College Football Playoff First Round Games: Odds, Spreads, and Totals

College Football Playoff preliminaries like Oklahoma-Alabama could help restore normalcy to pigskin's news cycle. A wave of scandals in the state of Michigan, coupled with Notre Dame's controversial snub from the national championship bracket, have served as distractions to fans who would typically be weighing the prospects of eight exciting teams performing in the CFP First Round. 

No. 9 seeded Alabama defeating No. 8 Oklahoma would not be an upset. In fact, the Crimson Tide is slightly favored to win by Las Vegas. But are there surprises awaiting viewers on Saturday? Mid-major seeds like Tulane and James Madison will compete with chips on their shoulders. However, they're also under pressure. If JMU, Tulane, or Miami loses badly, Notre Dame can say that it deserved their berth. 

It might be good for the No. 9 seeded Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3, 7-1 SEC) that coach Kalen DeBoer is being pressed on his likelihood to take a job at Michigan. The pressure on the coach keeps the pressure off Alabama's athletes. Better yet for 'Bama, the Crimson Tide is favored over the No. 8 seeded Oklahoma Sooners (10-2, 6-2 SEC) in Friday's debut of the 2025-26 College Football Playoff, set for 8 p.m. EST.

Those betting on the host Sooners have cause to think OU can outmuscle Alabama on Friday. The Tide's horrendous total of -3 rushing yards on Championship Weekend was a big reason why Alabama backed into the CFP with a 28-7 loss to the No. 3 seeded Georgia Bulldogs. Oklahoma has won four in a row. 

The Sooners defeated the Crimson Tide 23-21 in an SEC matchup in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 15. However, it was Alabama that had the more dangerous of two running games in that contest. DeBoer's sophomore power rusher Daniel Hill scored twice on 15 carries for 60 yards, while OU was held without a 40-yard rusher. Tide QB Ty Simpson passed for 326 yards against OU but only 212 in the defeat to UGA. 

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Note: The above data was collected on Dec. 19, 2025, and may have changed since writing.

If the Miami Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) shouldn't be in the College Football Playoff, oddsmakers haven't received the memo. No. 10 seeded Miami is garnering live underdog's odds for a trip to visit the powerful Texas A&M Aggies (11-1, 7-1 SEC), seeded No. 7 in this year's CFP, in College Station at noon EST this Saturday. 

Miami's midseason slump, in which the Hurricanes lost to Louisville and SMU in the span of a fortnight, now feels like a thing of the past. Quarterback Carson Beck's team raced to the finish line of the 2025 season, buoyed by a defense that ranks sixth in the FBS in average points allowed at just 13.8 PPG. 

Texas A&M backed into the 2025-26 CFP with a 27-17 loss to Texas. QB Marcel Reed was intercepted twice as an anticipated quarterbacks' duel was overtaken by the Longhorns' running game. If Reed is stymied by Miami's strong defense this Saturday, the game's Over/Under line will rest far too high.

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Note: The above data was collected on Dec. 19, 2025, and may have changed since writing.

The No. 6 seeded Ole Miss Rebels (11-1, 7-1 SEC) may be led by an interim coach in Pete Golding. But there's reason to think Ole Miss is happy about Saturday's opening-round playoff rematch with visiting Tulane, set to begin at 3:30 p.m. EST. The No. 11 seeded Tulane Green Wave (11-2, 7-1 AAC) want to prove that they belong in the national title picture. Ole Miss, however, could refocus its momentum with a lopsided victory. 

Tulane's best performance of the year may have been its most recent one, when the Green Wave beat 11-2 North Texas handily, 34-21, for the American Athletic Conference title. But the most relevant Tulane outcome of the year is its 45-10 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 20. Tulane is one of the least-consistent teams in this year's College Football Playoff, with a loss to UTSA on the ledger. The No. 11 seed continues to look sluggish on offense despite freshman tailback Jamauri McClure's big day against UNT. 

Ole Miss and "sluggish" do not cling in conjunction. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss' team ranks first among power-four programs with an average of 498.1 offensive yards per game. Oddsmakers think the Rebels' high-tempo attack will overwhelm the Green Wave, a six-to-one underdog on the money line. 

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Note: The above data was collected on Dec. 19, 2025, and may have changed since writing.

The James Madison Dukes (12-1, 8-0 Sun Belt) are among college football's steepest postseason underdogs of the decade. Do the No. 12 seeded Dukes have a prayer against the No. 5 seeded Oregon Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) when the David-and-Goliath playoff bout takes place in Eugene, set for 7:30 p.m. EST this Saturday night? 

Matt Hayes is among the pundits giving JMU no chance, telling Evan Thorpe of USA Today Sports that James Madison could lose "by fifty (points)" as an underdog that can't compare to Boise State of 2024-25. Oregon and its quarterback Dante Moore are riding a six-game winning streak in which five victories have come by two or more scores. Oregon's tight end Kenyon Sadiq has scored eight touchdowns in 2025-26.

The heavy rain in Eugene could benefit JMU by turning Saturday's clash into a crapshoot. However, as of press time, forecasts say Saturday could be the lightest precipitation day in what has otherwise been a rain-soaked holiday season in Oregon. On a dry, fast field, the Dukes may get tired of chasing the Ducks. 

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Note: The above data was collected on Dec. 19, 2025, and may have changed since writing.