Miami vs Indiana Odds: Why Has the Spread Moved Towards the Hurricanes?

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After spending the bulk of the last week as 8.5-point underdogs, the Miami Hurricanes are now only +7.5 at FanDuel for tonight’s national championship against the Indiana Hoosiers.

That may not sound like much of a move, but eight points has become more often a key number in college football as coaches better embrace going for two when scoring a touchdown trailing by 14.

We do not need to dive into that math now; simply recognize it is a truth before making our Miami vs. Indiana predictions.

Why have the Miami vs. Indiana odds tightened?

Well, a spread north of a touchdown is always bold in a title game. Last year’s national championship also saw the spread shorten, Ohio State opening as a 9.5-point favorite and closing as an 8-point favorite against Notre Dame.

Both coaches and players are likely to play conservatively early with these stakes. Miami knows it cannot afford a first-snap gaffe like Oregon offered Indiana, Dante Moore throwing a pick-six on the first play of the game. And conservative play lowers both the spread and the total.

But this movement may also reflect a genuine belief in Miami. The Hurricanes have the best offensive player in this game — freshman receiver Malachi Toney — and the best defensive player in this game — end Rueben Bain Jr., complemented by end Akheem Mesidor.

But this movement should stop short of an even touchdown. Sportsbooks would take an abundance of action on Indiana at -7, bettors expecting that to yield nothing worse than a push. It would still be a risk for those bettors, obviously, but the sheer amount of action would almost immediately push the college football odds back to -7.5.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

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