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The Michigan Wolverines won the CFP national championship by taking down Washington on Monday night. Jim Harbaugh’s bunch capped a perfect 15-0 season to bring home the program’s first title in more than two decades.
In the process, UM both broke a College Football Playoff curse and saved sportsbooks from a massive loss.
Entering the game, no No. 1 seed had ever beaten the No. 2 team in the championship game.
The 1 seed has never beat the 2 seed in the College Football Playoff pic.twitter.com/6x5tY62qu2
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) January 8, 2024
Interestingly enough, all three prior title matchups between one- and two-seeds involved Clemson and Alabama, with the No. 2 team prevailing on each occasion.
All other championship contests have included a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
With the win over Washington on Monday, top ranked Michigan became the first No. 1 to beat a No. 2 in the CFP final.
In doing so, they provided a sigh of relief for sportsbooks across the country.
Michigan’s CFP win saves sportsbooks
Michigan was favored in the title matchup, and the sharp money was on the Wolverines to cover the spread. That included one UM backer that wagered $500K and landed a hefty payout when the clock struck 0:00.
One bettor at @BetMGM believes in @UMichFootball tonight 😍
$200,000 on MICH ML (-210)
$100,000 on MICH -5.5 (-105)
$50,000 on MICH -4.5 (-120)
$50,000 on MICH -3.5 (-140)
$50,000 on MICH -2.5 (-175)
$50,000 on MICH -1.5 (-190) pic.twitter.com/mjpS06Kixy— John Ewing (@johnewing) January 9, 2024
However, there were a ton of bettors taking Washington on the money line given the potential return on investment (the Huskies closed at +185).
Combine that with the futures market – which gave UW +4000 preseason odds – and a Husky win would’ve been costly.
Washington opened at +4000 for this season, which would be the second-longest odds for a champion along with Ohio State (2014) and LSU (2003) in that timeframe.
In fact, Scott Shelton of BetMGM said it would’ve been a “seven-figure swing” had the Huskies pulled it off.
The sportsbooks need Michigan in a big way tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/lLtvH8N5K6
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 9, 2024
In the end, it didn’t happen, notably robbing a Washington fraternity of a $50K payout.
It’s certainly an interesting turn of events seeing Michigan shift from Vegas villain to sportsbook savior.
Earlier in the year, amid the controversial sign stealing signal scandal, the Wolverines were nearly removed from sportsbooks completely due to uncertainty surrounding potential intel on opponents.
In the end, they wound up being Vegas’s champion. It’s funny how things work out!