New college football playoff raises betting interest

New college football playoff raises betting interest

Howls of protest greeted the selections for the inaugural College Football Playoff that starts Jan. 1, when Ohio State routed Wisconsin and moved ahead of TCU into the final four, along with Alabama, Oregon and Florida State.

Big 12 co-champions TCU — No. 3 in the previous rankings and No. 6 in the final tally — and Baylor made strong showings throughout the season, and both would be favored over Ohio State, said oddsmaker Jay Kornegay, who runs the sports book for the Westgate Las Vegas.

The controversy is a powerful argument to expand the NCAA football playoff to eight slots, ensuring that more of the top teams have the chance to play for the title.

[...] Kornegay says the four-team playoff is a vastly better than the BCS system of selecting two teams to play in the title game.

The wild card in the Ohio State contest against Alabama is backup quarterback Cardale Jones, who’s filling in for the Buckeyes’ injured starter, J.T. Barrett.