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Week 4 is in the books and as we look ahead to Week 5, there’s no better time to take a look at the updated College Football Playoff Odds. While Georgia remained the odds on favorite to win the National Championship at +175, we did have some odds shifting among the top 3 favorites.
While Alabama remained the second favorite at +200 to win the National Championship, Ohio State closed the gap on FanDuel seeing their odds shift from +300 to +230 thanks to a blowout win at home over the Wisconsin Badgers. The Buckeyes were undefeated headed into the Wisconsin game but still had critics looking for more from them, but they certainly proved themselves against a solid Wisconsin defense.
Rutgers vs #3 Ohio State Betting Preview
After the top three favorites, we did see some movement with the next three. USC (+1600), Clemson (+1800) and Michigan (+3000) all won in Week 4 but saw their College Football Playoff odds get longer. Last week, USC and Clemson were both +1200 and Michigan was +2500. While all three won, all three didn’t do so very impressively and in the cases of USC and Clemson it took close games down to the wire to pull off road wins. While wins are wins, last week’s performances from USC, Clemson and Michigan casted some doubt of their ability to compete with Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State.
There are a few games this week that could cause a shift in the National Championship odds. First, #10 N.C. State visits #5 Clemson. Clemson showed a few holes defensively in their win over Wake Forest last week which is why you saw their odds get a little longer this week. On the other hand, D.J. Uiagalelei had by far his best game of the season. N.C. State has a couple of quality wins on the season, and a win Saturday will undoubtedly shorten their odds significantly and put them in the driver’s seat in the ACC.
In the other Top 15 matchup, #7 Kentucky visits #14 Ole Miss. Kentucky isn’t getting much respect from the oddsmakers. The Wildcats are +6.5 against Ole Miss and despite being the #7 team in the country, they have the 15th best odds to win the National Championship at +15000. While Kentucky did go into Florida and earn a tough road win, they haven’t won all that impressively otherwise this year. They certainly have a chance to silence some critics this week.
#7 Kentucky vs #14 Ole Miss Betting Preview
College Football Playoff Odds: National Championship Winner
| Georgia +175 | Alabama +200 | Ohio State +230 |
| USC +1600 | Clemson +1800 | Michigan +3000 |
| Utah +6000 | Tennessee +8000 | Penn State +8000 |
| Minnesota +8000 | Washington +8000 | Oregon +10000 |
| Oklahoma State +10000 | Mississippi +10000 | Kentucky +15000 |
| Texas A&M +15000 | Oklahoma +15000 | TCU +15000 |
| NC State+15000 | Florida State +20000 | UCLA +20000 |
National Championship Value Bets
If you’re a believer in the Michigan Wolverines, I’m not sure there is a time you’ll get better value than +3000 when they’re undefeated. They go into Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City this weekend to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes which presents a tough test. The Michigan offense had some issues in the passing game and the Wolverines were played very tough at home by a solid Maryland team. Iowa’s defense is very good, and if Michigan’s issues through the air continue, the Hawkeyes will likely make them pay. If Michigan survives that test, the odds will most certainly shorten.
#4 Michigan vs Iowa Betting Preview
The other team with some value this week is N.C. State. A win at Clemson puts them in the driver’s seat in the ACC and would put their toughest test of the season in the rear view mirror. Right now they’re +15000, but a win this weekend would probably cut those odds in half.