Conference championship week in college football has always been of critical importance, but the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams has ratcheted up the intensity higher than ever. There are five automatic spots available in the 2024 College Football Playoff for conference champions, with bye weeks given to the four highest-ranked title winners and the fifth also seeded into the 12-team CFP field. Several conference championship game could be win-or-go-home, but the 2024 Big 12 Championship Game between No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State might be the most clear-cut.
The Sun Devils are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Championship Week college football odds via SportsLine consensus. Meanwhile, No. 8 SMU is also a 2.5-point favorite over No. 17 Clemson in the 2024 ACC Championship Game. Before locking in any Championship Week college football picks for those games or others, be sure to see the top Championship Week college football expert picks, predictions and best bets from Thomas Casale.
A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale has been sports betting — and winning — for more than 30 years. Over the past two college football seasons, Casale is 122-92-5 (57%) overall on his college football picks and 26-8 (76.4%) in bowl games — all publicly documented. Two weeks ago, he also nailed all three of his best bets for a 6-1 college football parlay hit and he’s now 5-1 over the last two weeks. Anybody who has followed him is way up.
Now, he has turned his attention to the Championship Week college football odds and is sharing his top two betting picks. If you parlay these college football betting picks, you could be looking at a return of around 3-1. Get his top college football picks at SportsLine.
Top Championship Week college football expert predictions
One of Casale’s top Championship Week college football picks: He is playing the Under (49.5) in the 2024 SEC Championship Game between No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Georgia. The Longhorns are 11-1 and finished first in the regular-season standings during their first year in the SEC while Georgia is 10-2 overall and went 6-2 in the league.
Ultimately, Casale is expecting loads of NFL talent on both defenses to shine through with a chance for a first-round bye on the line for both teams. Texas finished second in the nation in scoring defense (11.7 ppg) and only allowed Texas A&M to score 7 points in the renewal of the Lone Star Showdown rivalry last week while Georgia has allowed 20.5 points per game (25th in the nation).
This is the second meeting of the season between these programs, with Georgia earning a 30-15 win in Texas and the Bulldogs took their foot off the gas to an extent in the second half with a 23-0 lead at halftime. Casale mentions that Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers are both prone to turning the ball over in big spots and thinks any early sluggish play might lead to Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian playing conservatively down the stretch. See what other picks Casale likes at SportsLine.
How to make Championship Week college football picks
Casale has another must-see total pick in a game where “the defenses are overrated.” You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
What are the best bets for Championship Week of college football? Visit SportsLine now to see Thomas Casale’s college football best bets, all from a proven college football handicapper who has gone 26-8 on bowl games the past two seasons and has gone 5-1 on best bets the last two weeks, and find out.
