Betting guru explains why he's taking the field over Ohio State in the CFP

While a good chunk of college football fans seemed delighted at a No. 1 versus No. 2 faceoff between Ohio State and Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, with a chance for a rematch in the College Football Playoff Championship Game to be played on January 19th, not everybody is ready to bet on the Buckeyes and Hoosiers actually getting that far.

As a matter of fact, some are even willing to bet on another Big Ten program, Oregon, ultimately advancing further down the road.

Fox Sports’ betting analyst Chris Fallica has stated he’s taking the field over Ohio State or still undefeated Indiana to win the National Championship.

.@chrisfallica says he's taking the field over Ohio State or Indiana winning the national championship 👀

"A&M, Georgia, Miami... I think that team has a great chance. I would think Texas Tech or Oregon in the title game would have a great chance too." pic.twitter.com/UZ4Uh3SNKk
— Bear Bets (@BearBetsPod) December 16, 2025

“I think the winner of that Texas Tech-Oregon game beats Indiana, and ultimately gets to the College Football Championship Game. We’ve seen, I think, some signs from Ohio State that they’re not, their offense has not looked great against a lot of the better defenses. Texas, when they were a non-factor early on. I know that was early in [Buckeyes’ quarterback Julian] Sayin’s career. Michigan game. Indiana, they did really nothing. I think this opens it up for, you can make a bet on like the winner of Indiana versus Ohio State against the field. I took the field versus the two teams, because like I said, I don’t think Indiana gets there. And whether it’s [Texas] A&M, Georgia, Miami, whomever on the bottom [over Ohio State], I think that team has a great chance. And, I would think Texas Tech or Oregon in the title game would have a great chance, too.”

1 Indiana, 2 Ohio State, 3 Georgia and 4 Texas Tech are the teams afforded a bye in the first round of the 12-team tournament this time around.

The Hoosiers will play the Rose Bowl against the winner of the 9 Alabama versus 8 Oklahoma matchup, while the Buckeyes will travel to the Cotton Bowl and await the winner of the 10 Miami versus 7 Texas A&M showdown. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders will wait in the Orange Bowl for the winner of the 12 James Madison versus 5 Oregon tilt, while the Bulldogs head to the Sugar Bowl to see who they’ll face off against, between 11 Tulane and 6 Ole Miss.

THE 12-TEAM CFP BRACKET IS SET‼️

Did your team make the cut? 🤔@CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/tkdTkChBrg
— ESPN (@espn) December 7, 2025

While Fallica’s predictions could prove true, it’s worth pointing out that Indiana’s and Ohio State’s paths to the final game are significantly easier than Oregon’s, Miami’s or Texas A&M’s, as the Ducks would also have to go through Texas Tech, and potentially Indiana to get to the Championship Game, while Miami and Texas A&M face each other before facing the defending National Champion Buckeyes, and then potentially face the Bulldogs, before arriving to that final instance.

As the 8th-ranked team in last year’s tournament, Ohio State blew past Tennessee, Oregon and Texas on route to a dominating victory over Notre Dame in last season’s CFP Championship Game, when all four teams on a bye were one-and-done.

But at the same time, that also means that no other team in this year’s field can match Ohio State’s experience in the tournament, with a number of key contributors from last year’s National Champions still on the roster, including wideout Jeremiah Smith, linebacker Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs.

For the Buckeyes, the 2025 National title is paramount, but at the same time it’s part of something even bigger, the chance at the school’s first ever back-to-back national championships, something that should provide extra incentive down the road. No other program involved is fighting for something as transcendent this year, at the very least.