I went 6-2 against the spread in the final regular season week of the 2024-25 College Football season.

I usually don’t do too many college football betting posts after the regular season. It’s hard to do weekly betting picks for bowl games due to all the transfer portal and the coaching carousel changes. This year, due to the new College Football Playoff format, it’s much easier to do the playoff games.

Can the Indiana Hoosiers shut up the haters and win in South Bend?

We at ‘America’s White Boy’ pick EVERY college football games against the spread for the first round of games of the 2024-25 NCAA College Football Playoff.

Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-7) – My pick is 

The Indiana Hoosiers (11-1, 9-3 ATS) are coming off a 66-0 home win against Purdue which easily covered the -29 point spread. It was a cupcake end to a cupcake-heavy Indiana schedule.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1, 10-2 ATS) are coming off a 49-35 road win over USC, which covered the -7 spread. The Irish covered against the spread in eight-straight games to end the year.

I loved watching Indiana this year. Their offense was flashy and their defense made big plays when it counted. Unfortunately, they had a very easy schedule this year. Their toughest tests came at the end of the year by winning against Michigan and losing at Ohio State. I would place the Hoosiers in the ‘happy to be here’ category. Notre Dame is battle-tested and are better all-around. I’m taking the Irish to cover at home.

SMU Mustangs at Penn State Nittany Lions (-9) – My pick is SMU Mustangs +9

The SMU Mustangs (11-2, 8-5 ATS) are coming off a close 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game. It fell short of the -2.5 spread as the favorite.

The Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2, 6-7 ATS) are coming off a 45-37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game. It was also a loss against the +3 spread.

This one might be the sleeper game of the first round. I think SMU defense could step up and play better than expected. They are very good against the run, but their pass defense has been very inconsistent. Penn State will most likely win, but I think it will be within a touchdown, so give me the points.

Clemson Tigers at Texas Longhorns (-12.5) – My pick is Clemson Tigers +12.5

The Clemson Tigers (10-3, 6-6 ATS) are coming off a 34-31 win against SMU in the ACC Championship game. It also was a win against the +2.5 spread. If Clemson lost that game, they would not have received an at-large bid into the CFP.

The Texas Longhorns (11-2, 7-6 ATS) are coming off a 22-19 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship game. They failed to cover the -3 spread. The Longhorns were 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games.

I’ve been down on Clemson for most of the season, but this betting line had gone a bit too far. Texas has been a heavy public team this year and it’s clear it’s affected this line. Texas may win this outright, but I think Clemson will keep it within double-digits, so I’m taking the points.

Tennessee Volunteers at Ohio State Buckeyes (-7) – My pick is Tennessee Volunteers +7

The Tennessee Volunteers (10-2, 7-5 ATS) are coming off a 36-23 road win over Vanderbilt to end the regular season. They covered the -10 point spread in the win.

The Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2, 6-6 ATS) are coming off a 13-10 home loss to rival Michigan. They weren’t even close to covering the -19.5 spread. It was a shocking outcome due to Michigan’s down season.

I expect this game will be extremely close. There are a lot of question marks coming into this game. The biggest being how will Ohio State fare after the upset loss to Michigan at The Shoe. Both teams have stout defenses and this could be a lower-scoring affair than anticipated. I’m taking the points in this game.

Sweetbob’s college football picks against the spread record in previous seasons:

2013: 134-79-8
2014: 148-118-4
2015: 149-118-3
2016: 196-145-6
2017: 183-159-13
2018: 177-157-6
2019: 187-141-8
2020: 170-160-5
2021: 167-151-8
2022: 185-150-5
2023: 155-144-10
2024: 183-164-11

Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @Sweetbob & ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook!

About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on X at @Sweetbob