Best Bets and Predictions for Ohio State vs. Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship

The College Football Playoff National Championship is finally here. On Monday, January 20th, the Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in college football's first National Championship since shifting to the new 12-team playoff format.

Action kicks off at 7:30pm ET. Find out how to watch the College Football Playoff National Championship here.

Using the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, let's dive into the best bets and predictions for Ohio State vs. Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

All college football odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

CFB National Championship Betting Picks for Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Ohio State -8.5 (-106)

There was a lot of buzz about the lack of competitive games in the first round of the College Football Playoff. That was quelled after several tight contests in the quarterfinals and semifinals, but we now enter the National Championship with an 8.5-point spread between Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Unfortunately for college football fans, Monday night's game is set up to be another lopsided as Ohio State is well-positioned to cover as 8.5-point favorites.

Despite their No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes have been, statistically, the best team in the country this season. They lead the country in net EPA (Expected Points Added) per play by a wide margin; the gap between them and the No. 2 team is as wide as the gap between the No. 2 team and the No. 8 team, according to College Football Insiders. That's come alongside the nation's eighth-best scoring offense (35.8 points per game) and top scoring defense (12.2 points per game allowed).

Ohio State's excelled in all facets of the game. They're 4th in rush EPA per play and 1st in drop back EPA per play, and we saw firsthand their fireworks aren't reserved for bottom feeders. They hung 40 points and over 450 total yards on the third and sixth-best defenses (by EPA per play) in the first two rounds of the Playoff before barbecuing the country's third-best scoring defense 28 points and 370 total yards in the semifinals.

Simply put, the Buckeyes are loaded on both sides of the ball -- evidenced by 10 of their players ranking inside PFF's top 100 NFL prospects. That's not even including freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith, the seventh-leading receiver in college football.

Now, Notre Dame isn't a bad team -- far from it. The Irish are third in net EPA per play, notably ranking second on defense. But the Irish are just 14th in offensive EPA per play, and they're just 20th in drop back EPA. They have the top rushing attack in the country, but leading rusher Jeremiyah Love has handled just 25 rush attempts through three playoff games as he nurses an injury. He's sure to play on Monday, but OSU's third-ranked rush defense isn't one you want to be limited against.

The biggest hurdle ND will face is their inability to consistently throw the football. The Irish averaged just 7.1 yards per pass attempt this season, 78th among 134 Division-I teams. Quarterback Riley Leonard is a real problem on the ground, but there are serious questions about his ability to push the ball downfield against top secondaries. He ranked just 44th among Division-I quarterbacks in passing EPA, while his 66.4% completion percentage ranks 19th.

The Buckeyes have also faced a tougher road getting to the National Championship. Ohio State's faced the second most-difficult schedule based on ESPN's College Football Power Index whereas the Irish have only played the 16th-toughest. That's carried over into in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State beat Tennessee (10th in net EPA/play), Oregon (4th), and Texas (2nd) to make the championship. Notre Dame faced Indiana (7th), Georgia (9th) without their starting quarterback, and Penn State (8th).

At the end of the day, this Ohio State team is just on a different level than Notre Dame. Despite some hiccups along the way, the Buckeyes are finally playing like the best team in college football. They've won each of their first three playoff games by double-digits -- a trend I expect to continue in the National Championship.

Under 23.5 Points in First Half (-120)

Though Monday night's game pits two of the 10 highest-scoring offenses in the country against one another, both sides have elite defenses. That's evident based on this game's mild 46.5-point over/under, and a low-scoring game could certainly be in the works considering OSU and ND feature the top-two scoring defenses.

Even so, I hesitate to back the under for the full game given the number of playmakers on both sides of the ball. Instead, we can look to attack this angle via the first half under.

Notre Dame (2nd) and Ohio State (4th) were among the five best first half scoring defenses this season, and that's carried over into the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes have let up 10, 8, and 7 first half points in the postseason, while the Irish have allowed 3, 3, and 10 first half points.

Ohio State has flashed some early success on offense, but they only managed 14 points in the first half of their semifinal game. Notre Dame, on the other hand, has looked good-but-not-great early in games this postseason. They've scored 17, 13, and 3 first half points in the playoffs.

Even so, this is set up to be a defensive-minded game. Notre Dame won't want to get in a full shootout with the Buckeyes, so we should see them look to milk the clock early on. That could work well against Ohio State considering they're just 98th nationally in first half time of possession.

As such, this is a spot to look for the under on 23.5 total points in the first half. Expect a low-scoring opening period as both defenses attempt to impose their will on the opposing side.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.