College Football Straight Up Picks for College Football Playoff Quarterfinals

Iain MacMillan | 3 Hours Ago

Georgia is favored against Ole Miss in the second round of the College Football Playoff. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After more than a week since the first round of the College Football Playoff, it's time to get into quarterfinal action. The eight final teams still in contention for a National Championship will compete this week, and when the dust settles, just four teams will remain.

In this article, I'll give you my pick to win each quarterfinal matchup. We don't care about point spreads here; all we care about is winning. Let's dive into my picks.

College Football picks for College Football Playoff Quarterfinals

All odds listed are via FanDuel Sportsbook

No. 10 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State Prediction and Pick

Pick: Ohio State -350

No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech Prediction and Pick

Pick: Oregon -134

Texas Tech's defense is one of the best in the country, and the Red Raiders can ride that defense to wins against great teams, but unfortunately for them, Oregon's defense is good enough to match them in that area. Both defenses rank in the top eight in opponent-adjusted EPA per play.

Overall, Oregon may just be the most underrated team left in the playoffs. The Ducks are third in adjusted net EPA per play. Ohio State is the only team left in contention that ranks above them in that metric. They also have a NFL-bound quarterback leading their offense, which should give them the ability to get past the stout Red Raiders defense.

No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana Prediction and Pick

Pick: Indiana -255

No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia Prediction and Pick

Pick: Ole Miss +180

Ole Miss has a path to keeping this game close and potentially pulling off the upset. Georgia ranks 51st in the country in opponent rush success rate, which means the Rebels have a chance to get the ball moving on the ground.

Georgia may also not be as good as you may think. The Bulldogs rank just 25th in the country in adjusted net EPA per play and 27th in net success rank. Ole Miss ranks 17th in adjusted net EPA, and they were able to go punch-for-punch with the Bulldogs in the regular season. Even without Lane Kiffin, I'm going to take a shot and bet on the Rebels to pull off the upset.

---

Create a new FanDuel Sportsbook account, and you can get $250 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 wager. Download the FanDuel app and deposit a minimum of $5 to claim your FanDuel promo code offer today.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!