Sports betting roundup: College football playoff bracket set, NFL offers up more upsets

The college football conference championship games and Week 14 of the NFL made for some riveting viewing over the weekend.

Following Saturday’s games, the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed, with games beginning Dec. 19.

Here’s a look at how things played out from a sports betting perspective:

Trends of the Week

It wasn’t a good NFL Sunday for the favorites at the BetMGM online sportsbook — they went 6-6 straight up. That included some big upsets, including an 8.5-point underdog winning outright.

The Bears-Packers divisional matchup was the most bet game in terms of number of bets, and Chicago (+6.5) was the most bet team in terms of number of bets. Green Bay won the game 28-21 with a late touchdown.

In college football, Georgia was a 1.5-point favorite against Alabama in the SEC championship and rolled to a 28-7 win. The Bulldogs took in 74% of the bets and 41% of the money.

Upsets of the Week

In the Big Ten championship, Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10 in a game in which the Hoosiers were four-point underdogs. Ohio State was the most bet team on Saturday, both in terms of the number of bets and money.

New Orleans (+8.5) was the second-biggest underdog in the NFL on Sunday, and they won outright against Tampa Bay 24-20. The Saints took in just 33% of the bets and 22% of the money.

Another upset in the NFL on Sunday was the Steelers (+6) beating the Ravens on the road 27-22. Pittsburgh took in 50% of the bets and 43% of the money.

Finally, the Texans beat the Chiefs 20-10 on Sunday Night Football, a game in which they were 4.5-point underdogs. Houston took in 51% of the bets and 50% of the money.

Coming Up

With the College Football Playoff bracket set, the matchups and spreads for the opening round games are:

— Alabama (-1.5) at Oklahoma

— Miami at Texas A&M (-3.5)

— Tulane at Mississippi (-16.5)

— James Madison at Oregon (-20.5)

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports