As we turn the calendar to October in the college football regular season, certain teams are beginning to stand out.
There are still plenty of games left before the College Football Playoffs begin for things to change, but from a betting perspective, you may be curious to see if the top five teams in the country have the best college football championship odds. Here are the current NCAAF odds for those teams.
#1 Alabama (+175)
Remaining Schedule:
- Oct. 2 vs. Ole Miss
- Oct. 9 at Texas A&M
- Oct. 16 at Miss. St.
- Oct. 23 vs. Tennessee
- Nov. 6 vs. LSU
- Nov. 13 vs. NM State
- Nov. 20 vs. Arkansas
- Nov. 27 at Auburn
To nobody’s surprise, the current favorite to win the National Championship is the Crimson Tide. I think there’s plenty of reason to like their chances.
Alabama has arguably already survived its most challenging test against Florida. Yes, Ole Miss and Arkansas look very impressive, and Auburn always puts up a fight in the Iron Bowl, but I have not seen a reason to believe that they won’t make another run at a championship.
#2 Georgia (+210)
Remaining Schedule:
- Oct. 2 vs. Arkansas
- Oct. 9 at Auburn
- Oct. 16 vs. Kentucky
- Oct. 30 at Florida
- Nov. 6 vs. Missouri
- Nov. 13 at Tennessee
- Nov. 20 vs. Charleston So.
- Nov. 27 at Georgia Tech
Georgia is the only team even close to Alabama in championship odds, and they have looked impressive so far. The Bulldogs started the season with a win over Clemson and recently shut out Vanderbilt 62-0.
In my opinion, we will learn a lot about Georgia in their upcoming game against Arkansas. If they continue to look impressive after that, they could surpass Alabama and become the new favorites to win it all.
#3 Oregon (+1200)
Remaining Schedule:
- Oct. 2 at Stanford
- Oct. 9 vs. Cal
- Oct. 23 at UCLA
- Oct. 30 vs. Colorado
- Nov. 6 at Washington
- Nov. 13 vs. Washington St.
- Nov. 20 at Utah
- Nov. 27 vs. Oregon St.
The Ducks started this season strong with an upset victory at Ohio State. They have been rewarded for that, moving to third in the country, and are heavy favorites to win the Pac-12.
However, I am not sure if Oregon has the luxury of the SEC teams to lose a game and still make the playoffs.
Plus, they have some challenging conference road games still left to play. UCLA appears to be the biggest challenger for the Pac-12, with Washington and Utah off to 1-0 starts in conference play as well. Stanford also has a habit of playing spoiler when facing a top-ranked team on their field in October.
#4 Penn State (+2500)
Remaining Schedule:
- Oct. 2 vs. Indiana
- Oct. 9 at Iowa
- Oct. 23 vs. Illinois
- Oct. 30 at Ohio State
- Nov. 6 at Maryland
- Nov. 13 vs. Michigan
- Nov. 20 vs. Rutgers
- Nov. 27 at Michigan State
In my opinion, Penn State has the most demanding schedule left of any of these teams. It may be why they only have the sixth-best odds to win the championship.
Interestingly, Ohio State has better odds to win the championship (+1400) than the Nittany Lions. To me, Penn State has looked like the most impressive Big Ten team so far, with wins over Wisconsin and Auburn. However, their schedule is brutal, and it may be hard for some bettors to see them escaping both Iowa and Ohio State unscathed.
#5 Iowa (+5000)
Remaining Schedule:
- Oct. 1 at Maryland
- Oct. 9 vs. Penn State
- Oct. 16 vs. Purdue
- Oct. 30 at Wisconsin
- Nov. 6 at Northwestern
- Nov. 13 vs. Minnesota
- Nov. 20 vs. Illinois
- Nov. 26 at Nebraska
Iowa has a much easier schedule than Penn State, but they have double the odds of winning the National Championship.
On paper, this should be a valuable team to bet. However, I don’t think bettors should look too far ahead yet.
Iowa has an interesting potential trap game coming up with a Friday night road game at Maryland. They may get caught looking ahead to Penn State, and despite Iowa being #5 in the country, they are only three and a half point favorites in that game.
Follow the College Football Championship Odds
What do you think of the college football championship odds for the top five teams? Do you see a team you like, or would you bet on another team?
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