It’s the end of the College Football Playoff as we know it. Washington and Michigan’s title game clash marks the conclusion of the four-team CFP era, with the playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024. It’s a welcome addition for most fans, but it’s hard to argue with the current model that produced two epic semifinal games on its way out. 

These future conference foes will now have major history once Washington joins the Big Ten next season, with the Wolverines favored on the college football odds by -4.5 for the National Championship at NRG Stadium. 

The total is set at 56 and you can’t ask for much more on paper – a close, high-scoring matchup. Take your betting experience to the next level with our top betting apps.

We’ll have to wait and see if it delivers. Looking deeper down the board, DraftKings has a plethora of betting options, props, and exotics for the title game. We’ve scoured the options to create our best same-game parlay as the Huskies and Wolverines go at it in Houston. 

Leg 1: Jalen McMillan Anytime TD +160

Trying to account for all the Huskies’ offensive threats is not an easy task. They have two 1,000-plus-yard receivers in Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk, but the biggest development lately has been the return of Jalen McMillan. The sophomore missed much of the year due to injury, racking up 526 yards and four touchdowns in just six games. 

His absence was the biggest reason for Washington’s midseason offensive slump and he came up huge time and time again with 131 yards on nine catches in the Pac 12 title game win over Oregon. With so much attention on Odunze, McMillan is the guy who can get open when the play breaks down and Michael Penix Jr. has to put his creativity to good use. We like him to score a touchdown in the title game at +160 odds. 

Leg 2: J.J. McCarthy Over 196.5 Passing Yards -115

McCarthy doesn’t exactly light up the stat sheet on a week-to-week basis. But he’s coming off one of his best games with 221 yards and three touchdowns in the Rose Bowl win over Alabama, and this is a completely different matchup, unlike anything the Wolverines saw in Big Ten play. It was not a banner year for QBs in the conference and most weeks included a healthy dose of handoffs for another ho-hum beatdown against an overwhelmed opponent.

Michigan didn’t need McCarthy to do anything special. They’d obviously like to keep it that way in Houston, but if Washington gets the passing game humming early the Wolverines are going to need to keep pace and rely more on downfield threats against a weak Huskies secondary. McCarthy has surpassed this total in eight of 14 games this season and should do so again unless Washington is completely unable to stop the run. 

Leg 3: Washington 1^st Half Moneyline +140

One thing we know about the Huskies – it’s all gas and has no breaks from the jump. The Huskies were one of the top first-half scoring teams in the nation all year, posting an average of 23.8 points in the opening 30 minutes. Michigan is only averaging 12.3 points in the first half over its last three games and this offense isn’t built to jump out to a two-touchdown lead against strong defenses. 

They want to wear you down throughout the game and finish the job with a dominant rushing performance late. And we wouldn’t be shocked to see the Huskies elect to receive should they win the opening coin toss, whereas Michigan always defers to the second half. However this one shakes out, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Huskies take a lead into halftime.