The first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff could see a few lopsided results.

None of the point spreads for the four contests are under seven points, and all four home sides are favored.

The Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas Longhorns could have the most significant home-field advantages against the ACC's two playoff participants.

Texas and Penn State each turned in a handful of dominant defensive showings at home in the regular season. That trend could extend into the postseason and keep the Clemson Tigers and SMU Mustangs searching for answers on offense.

The matchups are expected to be closer in the quarterfinals and beyond, but the first round may not be as close as we'd want a playoff round to be, especially with home-field advantage in play for the better seeds.

Bowl Schedule and Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

College Football Playoff

Friday, December 20

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame (-7.5) (8 p.m. ET, ABC)

Saturday, December 21

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (-8.5) (Noon ET, TNT)

No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (-11.5) (4 p.m. ET, TNT)

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (-7.5) (8 p.m. ET, ABC)

Tuesday, December 31

SMU/Penn State winner vs. No. 3 Boise State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Wednesday, January 1

Clemson/Texas winner vs. No. 4 Arizona State (1 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Tennessee/Ohio State winner vs. No. 1 Oregon (5 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Indiana/Notre Dame winner vs. No. 2 Georgia (8;45 p.m. ET, ESPN)

National Semifinals

January 9-10

Championship Game

January 20

Tuesday, December 17

Frisco Bowl: Memphis (-5) vs. West Virginia (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Wednesday, December 18

Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. James Madison (-7) (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

LA Bowl: California (-1) vs. No. 24 UNLV (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Thursday, December 19

New Orleans Bowl: Georgia Southern (-6) vs. Sam Houston (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Friday, December 20

Cure Bowl: Ohio (-3) vs. Jacksonville State (Noon ET, ESPN)

Gasparilla Bowl: Tulane vs. Florida (-14) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Monday, December 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA (-8.5) (11 a.m. ET, ESPN)

Idaho Potato Bowl: Northern Illinois (-3) vs. Fresno State (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Tuesday, December 24

Hawai'i Bowl: South Florida vs. San Jose State (-4) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Thursday, December 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl: Pittsburgh (-7) vs. Toledo (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Rate Bowl: Rutgers vs. Kansas State (-7) (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green (-7) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Friday, December 27

Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma (-7.5) vs. Navy (Noon ET, ESPN)

Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Tech (-2.5) vs. Vanderbilt (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas (-1) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Holiday Bowl: No. 21 Syracuse (-8.5) vs. Washington State (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Las Vegas Bowl: Texas A&M (-3.5) vs. USC (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Saturday, December 28

Fenway Bowl: UConn vs. North Carolina (-2) (11 a.m. ET, ESPN)

Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College vs. Nebraska (-2.5) (Noon ET, ABC)

New Mexico Bowl: Louisiana vs. TCU (-12.5) (2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 18 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Miami (-3.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Arizona Bowl: Miami (Ohio) (-2.5) vs. Colorado State (4:30 p.m. ET, CW)

Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. NC State (-5) (5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Alamo Bowl: No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado (-3) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. No. 22 Army (-14.5) (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Monday, December 30

Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. No. 19 Missouri (-3) (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Tuesday, December 31

ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 11 Alabama (-9.5) vs. Michigan (Noon ET, ESPN)

Sun Bowl: Louisville (-2.5) vs. Washington (2 p.m. ET, CBS)

Citrus Bowl: No. 15 South Carolina (-9.5) vs. No. 20 Illinois (3 p.m. ET, ABC)

Texas Bowl: Baylor (-1) vs. LSU (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Thursday, January 2

Duke vs. No. 14 Ole Miss (-14.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Friday, January 3

First Responder Bowl: North Texas vs. Texas State (-10) (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Minnesota (-6) vs. Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Saturday, January 4

Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs. Liberty (-1) (11 a.m. ET, ESPN2)

Clemson at Texas (-11.5)

Clemson failed to meet the moment against its SEC opposition this season.

The Tigers were not in the same stratosphere as the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 1, and they were held to 14 points in a loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Clemson can come into Austin with confidence after beating SMU in the ACC Championship Game, but Texas is a level of opponent up from the Mustangs.

The Longhorns own one of the better defenses in the country and have held their last five opponents to 22 points or fewer.

The Texas defense has been especially strong at home, where it held four teams to single-digit point totals and only allowed one major point concession to Georgia on October 19.

Cade Klubnik and the Clemson offense posted 188 total yards in the loss to UGA, and while that happened in Week 1, it is facing the same level of defense in the first round.

How close the game is will be dependent on whether the quarterback can move the ball on the Texas defense.

If not, the Longhorns could easily open up a double-digit advantage on a Clemson defense that gave up over 30 points in two of its three matchups with ranked foes this season.

Quinn Ewers may not need to turn in his best game of the season. He might just have to manage the Texas offense to a handful of scoring drives to advance to the quarterfinals and cover the spread.

SMU at Penn State (-8.5)

Penn State showcased some playoff-winning qualities in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The Nittany Lions answered almost every punch thrown at the them by the Oregon Ducks with a 37-point output.

Penn State's offensive effectiveness could be the difference-maker inside Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

James Franklin's team can hit opponents with a two-pronged rushing attack, a future first-round pick at tight end in Tyler Warren and a receiving corps that played better against Oregon around quarterback Drew Allar.

Penn State could have plenty of chances to air it out against a SMU defense that just gave up 34 points to Clemson and allowed at least 24 points to seven opponents.

SMU was an offensive machine throughout the regular season, but its first-half struggles against Clemson might be a bad sign for its performance in Happy Valley.

Penn State held five opponents to 11 points or less inside Beaver Stadium this season. SMU can't afford for the Nittany Lions to gain confidence on defense and hold it to seven points before halftime, like Clemson did.

If Penn State opens up a similar 17-point lead that Clemson had in the ACC Championship Game, the Mustangs won't be able to mount a comeback since the Nittany Lions can control the clock with their rushing game and possess one of the better defenses in the FBS.

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