Updated College Football Championship Odds - November 8th Edition

Updated College Football Championship Odds – November 8th Edition

Written by on November 8, 2017

The Alabama Crimson Tide remains the prohibitive favorite to win the 2018 national championship in college football, with their odds moving to 5-8 in the most recent listings at the sports books. However, some other teams saw their odds improve dramatically in this recent ranking, including Georgia, Clemson and Notre Dame. Others saw theirs dwindle, including Michigan, Oklahoma State, Penn State and USC. Let’s look at some of the most likely winners of next January’s title as you consider your 2018 College Football Championship odds on futures wagers.

Updated College Football Championship Odds – November 8th Edition

Alabama: 5-8

It’s true that Alabama still has to face Auburn, although even losing to Auburn might not keep them out of the playoff if Auburn stumbles and the Tide can beat Georgia in the SEC Championship game. The Tide are at #16 Mississippi State this week, but even a rash of injuries on defense should not keep Alabama out of the win column.

Clemson, Georgia: 6-1

If Georgia keeps winning until the SEC title game, even a close loss to Alabama probably would not keep the Bulldogs out of the playoff, unless Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Oklahoma all win out. The fact that Georgia has the perennial reputation for folding in big games, it’s surprising that the CFP rankings have them ahead of Alabama. Clemson has a knack of falling asleep at exactly the wrong time — it happened last year against Pitt and then again this year against Syracuse. They don’t have Deshaun Watson to lead lightning-speed drives down the field, so they have to be more consistent to keep winning. But as we saw last year, you can never count Clemson all the way out.

Notre Dame: 7-1

The Irish only have one loss this season, a one-point home setback at home against Georgia. They have routed the likes of Temple, Boston College, Michigan STate, USC and North Carolina State, beating the Wolfpack by 21 when Clemson could only beat them by seven. The toughest remaining game for the Irish will be this Saturday as they head to Miami to take on the Hurricanes. If they can run the table, expect the Irish to be in that final four.

Oklahoma: 10-1

If the Sooners win out, they will likely appear in the playoff. Even if they lose to TCU this week, they could possibly still appear in the playoff if they beat TCU in a rematch in the Big 12 title game. The problem for Oklahoma is their defense, as they permitted more than 40 points to a one-win Baylor team that has lost to Liberty and Texas-San Antonio this season. That defense could turn into a major Achilles heel in a national semifinal. Are the Sooners a safe bet to win the College Football Championship?

Wisconsin, Miami (FL): 15-1

Wisconsin is unbeaten, but even at 9-0 they are missing the signature win that they would need to vault over teams into the playoff berths unless some other losses happen ahead of them. They face Michigan and the winner of the Big Ten East, assuming they keep winning, but those might not represent enough quality wins to get the Badgers into the top four. Miami had been taking heat for a lack of quality wins until they took down Virginia Tech in convincing form this past Saturday. If they can beat Notre Dame and advance to the ACC title game, even a loss to Clemson might not keep the Hurricanes out, depending on what shakes down elsewhere.

Washington: 20-1

The last great hope of the Pac-12 is the Washington Huskies, who reached the semifinal of the College Football Playoff last year. This has more to do with Washington State and USC falling by the wayside, though, and Washington also needs some help in terms of other teams losing to make the semifinals.

More College Football Championship Odds

  • Auburn, TCU: 40-1
  • Ohio State: 80-1
  • Michigan, Oklahoma State, Penn State, USC: 100-1
  • UCF: 200-1
  • Michigan State: 300-1
  • Virginia Tech: 500-1
  • Mississippi State, Washington State: 1000-1
  • Boise State, Memphis, South Florida: 9999-1
  • FIELD: 2000-1