowl Season: 28-13-1 (0.678)
This Season: 84-69-2 (0.548)
Overall Record: 163-152-5 (0.517)
For all current betting odds surrounding the college football season, check out our live betting odds and make your plays today!
All lines are via DraftKings Sportsbook. You can find the best available odds from sportsbooks all over the country below as well.
Montana +13.5 (-110) vs. South Dakota State -13.5 (-110) via Bet MGM
When putting this together, DraftKings didn’t have a line available for the game so I used the line from Bet MGM.
This FCS National Championship Game is shaping up to be a good one.
The Montana Grizzlies come into the game at 13-1 with a lot of tough games on their schedule. They have six games that have been decided by one score and they have won them all, including tough matchups in their last two against Furman (35-28) and North Dakota State (31-29).
MORE: How Did Montana Make it to the National Championship?
With a rush-heavy attack paired with a stout defense and special teams unit, the Grizz are an interesting team.
They turned to quarterback Clifton McDowell who is a true dual-threat that has both created explosive plays and been smart with the football. The real star during these playoffs has been wide receiver Junior Bergen who has two punt return touchdowns and a kick return touchdown in the last two games.
On the other side stand the Jackrabbits. After playing second fiddle to the Bison for a decade, they finally slayed the giant last season 45-21 for the national title. Since Week 1 of the 2022 season, where they lost to Iowa 7-3, they have won 28 consecutive games.
Some are even going as far as to call them the best FCS team ever.
The offense is loaded with experience, including star running back Isaiah Davis who leads a dynamic rushing attack that ran for 229 yards last year against NDSU. Not only does the offense rank 1st in SP+ on offense, but they rank first in SP+ on defense which puts them in rare territory.
MORE: How Did South Dakota State Make the FCS National Championship?
This is a tough one to pick. On paper, South Dakota State is clearly the better team, but they only beat Montana State on a “botched” call by the referee on the last play of the game, a team Montana obliterated 37-7. Both teams are good but this game will likely be closer than expected. One element to consider is the death of former Grizz head coach Don Read, who led them to their first national title in 1995. He passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90.
That could lead to a little extra motivation for the Grizz, keeping the game close.
Bet: Montana +13.5 (-110)
Washington (-110) vs. Michigan -4.5 (-110)
We have spent the majority of the season discussing both teams, as they have won myself and our readers a ton of money.
There are a lot of fun matchups to watch in this game which we will break it down.
Michigan Offensive Line vs. Washington Defensive Line
Against Texas, the defensive line for the Huskies struggled against the run which doesn’t bode well for Washington. The one thing that was their saving grace was Bralen Trice, who dominated in the second half when the Longhorns needed to throw the football.
After winning the Joe Moore Award last season, the Wolverines’ offensive line took a step backward this season and became even weaker when Zak Zinter went down for the season with a brutal leg injury against Ohio State.
Washington Receivers vs. Michigan Secondary
The Huskies have the best wide receiver room. It’s so good that you could argue that Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja’Lynn Polk along with Giles Jackson and Germie Bernard have a better receiver room than multiple NFL teams.
They boast a likely top-10 pick along with 2-4 other top-100 picks and stress defenses in a very unique way.
The Wolverines have a good to great defense but the strength is up front which we will talk about here in a bit. The key matchup here will be Odunze vs. Will Johnson who has the potential to be a first-round pick at cornerback in 2025.
If Johnson can lock down Odunze, that will go a long way to taking down the Huskies’ passing attack.
Washington Offensive Line vs. Michigan Defensive Line
This is the matchup that will decide the championship. The Huskies have the best offensive line in the country led by left tackle Troy Fautanu. They dominate defensive lines and keep quarterback Michael Penix Jr upright so he can carve up defenses 20+ yards down the field.
The Wolverines’ defensive line is filled with athletic freaks who are both strong and explosive. Josiah Stewart was the catalyst behind their success in the final play against Alabama, bull-rushing J.C. Latham into Jalen Milroe to secure the win.
If Washington is going to have any chance to win, they will need to be at the very least competitive in all three of these battles. In the end, it’s going to boil down to quarterbacks. Penix is flat-out better than J.J. McCarthy and has been making big-time plays consistently to get the Huskies to the championship game.
I’m not just taking Washington to cover, I’m taking the money line at +160 I believe they will win and potentially by double digits. The Huskies are the best team in the country and have been for the past six weeks.
The Heisman runner-up is going to make his claim to not just one of the best players in the country but a great NFL Draft prospect.
Bet: Washington +4.5 (-110), Washington ML (+160)
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