Top 5 Player Props For CFB Championship Week
College football’s championship week will conclude a wild season. With as many as eight teams still in contention for the playoffs, fans – and bettors alike – should expect chaos to ensue in what will be the final edition of a four-team playoff.
Which players should bettors have their eye on this week amid the championship cap to this college football season? We’ll reveal our top five college football championship week player prop bets below.
Ollie Gordon II OVER 103.5 Rushing Yards
Oklahoma State’s offense runs through RB Ollie Gordon. The Fort Worth native leads the Cowboys with 245 carries, 1,580 yards and 20 rushing TDs on the season. Through the air, Gordon has also snagged 33 passes for 272 yards and a single TD.
The Texas Tech drubbing aside, bettors have to go back to Texas’s loss to Oklahoma to find a meaningful game where the Longhorns surrendered more than 100 rushing yards in a single game. The only tailback to eclipse the 100-yard mark against Texas this season was Wyoming’s Harrison Waylee, a feat made possible with his 62-yard opening-drive TD run.
Still, bettors should pick Gordon to surpass this mark against the Longhorns. With Texas bolting for the SEC, Oklahoma State will have a little extra motivation to down the Longhorns Saturday. Expect Gordon to bust loose for a couple of long runs and make this a successful player prop bet.
Jayden Maiava OVER 238.5 Passing Yards
UNLV’s dream season continues this weekend as the Rebels vie for their first conference championship as an FBS team. One major reason for the Rebels’ success is their freshman QB Jayden Maiava. The Las Vegas native has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,628 yards and 14 TDs against only six INTs.
UNLV’s opponent in the Mountain West Championship game is Boise State. The Broncos are 7-5, miraculously making the finale after firing their former head coach and closing out the season on a three-game winning streak.
These Broncos aren’t your normal dominant team. In their five losses, Boise State has surrendered at least 270 yards to opposing QBs. Expect Maiava to add his name to this list Saturday and eclipse the 238.5 passing yard mark to successfully cover this player prop bet.
Michael Pratt OVER 187.5 Passing Yards
After battling Kai Horton for the starting role, Tulane QB Michael Pratt cemented his hold on the position in 2023. Pratt completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,168 yards and 21 TDs. On the ground, Pratt notched 321 yards on 88 carries, both marks ranking as the second-highest among the Green Wave’s offense this season.
Although their opponent – the SMU Mustangs – allowed only 184.5 passing yards per outing in 2023, that stat is skewed after playing a schedule with Navy and Rice as opponents. SMU’s two losses – to Big 12 members Oklahoma and TCU – used a heavy running attack to down the Mustangs earlier this season.
The best comparison for SMU’s expected performance this weekend is their outing against Memphis. In that game, Tigers QB Seth Henigan threw for 402 yards on 51 attempts, showing the Mustangs’ vulnerability against the pass. Expect Pratt to expose the same this weekend, eclipsing the 200-yard mark as Tulane earns their second AAC Championship.
Trey Benson OVER 92.5 Rushing Yards
Florida State’s one-two punch of QB Jordan Travis and RB Trey Benson carried the Seminoles to an undefeated regular season. Travis – who was injured two weeks ago – passed for over 2,750 yards and 20 TDs while Benson logged 838 rushing yards, 212 receiving yards, and 15 total TDs in 2023.
With QB Tate Rodemaker now taking snaps, the Seminoles need Benson to carry their team to their first ACC Championship in nearly a decade. Louisville is susceptible to the run, yielding over 100 yards rushing in back-to-back games before their Kentucky loss. Expect Florida State to feed Benson over 20 times and finish with at least 100 yards in this contest.
Kaleb Brown OVER 19.5 Receiving Yards
At 10-2, the Iowa Hawkeyes are a throw-back team in the wrong era. The Hawkeyes rank dead last out of 133 teams this season for total offense, netting 247.3 yards per game in 2023. Defensively, Iowa ranks in the top 10 in both yards allowed per game (279.9 yards) and points allowed per outing (12.2).
Picking an Iowa player to cover a successful prop bet can be a painstaking task. But in their matchup against the Michigan Wolverines, take WR Kaleb Brown to surpass 19.5 receiving yards.
After not playing for much of the season, Brown recorded 142 receiving yards off 14 receptions, pacing his team over that span. While Michigan is heavily favored to dominate the Hawkeyes, expect Brown to at least notch 20 yards receiving in their Big 10 Championship tilt Saturday night.
Ernie Horn
Sports Betting Contributor
Ernie is a 25-year veteran of the newspaper industry. He spent those early years working as a sports reporter and editor, but made the move back to the digital world in 2022. Ernie covers college football and NFL betting for Hello Rookie.