Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by: YES Market Media
Over the weekend, there was a shift in the College Football Playoff championship betting activity. The Miami Hurricanes received a large amount of respected money, which caused the point spread to shift in favor of the underdog Hurricanes.
Despite drawing the majority of the wagers on the game, the Indiana Hoosiers fell from being 8.5- to 7.5-point favorites at U.S. sportsbooks on Sunday. Around 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, several bookmakers reported that “sharp money” entered the Hurricanes, forcing the line to fall throughout the betting market.
Veteran Las Vegas bookmaker John Murray of the Westgate SuperBook reported that late in the week, sharp money appeared on Miami at his establishment.
“I get it,” responded Murray. “All season long, the line for an Indiana-Miami game would have been far from this amount. In fact, Miami would have been the favorite in this game for the majority of the season.
The unbeaten Hoosiers were barely 5.5 points ahead of Miami in the lookahead lines provided prior to the CFP semifinals. However, bookies reopened the Hoosiers as 7.5-point favorites over the Hurricanes in the national championship game following Indiana’s spectacular victory over Oregon. The line was pushed up to -8.5 by the incredibly lopsided early action on Indiana, where it remained for the majority of the week. On Sunday, that was different.
“Some sharper money has shown up on Miami, both on the money line and the spread,” Caesars Sportsbook’s head of football, Joey Feazel, told ESPN. “We still expect Indiana support to build as we get closer to kickoff.”
Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Hurricanes, will host the College Football Playoff championship on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The sole regulated bookmaker in Florida, Hard Rock Bet, predicted that a Miami upset would result in the best outcome for its patrons in the history of the sportsbook. According to the bookmaker, Indiana vs. Miami was expected to rank as the fourth most-bet game at Hard Rock Bet, behind the AFC Championship Game from the previous season and the two Super Bowls.
“The most divisive team in Florida, the biggest game of the year, and an underdog are all taking place in our neighborhood. In a press statement, Neil Walsh, senior vice president of Hard Rock Bet sportsbook, stated, “Whether you like them or not, The U has created a perfect storm.” “Our players have backed this team’s championship potential all season, and a Miami win would ignite a massive celebration, including what we project to be the largest single-day payout in Hard Rock Bet history,”
To get to the championship, both sides had to overcome overwhelming odds. Some bookies had Indiana at 200-1 to win the national championship over the offseason. DraftKings Sportsbook had the Hoosiers at 100-1 at the start of the season.
The Hurricanes were underdogs to even qualify for the playoffs and were 100-1 to win the championship in the last hours of the playoff selection. Insofar as SportsOddsHistory.com has records going back to 2001, Indiana would have the longest preseason odds of winning the national title.
DraftKings Sportsbook had the Hoosiers as -325 favorites and Miami as a +260 underdog to win the game.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.