The College Football Playoff semifinals are here. Just four teams remain, and the winners of this week's Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will play for the national title. It's the most hard-earned final four in college football history after the CFP expanded to 12 teams for the first time this season. The action gets underway on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, when Notre Dame and Penn State link up in the Orange Bowl. Then on Friday, Ohio State and Texas play the Cotton Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The latest College Football Playoff semifinal odds via SportsLine consensus list Notre Dame as a 1.5-point favorite vs. Penn State (O/U 45.5), and Ohio State as a 5.5-point favorite vs. Texas (O/U 53.5). Before locking in any College Football Playoff picks, be sure to see the top College Football Playoff semifinals expert picks, predictions and best bets from Thomas Casale.
A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale has been sports betting -- and winning -- for more than 30 years. Dating back to Week 13 of the regular season, he's 12-5 in his best bets column, including a perfect 3-0 week late in the season that landed a 6-1 parlay. Anybody who has followed those picks could have seen huge returns.
Now, he has turned his attention to the CFP bracket and the third round college football odds and is sharing his top two betting picks. If you parlay these college football betting picks, you could be looking at a return of nearly +300. Get his top college football picks at SportsLine.
Top College Football Playoff expert predictions
One of Casale's top College Football Playoff picks: He is backing Texas (+5.5) in its national semifinal against Ohio State on Friday night at the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns are running into a Buckeyes squad that has gotten hot at the perfect time, hammering Tennessee by 25 in the first round and Oregon by 20 in the quarterfinals.
However, this Texas squad has only lost to Georgia this season and it made enormous progress between its 30-15 loss at home and it's 22-19 loss in Atlanta. The Longhorns comfortably beat Clemson and then survived a shocking comeback effort by Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Now they'll have Quinn Ewers coming off one of his best games of the season in a revenge spot against his former school.
"Last week's results made this line a bit high. I make Ohio State -4 in this matchup, so there is some value backing Texas at +6," Casale told SportsLine. "The Longhorns find themselves in an unfamiliar spot. Texas is an underdog for the first time all season, and I think the Longhorns will relish that role. They are also bigger and more athletic on defense than Oregon." See what other picks Casale likes at SportsLine.
How to make College Football Playoff picks
Casale also has a must-see spread pick in the Orange Bowl where he likes one team to "grind out" a win. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for the semifinals of the 2024-25 College Football Playoff? Visit SportsLine now to see Thomas Casale's college football best bets, all from a proven college football handicapper who has gone 26-8 on bowl games the past two seasons and has gone 12-5 on best bets since Week 13, and find out.
2024-25 College Football Playoff bracket, schedule
See full College Football Playoff Bracket predictions here
Thursday, Jan. 9
7:30 p.m. ET (Orange Bowl): Notre Dame vs. Penn State (+1.5, 45.5)
Friday, Jan. 10
7:30 p.m. ET (Cotton Bowl): Ohio State vs. Texas (+5.5, 53.5)
Monday, Jan. 20
7:30 p.m. ET (College Football Playoff National Championship): Notre Dame/Penn State vs. Ohio State/Texas