College Football Playoff picks against the spread for all 4 quarterfinals
Three of the four CFP quarterfinals have a spread around at least a touchdown. Will our experts take the underdogs?
The Athletic has live updates from Miami (FL) vs. Ohio State in the 2025 College Football Playoff.
The first round of the College Football Playoff had two blowouts, as expected, and a pair of low-scoring games (referring to a 10-3 game as low-scoring is being kind). Will the quarterfinals serve up any classics?
Three of the four quarterfinals feature a spread of around a touchdown or more. That’s not nearly as bad as the three-score spreads for Oregon-James Madison and Ole Miss-Tulane, but does leave the door open for games that could lack some drama.
Is that how it will play out though? Our staff made picks against the spread for all four quarterfinals and the picks were mostly split.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Miami
Points were hard to come by in the last game for each of these teams. That’s why the listed point total is the lowest of the four quarterfinals.
Ohio State suffered through a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten title game. Last year, the Buckeyes got hot in the playoff and won the national title after losing to Michigan 13-10 in the regular-season finale. Will OSU respond similarly this season?
Miami won its low-scoring game at Texas A&M in the first round of the CFP, although high winds were partially to blame for the lack of offense in Miami’s 10-3 victory.
Both teams have game-wrecking defensive lines loaded with first-round talent. OSU’s Arvell Reese and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. both are in the top half of the first round in Nick Baumgardner’s fresh mock draft. OSU also has defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, wide receiver Carnell Tate and defensive back Caleb Downs in the top 16 picks. Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa slotted at pick No. 15. That doesn’t even mention Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State’s stud sophomore wide receiver who will almost certainly be taken early in the draft in 2027, or Miami’s freshman All-American wide receiver Malachi Toney.
There’s talent all over the field, as you would expect when Ohio State and Miami meet.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck could be the wild card in this game. Beck passed for just 103 yards against A&M, and multi-interception games were crucial in losses to Louisville and SMU. Beck won’t have an easy time putting up numbers against this Ohio State defense that leads the country in points allowed per game, but Miami will need him to make more big plays.