Bettors back Hoosiers’ win over Miami to take NCAA football title

By Canadian Press on January 21, 2026.

The Indiana Hoosiers’ first-ever NCAA football championship was a solid hit with Proline players.

The top-ranked Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 on Monday night to claim the American university football crown. Not only did Indiana end the year with a perfect 16-0 record, it opened the season a 100-1 longshot to win it all.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., 60 per cent of Proline bettors backed Indiana’s historic win. But only 34 per cent correctly picked Miami to cover the 7.5-point spread.

Meanwhile in NFL playoff action, Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal earned Denver a dramatic 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills. But Broncos starter Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Proline’s highest-selling NFL game so far this season.

Only 25 per cent of bettors took Denver to win but 67 per cent had the game going over 45.5 points. A digital player made a $300 bet on Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid as an anytime touchdown, earning a return of $1,020.

New England advanced to the AFC title game with a 28-16 win over Houston. Patriots’ starter Drake Maye threw three TD passes while Texans starter C.J Stroud was picked off four times.

Fifty-eight per cent of players backed the Patriots to win the game while 46 per cent took them -3.5 on the point spread. And 60 per cent correctly had the game going over 41.5 points.

A bettor put $200 down on Demario Douglas as the first TD scorer of the game and it paid $3,400.

In NFC playoff action, Seattle dismantled the San Francisco 49ers 41-6. Seahawks’ returner Rashid Shaheed took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

Forty per cent of bettors took the Seahawks -6.5 on the point spread while 60 per cent correctly had the game going over 45.5 points.

And the Los Angeles Rams earned a 20-17 overtime decision over the Chicago Bears. Fifty-one per cent of players backed L.A. to win while 49 per cent correctly picked the Bears +3.5 on the point spread.

And 42 per cent had the game going under 49.5 points.

A retail bettor received a whopping $29,376 from a $40 wager on a three-leg soccer parlay while another earned $4,064 from a $16 bet on a two-leg NFL parlay.

And a third won $4,882.50 from a $50 bet on a three-leg NBA parlay.

A $5 wager on a 10-leg NHL parlay earned a digital player a $3,039 return.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press