The home teams hold a significant advantage in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

That was on display in the first-round opener on Friday night, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish controlled their matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas Longhorns could follow the same formula to victory as Notre Dame.

All three programs possess strong defenses that have performed well at home all season.

That's one of the reasons why Ohio State, Penn State and Texas are favored by a touchdown or more on the point spread for Saturday's contests.

The Tennessee Volunteers, SMU Mustangs and Clemson Tigers could be competitive if everything goes right, but their margin of error is slim because of the quality of the defense they are playing against.

Bowl Schedule and Updated Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

College Football Playoff

Saturday, December 21

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (-8) (Noon ET, TNT)

No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (-13.5) (4 p.m. ET, TNT)

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (-7) (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)

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia (-1) (8;45 p.m. ET, ESPN)

National Semifinals

January 9-10

Championship Game

January 20

Monday, December 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA (-10) (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 (-3.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Thursday, December 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl: Pittsburgh (-6.5) vs. Toledo (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Rate Bowl: Rutgers vs. Kansas State (-6.5) (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green (-7.5) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Friday, December 27

Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma (-3) vs. Navy (Noon ET, ESPN)

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

Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas (-2) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Holiday Bowl: No. 21 Syracuse (-15.5) 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 (-3) (Noon ET, ABC)

New Mexico Bowl: Louisiana vs. TCU (-13.5) (2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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

Arizona Bowl: Miami (Ohio) (-3) vs. Colorado State (4:30 p.m. ET, CW)

Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. NC State (-5.5) (5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Alamo Bowl: No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado (-5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. No. 22 Army (-17.5) (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 (-11) 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

Gator Bowl: 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 (-10.5) (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Minnesota (-6.5) vs. Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Saturday, January 4

Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo (-2) vs. Liberty (11 a.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (-7)

Ohio State entered the season with three key goals.

The Buckeyes did not beat the Michigan Wolverines and they didn't even appear in the Big Ten Championship Game, so all they have left is the College Football Playoff.

The hope, at least in Columbus, is that the Buckeyes will rebound properly from the Michigan loss and knock out Tennessee on Saturday night.

Ohio State does have a 2-1 record against top-five teams, but the overall performance against Michigan is still stuck in everyone's minds.

That's why Tennessee is the most popular underdog across the first round of CFB Playoff games.

However, the Vols have not been great away from Knoxville and they have a young quarterback in Nico Iamaleava going up against the top scoring defense in the FBS.

Ohio State's defense has at least been consistent, and even if the offense struggles again, the Buckeyes can rely on their defense to win a low-scoring game.

Tennessee can say the same about its defense, but it lacks the difference-makers in the passing game that OSU has in Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

If Smith and Egbuka can make a few big plays to support quarterback Will Howard, Ohio State should pull off the win at home and set up a rematch with Oregon.

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (-8)

Penn State owns one of the most distinct home-field advantages in college football.

The Nittany Lions outscored opponents 230-78 inside Beaver Stadium and only Ohio State reached the 20-point mark in Happy Valley.

The No. 6 seed typically relies on its rushing attack and a few big throws to Tyler Warren to methodically break down opponents.

The running back tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen can wear down the SMU defense that is typically strong against the run. The Mustangs are one of eight teams to allow fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.

Penn State could do that because it may have the bulk of the possession if its defense shuts down the SMU offense, like it has done against plenty of teams at home this season.

SMU has the potential to hang with the home side, but it experienced a concerning start in the ACC Championship Game against Clemson.

The Mustangs battled back to tie the game before losing on a last-second field goal, but they will not have that luxury if they get behind on Saturday.

Penn State's defensive consistency at home should be the difference-maker, and that will help the Nittany Lions pull away by multiple scores to cover the spread.

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