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Fresh off winning back-to-back national championships, the Georgia Bulldogs are the overall betting favorites at +375 to win next season’s College Football Playoff.
Alabama (+550) and Ohio State (+650) are next in line, forming the same trio of favorites that entered last season. The biggest difference is that the Dawgs have seemingly replaced the Crimson Tide as the sport’s gold standard.
“We still think they’re going to be the best team in the best conference. They’re going to lose [Stetson] Bennett, but Bama is going to lose [Bryce] Young,” Caesars Sportsbook lead college football trader Joey Feazel told ESPN. “Georgia has a light schedule, with only like three relatively tough games.”
TCU lost to Georgia 65-7 in Monday’s CFP title game, falling short of capping off an incredible underdog story. The Horned Frogs had 200-1 odds before the season and would have been considered perhaps the greatest long shot in American team sports history.
Oddsmakers do not anticipate a large spike in long-shot bettors following the Horned Frogs’ unlikely run.
“I believe they’ll take some pokes at teams with odds from 35-1 to 75-1,” DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. “But college football championship winners have usually come from teams priced on the lower end of the spectrum.”
TCU is 40-1 next season and will lose quarterback Max Duggan, the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Southern California, which returns Heisman winner Caleb Williams at quarterback, is the fourth favorite at 10-1 odds. Williams is the +550 betting favorite for next year’s Heisman award.
The Trojans landed Williams from Oklahoma through the recently formed transfer portal, which continues to impact programs. Notre Dame (20-1) will add Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman.
“The portal in the spring is a big factor … you really just have to stay on top of it,” Feazel said.
Michigan, which has reached the CFP in consecutive seasons, is tied with LSU as the fifth favorite at 14-1 odds.
Clemson, which missed the CFP in back-to-back years after qualifying for the playoff six straight times, is next at 18-1 odds. The Tigers have handed the reins to Cade Klubnik, who took over for their Dec. 30 Orange Bowl game as a true freshman quarterback.
