We’ve reached the final game of the College Football season, and no, there’s no Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Clemson, or any of the other teams we’ve seen raise the trophy in recent seasons. This final is particularly interesting because it involves two teams that not many expected to be in this position early in the season. The 10th-seeded Miami, Indiana, will take on the top overall seed Indiana with a championship on the line. Who do you have winning the College Football championship this Monday night?

Predicting The College Football National Championship Game

Predicting Miami vs. Indiana 

Date: January 19th

Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Two unlikely teams both had two unlikely roads to this championship game. Miami hasn’t won a championship since 2001, before there was a formal playoff bracket. They have never made the College Football playoffs since they announced the format in 2014, and they didn’t even win their conference title this season. They made the playoffs with an at-large bid that many believed should have gone to another team like Notre Dame or BYU. We didn’t even know for sure if they’d be participating in the playoffs until selection day.

But here we are in the championship game, and Miami has as good a chance as any team to take on the goliath Indiana. Their run started with a game against Texas A&M that proved how dominant their defense was. Texas A&M was a team that went 11-1 in the regular season, losing only its final matchup to Texas, and had the 19th-ranked offense in the country this year. Miami held them to 3 points total in a rock fight, 10-3 win. That punched their ticket to the next round, where they would upset the reigning champions, Ohio State. Many predicted that Ohio State would go back-to-back coming into the season, but Miami had other plans for them. Their 11th overall-ranked defense held Ohio State in check the entire game, and quarterback Carson Beck made plays when the team needed him to. They won that game 24-14, officially putting them on the map as a title contender. The only thing standing between them and a spot in the championship game was a game against Ole Miss, a Southeastern Conference team on a Cinderella-type run without its regular-season head coach and much of its coaching staff. Miami continued to stave off a high-power offense and won that tailbiter 31-27. 

Indiana’s road isn’t as complicated as Miami’s, but it's just as surprising. After beating Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game, undefeated Indiana claimed the top seed in the field. They have never won a college football championship. This season was only the third time they won a Big Ten Title, and their first since 1967. They’ve only had one week where they’ve been ranked first in the nation in school history.  Sporting the 11th-ranked offense and 4th-ranked defense in the nation this year, Indiana tore through its competition each round to get here. They are the only team since the introduction of first-round byes to win a game in the college football playoff, bringing the overall record of first-round bye teams to 1-7 all-time. They beat Alabama, the winningest program in College Football history, 38-3 in their first matchup of the postseason. They continued to steamroll their competition with a 56-22 victory over their conference rival, Oregon, to punch their ticket to the title game. Now they are the heavy favorites to win their first championship in program history.

Our predictive markets give Indiana a strong edge to win the championship game this year. They have a 75% chance to beat Miami and a 53% chance to cover a -7.5 point spread. Our markets also predict an atmosphere for league-average scoring, with a 51% chance for over 48.5 points scored in the game. 

Practice Caution When Making Predictions

The data and trends above are to help you make informed decisions when placing predictions on football outcomes. They are not indications of guaranteed outcomes. Although the data above can assist you in making decisions, users should always use responsible practices and discretion when making predictions on Crypto.com’s Sports Prediction Markets.

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