Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.

If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.

Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.

However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.

Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.

The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.

Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.

Bill McCartney, a three-time coach of the year in the Big Eight Conference who led the Colorado Buffaloes to their only national football title in 1990, has died. He was 84.

McCartney died Friday night “after a courageous journey with dementia,” according to a family statement.

“Coach Mac touched countless lives with his unwavering faith, boundless compassion, and enduring legacy as a leader, mentor and advocate for family, community and faith,” the family said in its statement. “As a trailblazer and visionary, his impact was felt both on and off the field, and his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those he inspired.”

After playing college ball under Dan Devine at Missouri, McCartney started coaching high school football and basketball in Detroit. He then was hired onto the staff at Michigan, the only assistant ever plucked from the high school ranks by Bo Schembechler.

Schembechler chose wisely. As the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator during the 1980 season, McCartney earned Big Ten “Player” of the Week honors for the defensive scheme he devised to stop star Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann.

“When I was 7 years old, I knew I was going to be a coach,” McCartney told The Gazette in 2013. “My friends, other kids at that age were going to be president, businessmen, attorneys, firemen. Ever since I was a little kid, I imitated my coaches, critiqued them, always followed and studied them.”

In 1982, McCartney took over a Colorado program that was coming off three straight losing seasons with a combined record of 7-26. After three more struggling seasons, McCartney turned things around to go to bowl games in nine out of 10 seasons starting in 1985, when he switched over to a wishbone offense.

His 1989 team was 11-0 when it headed to the Orange Bowl, where Notre Dame dashed Colorado’s hopes of a perfect season. McCartney and the Buffaloes, however, would get their revenge the following season.

After getting off to an uninspiring 1-1-1 start in 1990, Colorado won its next nine games to earn a No. 1 ranking and a rematch with the Fighting Irish. This time the Buffaloes prevailed, 10-9, and grabbed a share of the national title atop the AP poll (Georgia Tech was tops in the coaches’ poll).

McCartney won numerous coach of the year honors in 1989, and he was also Big Eight Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1990. His teams went a combined 58-11-4 in his last six seasons before retiring (1989-94).

The Buffaloes finished in the AP Top 20 in each of those seasons, including No. 3 in McCartney’s final year, when the team went 11-1 behind a roster that included Kordell Stewart, Michael Westbrook and the late Rashaan Salaam. That season featured the “Miracle in Michigan,” with Westbrook hauling in a 64-yard TD catch from Stewart on a Hail Mary as time expired in a win at Michigan. Salaam also rushed for 2,055 yards to earn the Heisman Trophy.

McCartney also groomed the next wave of coaches, mentoring assistants such as Gary Barnett, Jim Caldwell, Ron Dickerson, Gerry DiNardo, Karl Dorrell, Jon Embree, Les Miles, Rick Neuheisel, Bob Simmons, Lou Tepper, Ron Vanderlinden and John Wristen.

“I was fortunate to be able to say goodbye to Coach in person last week,” Colorado athletic director Rick George, who worked under McCartney and was a longtime friend of his, said in a statement. “Coach Mac was an incredible man who taught me about the importance of faith, family and being a good husband, father and grandfather. He instilled discipline and accountability to all of us who worked and played under his leadership.

“The mark that he left on CU football and our athletic department will be hard to replicate.”

McCartney remains the winningest coach in Colorado history. He retired at age 54 with an overall record of 93-55-5 (.602) in 13 seasons, all with Colorado.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. His family announced in 2016 that McCartney had been diagnosed with late-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“Here’s what football does: It teaches a boy to be a man,” McCartney told USA Today in 2017. “You say, ‘How does it do that?’ Well, what if you line up across from a guy who’s bigger, stronger, faster and tougher than you are? What do you do? Do you stay and play? Or do you turn and run? That’s what football does. You’re always going to come up against somebody who’s better than you are.

“That’s what life is. Life is getting knocked down and getting back up and getting back in the game.”

In recent years, McCartney got to watch grandson Derek play defensive line at Colorado. Derek’s father, Shannon Clavelle, was a defensive lineman for Colorado from 1992-94 before playing a few seasons in the NFL. Derek’s brother, T.C. McCartney, was a quarterback at LSU and is the son of late Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese, who played for Bill McCartney in 1987 and ’88 before being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1989 and dying six months later at 21.

Growing up, Derek McCartney used to go next door to his grandfather’s house to listen to his stories. He never tired of them.

When playing for Colorado, hardly a day would go by when someone wouldn’t ask Derek if he was somehow related to the coach.

“I like when that happens,” Derek said.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves claimed a spot in the season-opening Daytona 500 as part of a slew of rule changes NASCAR announced Friday.

Castroneves is guaranteed a spot in the field under a new provision that earmarks a starting position for what NASCAR called “world-class drivers” who enter a Cup Series race. Before the Friday change, Castroneves was going to either have to earn his spot in the 40-car field on speed in time trials or finishing position in a qualifying race.

If he failed to do either, the Brazilian would be in the field as a 41st car and four open spots would still remain for drivers hoping to race in the Feb. 16 “Great American Race.” Castroneves will be driving for Trackhouse Racing in his NASCAR debut at age 49.

Under the new rule, if the provisional is used, the driver/car owner will not be eligible for race points, playoff points or prize money. Cars that finish below the driver who uses the provisional will have their finishing position adjusted upward one spot and also have their prize money, race points and stage points adjusted.

If the provisional car wins a race and/or stage, that car will be credited with the race win. It will not count toward playoff eligibility. The second-place finisher will inherit first-place points, but will not receive playoff points or playoff eligibility.

Among other changes issued Friday:

Playoff waivers: NASCAR said if a driver misses a race for anything besides a medical emergency, the driver will forfeit all current and future playoff points and will start the playoffs with a maximum of 2,000 points.

Covered under medical emergency would be emergencies for the driver, the birth of a child or a family emergency, as well as age restrictions.

It means that Kyle Larson, who is scheduled to again race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 for a second consecutive year, must return from Indiana to North Carolina and compete in the Cup race. It was a point of contention last year when rain delayed the 500 in Indy, Larson was late to arrive in North Carolina for the 600, and by the time he got to the track, rain had stopped that race.

Larson never got to compete in the Coca-Cola 600, and NASCAR hemmed and hawed for a lengthy amount of time before finally granting him a waiver.

Waivers previously came with no penalties such as the loss of playoff points.

Penalties to manufacturers: After the penultimate race at Martinsville Speedway was marred last year by allegations of manufacturers banding together to push their drivers into the championship race, NASCAR vowed to look at how it can stop such manipulation in the future.

NASCAR said that, moving forward, violations by manufacturers may result in the loss of manufacturers points, and/or loss of wind tunnel hours. NASCAR will assess such penalties for violation of the vehicle testing policy, wind tunnel policy, event roster and code of conduct.

Performance obligation: NASCAR did not give many details on this change other than “verbiage around the 100% rule is replaced with a focus on ‘manipulating’ the outcome of an event/championship.”

Practice and qualifying: New practice and qualifying procedures were formally added to the rulebook. Group practice goes from 20 to 25 minutes; single-round qualifying at all tracks but superspeedways, which will have a final round for 10 cars; and starting position is determined solely by qualifying results instead of row-by-row designation based on which qualifying group the car was in.

Suspension deferral: NASCAR said all suspensions that are a result of a technical penalty can be deferred without appeal for the next race following a penalty. All other suspensions are effective immediately.

Damaged vehicle policy: NASCAR has altered this policy for the Cup Series after many complaints about how the rule was applied last year.

Vehicles on the DVP clock may drive to the garage or be towed to the garage and will not be ruled out of the race. Previously, if a car on the DVP clock was towed to the garage or drove to the garage, it was out of the race.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.