The College Football season is officially underway with Week 0 being in the books and Week 1 having kicked off with some epic Thursday night games. It’s never too early to start looking ahead toward the College Football Playoff, so today as well as every week we’ll take a look at updated college football playoff odds.
Georgia of course won the National Championship last season with a thrilling win over Alabama in Indianapolis. Kirby Smart finally was able to conquer his old boss Nick Saban to pick up his first National Title as a head coach as well as Georgia’s first since 1980. Can they do it again this year? Currently, Georgia has the third best odds to make the College Football Playoff with “Yes” odds of -110 and “No” odds of -120.
The top 5 teams with the best odds to make the College Football Playoff are the usual suspects. Ohio State sits as the most likely team to make the College Football Playoff with “Yes” odds of -265 and “No” odds of +205. Alabama is right there with “Yes” odds of -260 and “No” odds of +200. After those two, Georgia as mentioned earlier and Clemson sit in a little bit of a category of their own with the 3rd and 4th best chance.
Oklahoma (+375 “Yes”) has made the College Football Playoff twice before, but they begin this season with a new head coach in Brent Venables after their former coach Lincoln Riley left for USC, and as things stand prior to Week 1, Lincoln Riley’s Trojans are right behind the Sooners on the chart.
Odds To Make The 2022-23 College Football Playoff | ||
Team | Yes | No |
Alabama Crimson Tide | -260 | +200 |
Ohio State Buckeyes | -265 | +205 |
Georgia Bulldogs | -110 | -120 |
Clemson Tigers | +140 | -170 |
Oklahoma Sooners | +375 | -550 |
USC Trojans | +400 | -600 |
Utah Utes | +375 | -550 |
Michigan Wolverines | +450 | -650 |
Texas A&M Aggies | +600 | -1000 |
Texas Longhorns | +750 | -1800 |
Wisconsin Badgers | +800 | -2000 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish | +800 | -2000 |
Oregon Ducks | +900 | -3000 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys | +900 | -3000 |
Miami Hurricanes | +1000 | -4000 |
North Carolina Tar Heels | +1000 | -4000 |
Cincinnati Bearcats | +1100 | -5000 |
Value Bets for the College Football Playoff
While there isn’t a ton on the board right now that I love in terms of value bets, I do think there’s one or two worth taking a flier on. The first bet that caught my eye is Clemson “Yes” at +140. Georgia won the National Championship last season on the back of the best defense in the country, and while Clemson’s defense won’t be quite at the level of Georgia’s last year, it should be in that area code. The defensive line will be absolutely elite, and they play in the ACC which doesn’t appear to be that strong of a conference this season. They get their two most difficult conference games in N.C. State and Miami at home. Their most difficult game as of now appears to be at Notre Dame in November, and we’re not certain how good the Irish will be this season. A one loss, ACC Champion Clemson probably ends up in the playoff, and I’m not sure the odds get much better than +140.
College Football Playoff Results
Year | No. 1 Seed | No. 2 Seed | No. 3 Seed | No. 4 Seed | Champion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014-15 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Oregon Ducks | Florida State Seminoles | Ohio State Buckeyes | Ohio State Buckeyes |
2015-16 | Clemson Tigers | Alabama Crimson Tide | Michigan State Spartans | Oklahoma Sooners | Alabama Crimson Tide |
2016-17 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Clemson Tigers | Ohio State Buckeyes | Washington Huskies | Clemson Tigers |
2017-18 | Clemson Tigers | Oklahoma Sooners | Georgia Bulldogs | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama Crimson Tide |
2018-19 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Clemson Tigers | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Oklahoma Sooners | Clemson Tigers |
2019-20 | LSU Tigers | Ohio State Buckeyes | Clemson Tigers | Oklahoma Sooners | LSU Tigers |
2020-21 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Clemson Tigers | Ohio State Buckeyes | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Alabama Crimson Tide |
2021-22 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Michigan Wolverines | Georgia Bulldogs | Cincinnati Bearcats | Georgia Bulldogs |