It’s been a long, long time since so many college football teams had a path to a national championship. For most of the history of the sport, voting took place after the bowl games, and the winner of the balloting got the title. Some years, there were divided titles, as there were two different press polls (AP and UPI). This led to some frustration and the eventual development of a college football championship game, which expanded to a four-team playoff. As we have seen in recent years, the standards of the College Football Playoff selection committee have tended to favor members in the Power 5 conferences. Expanding the field to a dozen teams, though, makes a Cinderella championship more likely. The field really needed to expand; over the last 10 years, just six schools (Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama) had 29 of the 40 slots in the College Football Playoff. Now that there are paths for more teams to reach a national semifinal – and a championship game – let’s look the College Football Odds for some teams that could crash the party and upend sports betting on this prop.
Underrated College Football Odds and Teams that Could Surprise Us | NCAA Football Lines
Ole Miss Rebels
It’s true that the Rebels have won 29 games over the last three seasons, so they’re not really a dark horse. However, since the BCS (the predecessor to the CFP) came into being, only a dozen teams have won national titles. The Rebels have a third-year quarterback returning in Jaxson Dart, along with most of the skill players around him. They also brought in the highest-ranked transfer class in the nation, including the speed and flash of Juice Wells, depth along the O-line, elite strength and speed on the D-line, and some important secondary depth. Ole Miss doesn’t have to play Texas or Alabama. They do see Georgia, but at home. There aren’t many schedules that friendly in the Power 5 conferences this year.
NCAA Football Ole Miss Lines to Win
Penn State Nittany Lions
We’ve been hearing for a long time that James Franklin has the Nittany Lions ready to contend in the Big Ten. Then they lose to both Michigan and Ohio State in Big Ten play, and their shot at a title is done. It’s been almost three decades since Penn State had a shot at a national title. This year, they get Drew Allar back for a third year at quarterback. He was the top quarterback and the third overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2022. Two of the best tailbacks in the nation will be waiting for handoffs. The defense has players who will go in the 2025 NFL draft at all three levels. Allar does need to improve his play as a second-year starter. The O-line needs to do a better job of opening holes and giving Allar time to pass. However, Penn State has two straight seasons with double-digit win totals, and if they can do it again, they would likely get one of the 12 spots in the playoff.
NCAA Football Penn State Lines to Win
Arizona Wildcats
It will be interesting to see how long the Big 12 keeps its automatic bid into the College Football Playoff. Texas and Oklahoma have left for the SEC, and getting Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado from the Pac-12 mean a greater recruiting area and television market, but not a lot of elite quality in terms of football programs. Last year, the Big 12 champion Texas Longhorns ended a long stretch of teams from the conference getting into the CFP only to see national humiliation ensue. Arizona does have Noah Fifta returning at quarterback alongside wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Both of those players are stars. They did lose three games in 2023, but the combined losing margin was just 16 points, and two of those losses came in overtime. They did beat five teams ranked in the top 25. There are two tough road dates in the Wildcats’ Big 12 schedule (Kansas State and Utah). If the Wildcats can take care of business in the Big 12, that’s when anything can happen. After all, TCU beat Michigan in the national semifinals a couple of years back, before reality set in against Georgia.
NCAA Football Arizona Lines to Win
NCAA Football Kick Off Schedule
Week Zero: Saturday, Aug. 24
• Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (in Dublin, Ireland)
• Norfolk State vs. Florida A&M
• SMU at Nevada
• Montana State at New Mexico
• Delaware State at Hawaii
Week 1: Thursday, Aug. 29 to Sunday, Sept. 1
• North Carolina at Minnesota
• Clemson vs. Georgia
• Miami (FL) at Florida
• Notre Dame at Texas A&M
• Penn State at West Virginia
• Georgia State at Georgia Tech
• North Dakota State at Colorado
• South Dakota State at Oklahoma State
• LSU vs. Southern California
• North Carolina Central vs. Alabama State
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