Few states pump out top-level football talent like the Volunteer State has over the years, with a litany of Hall of Famers coming through the high school ranks from the Smokies to the Arkansas line over the years.
While the state’s college teams — and their Tennessee sports betting fans — will be watching Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game between Michigan and Washington at home, there’s no denying the connection the state has had with the four-team event since its inception.
There have been 75 touchdowns scored in the National Championship since the beginning of the College Football Playoff in the 2014 season. But which states have produced those scorers?
BetTennessee.com took a break from reviewing the best Tennessee sports betting promos and utilized Sports-Reference.com to gather the game’s touchdown scorers and their birthplaces. A player with multiple touchdowns scored was counted each time, and quarterback passing touchdowns were not counted.
CFP Championship TD Scorers By State
ESPN BET Tennessee lists Michigan as a 5-point favorite in this year’s title game with an over-under of 55.5 total points.
Tennessee Among Biggest Contributors
Of the states that have had at least one player on a CFP-qualifying team, Tennessee has managed to produce the eighth-most CFP National Championship game scorers, with five TDs overall.
That number puts the Volunteer State in a tie for sixth nationally with South Carolina and behind national leaders like Louisiana (12 touchdowns), Georgia (11 touchdowns), Alabama, California and Florida (seven touchdowns each).
The state’s CFP Championship Game touchdown scorers were Tee Higgins and Trevor Lawrence of Clemson and Master Teague of Ohio State, who all played valued roles on their given teams.
Higgins and Lawrence were part of Clemson’s 2018 CFP championship, with Higgins hauling in 59 catches for 936 yards and 12 touchdowns that year. Lawrence threw for 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns as a true freshman under coach Dabo Swinney.
Teague was a key part of Ohio State’s team that ultimately lost to Alabama, 52-24, in the 2020 championship game, rushing for 65 yards on 15 carries with a pair of rushing touchdowns.
All in all, the trio of CFB stars did enough on the sport’s biggest stage to push Tennessee into the top 10 nationally when it comes to CFP touchdowns scored, despite the Volunteers, Memphis Tigers, Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders and Vanderbilt Commodores failing to qualify — much to the disappointment of their backers on Tennessee betting apps.
