Say what you want about the teams chosen for the College Football Playoff; it’s creating chaos mere hours in. Social media was abuzz when it was revealed that Alabama, not undefeated ACC champion Florida State, had earned the final spot in the playoff. Some felt it was SEC bias that led to one-loss Alabama being viewed as “better” than the Seminoles. However, the recent movement of the college football national championship odds reveal one thing: Bettors and sportsbooks alike are buying the Crimson Tide more and more as the Playoff draws nearer.
Alabama CFB Playoff: Huge Shift in National Championship Odds
The seeding for the College Football Playoff is as follows: 1. Michigan, 2. Washington, 3. Texas and 4. Alabama. And following this reveal, BetMGM had the odds to win the national championship as:
- +110 Michigan
- +350 Texas
- +450 Washington
- +500 Alabama
Well, that didn’t last long. Just a couple of hours later, Alabama has jumped from the worst odds of the four (+500) to the second best, barely behind favored Michigan:
- +170 Michigan
- +190 Alabama
- +310 Texas
- +700 Washington
Call it SEC bias on the part of sportsbooks all you want, but it is clear that the winner of the semifinal matchup between Michigan and Alabama is going to enter the National Championship as a fairly sizable favorite, barring something crazy in the Texas-Washington game.
The general consensus across the college football world appears to be that the Wolverines are the best overall team in the nation after they beat Iowa convincingly in the Big Ten championship a week after taking out Ohio State. Alabama, meanwhile, certainly has the best win of the four playoff teams, knocking off No. 1 and two-time defending champion Georgia to take home the SEC title. Alabama did, however, lose to No. 3 Texas this year, and the Longhorns also won their conference in blowout fashion.
And then there is Washington, the team experts and bettors seem least convinced about. The Huskies are comfortably behind the other three teams on the championship odds board despite beating favored Oregon in the Pac-12 title game to cap off an undefeated season, which was the second time they took down the Ducks this year.
As for the playoff matchups, here are the favorites for the two semifinal games:
- Michigan -1.5, -120 moneyline
- Texas -4.5, -185 moneyline
The Texas-Washington game is also expected to be much more of a shootout given the 64.5 total. The Alabama-Michigan matchup is appropriately viewed as a defensive battle, with that game total coming in a 45.5 on BetMGM.
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