College Football Playoff odds: Bettors like Alabama
The College Football Playoff won’t begin until New Year's Day, but the four-team futures betting market has already seen movement.
That’s because bettors have been backing the Alabama Crimson Tide so far, as their odds to win the CFP are now +195 after opening at +215 at Caesars Sportsbook, which isn’t far off from the Michigan Wolverines at +190.
The Wolverines are the current favorite to win CFP National Championship, but bettors seem to have more confidence in Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide.
Michigan and Alabama will play each other in the CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl, with the Wolverines currently 1-point favorites, and the winner will almost certainly be favored to win the national title.
The winner will face either Texas or Washington, who are set to face off in the CFP Semifinal at Sugar Bowl, and the Longhorns are currently 4-point favorites over the Huskies.
The Longhorns aren’t too far behind the favorites at +270 to win it all, but the Huskies are currently a lengthy longshot at +700 despite being the No. 2 seed and having an undefeated record.
Michigan is also undefeated on the season as the No. 1 seed, but they faced a lighter schedule than Alabama being in the Big Ten with the only ranked teams they faced being Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa.
Alabama finished with one loss, which came against Texas, but they were undefeated during SEC play and were able to take down four ranked teams in Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee.
Texas’ only loss came against Oklahoma, and while they were able to defeat three other Big 12 teams that were ranked, the only victory they had over a top 10-ranked team was against Alabama.
Washington faced a total of four ranked teams in the Pac 12 and defeated Oregon twice, but those Oregon victories were their only times facing a top 10-ranked opponent.
National championship exacta odds have a Michigan-Texas matchup as the most likely at +360, with Texas Alabama not far behind at +375 followed by Michigan-Washington and Alabama-Washington at +550.
2024 COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Michigan (+190)
Alabama (+195)
Texas (+270)
Washington (+700)
Odds by Caesars Sportsbook as of Wednesday, Dec. 13, official odds partner of Bet.NOLA.com
