A new college football season is finally here!
With Week 0 upon us, it’s time to secure those future bets and follow the new-look college football postseason that will feature 12 teams that make the College Football Playoff and vie for a National Championship.
Georgia will enter as the betting favorite this season in hopes of making it three national titles in four seasons under Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs narrowly missed the CFP last season, but a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship cost UGA its chance at becoming the first team to three-peat since the 1930’s.
The Bulldogs return its Heisman Trophy contending quarterback Carson Beck as well as future NFL players littered throughout the roster, but will face tough competition in a new-look SEC that features Texas and Oklahoma.
The Big Ten welcomes four former PAC-12 schools in Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA as the league tries to have another National Champion after Michigan’s triumph last season. Ohio State and Oregon are the second and third choice in the betting market as each team has built impressive rosters through the transfer portal.
With a new look playoff that will triple in size this season, can the championship outlook change? In prior years, the four team playoff usually condensed around the top team quickly, but now, with more entrants, can a surprise team emerge?
Here’s the betting odds for the National Championship ahead of Week 0.
2024 College Football National Championship OddsGeorgia: +280Ohio State: +400Oregon: +650Texas: +850Alabama: +1400Ole Miss: +1400LSU: +1800Notre Dame: +1800Penn State: +2000Florida State: +2000Michigan: +3000Tennessee: +3500Missouri: +4000Texas A&M: +4000Clemson: +6000Utah: +6000Miami (Florida): +6000
Georgia Enters College Football Season as Betting Favorite to Win National Championship
The Bulldogs are the short shot to win the National title, but more teams are in the mix this season due to the changing postseason structure.
Can this be the year that a team like Penn State, who has never made the original postseason format, get into the conversation with a revamped offense and a still stout defense? The Nittany Lions are viewed as a viable contender at +2000 as more avenues have opened for success.
The same can be said for Miami, who is the epitome of this new look college football era, one that is focused around the transfer portal. The Hurricanes landed arguably the top transfer quarterback in the country in Cam Ward from Washington State as well as devastating rusher Damien Martinez from Oregon State. Can a talented offense come together quickly to match a stout defensive line that can yield high upside, or will head coach Mario Cristoabl fail to make all the pieces click in one season?
There’s a reason the Hurricanes are +6000, but the upside is apparent as the team starts its season in Week 1 at in-state foe Florida.
There is a case to be made that more teams are in the hunt for a title than ever before, but it’s also true that Georgia, and even Ohio State and Oregon, are also leveling up with all the new resources available, making it just as tough to dethrone them.
The new look CFP will be a compelling story all season, and its indicated in the odds that have 10 teams with odds of +2000 or shorter.
