College football's bowl games are underway, and the biggest matchups will begin this week with the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff. This is the first year that the CFP bracket expanded to 12 teams and each matchup in the first round will be played on campus, putting the pageantry that has made college football great for over a century front and center in the championship pursuit. Notre Dame beat Indiana on Friday, and now three CFP games are coming Saturday -- No. 11 seed SMU at No. 6 Penn State, No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State.
The latest College Football Playoff odds for Saturday via SportsLine consensus list Penn State as -8.5 vs. SMU (O/U 52.5), Texas as -13.5 vs. Clemson (O/U 50.5), and Ohio State -7 vs. Tennessee (O/U 46.5). Before locking in any College Football Playoff picks, be sure to see the top College Football Playoff 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. Over the past two college football seasons, Casale is 122-92-5 (57%) overall on his college football picks and 26-8 (76.4%) in bowl games -- all publicly documented. Over the last three weeks, he's 7-1 on his best bets, including a perfect 3-0 week late in the season that landed a 6-1 parlay. Anybody who has followed him is way up.
Now, he has turned his attention to the CFP bracket and the first 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 playing the over (52.5) in a first-round CFP matchup between Penn State and SMU. Both teams are coming off conference championship game losses, with Penn State losing to Oregon for the Big Ten title and SMU losing to Clemson in the ACC.
"SMU hasn't faced a tough schedule, yet the Mustangs rank 94th against the pass, allowing 242 yards per game. We saw this weakness exploited in the ACC Championship where Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns. I expect Drew Allar to have similar success against SMU's secondary," Casale told SportsLine.
"On the other side of the ball, I expect the Mustangs' offense to present some problems for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have a strong defense, although teams don't spread them out much in the Big Ten. Oregon did and racked up 45 points and 466 total yards." See what other picks Casale likes at SportsLine.
How to make College Football Playoff picks
Casale also has a must-see spread pick in a game where he says a team covers by more than 10 points. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for the first round of the 2024 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 7-1 on best bets the last three weeks, and find out.
2024 College Football Playoff bracket, schedule
See full College Football Playoff Bracket predictions here
Saturday, Dec. 21
Noon ET: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU (+8.5, 52.5)
4 p.m. ET: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson (+13.5, 50.5)
8 p.m. ET: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee (+7, 46.5)
Tuesday, Dec. 31
7:30 p.m. ET: No. 3 Boise State vs. TBD (Penn State/SMU)
Wednesday, Jan. 1
1 p.m. ET: No. 4 Arizona State vs. TBD (Texas/Clemson)
5 p.m. ET: No. 1 Oregon vs. TBD (Ohio State/Tennessee)
8:45 p.m. ET: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (+1.5, 44.5)