Odds to Make College Football Playoff 2026-27
By Adam Spencer
Last Updated:
- Odds to make the College Football Playoff are available on most sportsbooks for the 2026-27 college football season.
- These odds are from Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.
- Ohio State, Oregon and Georgia have the best odds to reach the College Football Playoff in 2026-27.
The Indiana Hoosiers are your reigning national champions.
Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers defeated Carson Beck, Malachi Toney and the Miami Hurricanes to complete one of the most impressive turnarounds in sports history, finishing the season as 16-0 national champions. As we enter the 2026 season, the Hoosiers are once again among those with the best odds to win it all.
On this page, we’ll check out the odds for the 2026-27 season, as well as the history of the Playoff, some important storylines to keep aware of, and much more! SEC fans, be sure to check out our SEC Championship odds as well for 2026. ACC fans, do the same, with our ACC Championship odds.
Find yourself interested in any of the lines on this page? Check out some of our top offers for some of the best sportsbooks in the game below.
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2026-27 College Football Playoff Odds
The College Football Playoff futures market is one of the most popular college football futures among casual and serious bettors.
College Football Playoff odds reflect the likelihood of a college football team reaching the 12-team Playoff, updated weekly by major sportsbooks.
Here are the current odds on Sept. 2, 2026 according to Kalshi.
Click here to earn up to $350 in bonus bets with FanDuel Sportsbook after a $5 bet.
2026-27 College Football Playoff schedule
Here’s a quick look at the schedule for next season’s College Football Playoff:
- First Round (1 Game): December 18, 2026
- First Round (3 Games): December 19, 2026
- Quarterfinals (Fiesta Bowl): Wednesday, December 30, 2026:
- Quarterfinals (Cotton Bowl): Friday, January 1, 2027
- Quarterfinals (Peach Bowl): Friday, January 1, 2027
- Quarterfinals (Rose Bowl): Friday, January 1, 2027
- Semifinal Game (Orange Bowl): Thursday, January 14, 2027
- Semifinal Game (Sugar Bowl): Friday, January 15, 2027
- CFP National Championship Game: Monday, January 25, 2027
Early Contenders for 2026-27 title
Here’s a look at which teams are considered top contenders for the national title in 2026-27 (Odds to win the national championship via DraftKings as of September 4, 2026).
Notre Dame (+600)
Notre Dame is tied for the best odds to win the national title this season. The Fighting Irish also have the best current odds to reach the College Football Playoff. Obviously, there’s a correlation here.
The Irish do not play in a power conference and therefore have an easier path to the postseason than many other programs on this list like Ohio State, Texas and Georgia. Notre Dame’s toughest games this season include the following: at BYU, vs. Miami, vs. SMU and at North Carolina. An 11-1 record guarantees a spot in the postseason. A 10-2 record, because of Notre Dame’s contract with the CFP to be included in the case they rank inside the top 12, likely gets them there, too.
Outside the schedule, Notre Dame is an especially talented football team heading into the 2026 season. CJ Carr is back under center behind an experienced O-line, and there’s NFL talent all over the field on defense with Leonard Moore and LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa.
Ohio State (+600)
Come on. It’s Ohio State. The Buckeyes are in the conversation year in and year out, and this year is no exception.
Julian Sayin is back under center, throwing to an elite receiver corps that includes Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss and Chris Henry Jr. The offensive line is made up of 5 returners paving the way for Bo Jackson and Isaiah West in the run game.
Texas (+650)
Like Ohio State, Texas is positively stacked at every position on the field. Arch Manning, Cam Coleman, Trevor Goosby, Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown, Colin Simmons, Rasheem Biles, Jelani McDonald… again, this team is stacked.
The question is whether Steve Sarkisian and Co can finally break the door down and turn expectations into action. Can Arch Manning take that next step that the Longhorns require to truly compete for a title? An early test against Ohio State will show us if the Longhorns are ready to dance in 2026.
How to Legally Bet on the College Football Playoff
An increasing amount of states are offering legal sports betting, meaning that bettors in such states can wager on the 2024 College Football Playoff odds. Online sportsbook operators have launched in such states, giving prospective bettors a variety of ways to place legal and secure wagers on college football as well as other sports.
There are a few ways to bet on the College Football Playoff, including:
- Teams to make the expanded 12-team Playoff
- Team to win the championship (such as the odds you see on this page!)
- Semifinals and finals game odds (moneyline, point spread, game totals, team totals, etc.)
- Game and player props
Those looking for information on where to bet the College Football Playoff should know that the top online sportsbook operators consistently offer aggressive sign-up bonuses as well as betting promos and odds boosts for marquee events such as the CFP.
Here’s a brief rundown of each.
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook offers new players a Bet $5, Get $200 in bonus bets and consistently incentivizes both new and current players with a variety of odds boosts and profits boosts. DraftKings is an industry leader in terms of offering creative betting markets, including live in-game betting, player props, and game props.
States available: AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY
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FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel Sportsbook offers a Bet $5, Get $350 in bonus bets welcome bonus guaranteed. Of note, FanDuel Sportsbook excels at providing bettors odds boosts and unique parlay insurances that help mitigate the potential losses on big payout plays.
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BetMGM
BetMGM offers new players a similar promotion to the previous sportsbooks: Bet up to $1,500 and get your money back in bonus bets if you lose your first wager.
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College Football Playoff Odds History
Let’s take a look at the historical odds of past College Football Playoffs. Some notable mentions:
- The biggest preseason favorite to reach the CFP was the 2019 Clemson Tigers. Ahead of the 2019 season, Clemson had staggering -550 odds to reach to the semifinal round. Of course, Clemson rolled to a 13-0 start, beating Virginia in the ACC Championship Game to reach the four-team field.
- Conversely, Georgia, while not exactly known as a traditional underdog, was +825 to make the field ahead of the 2017 season. That Bulldogs team raced out to a 9-0 start before slipping up at Auburn. Georgia, however, would get revenge a few weeks later in the SEC Championship Game with a 28-7 win over the Tigers that punched their ticket to the CFP Semifinal Round.
- The Bulldogs’ incredible 2021 team was also an underdog to reach the CFP in the preseason, sitting at +660
Below, let’s explore the year-by-year history of College Football Playoff odds.
2025-26 College Football Playoff
Indiana football entered last season with +10000 odds to win the national title. That’s on par with teams like Missouri, Utah and SMU for the 2026 preseason.
The Hoosiers earned every bit of their title. Indiana started the postseason with a dominant 38-3 win over Alabama, followed by a 34-point win over Oregon in the Peach Bowl. Miami fought valiantly but became Indiana’s 16th and final win with a 27-21 national title victory.
- Ohio State (+500)
- Texas (+500)
- Georgia (+650)
Winner: Indiana
2024-25 College Football Playoff
Ohio State was far and away the best team in college football this year. For that, the 12-team Playoff did its job. The Buckeyes destroyed Tennessee and Oregon – and didn’t struggle too much with a really good Texas team. Notre Dame gave the Buckeyes a fight, but in the end that offense was just too difficult to overcome.
The Buckeyes had the 2nd best odds to win the title before the start of the 2024-25 season.
- Georgia: (+300)
- Ohio State (+325)
- Oregon (+700)
- Texas (+850)
Winner: Ohio State
2023-24 College Football Playoff
Michigan went through plenty of controversy in 2023, but it’s hard to argue the Wolverines were not the best team in college football. A deadly rushing attack mixed with strong QB play from JJ McCarthy and a stellar defense blitzed the way to a 15-0 record with wins over Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama and Washington.
The Wolverines had the 4th-best odds to win the title preseason, behind rival Ohio State.
- Georgia (+225)
- Alabama (+600)
- Ohio State (+600)
- Michigan (+1000)
Winner: Michigan
2022-23 College Football Playoff
Georgia was thought to regress in 2022 after a good chunk of its legendary 2021 defense was drafted to the NFL. Instead, the Bulldogs were stout across the board, winning their 2nd straight national title.
Their odds weren’t as low in 2022 as they were in 2021, but Georgia was still only the 3rd favorite to win the title.
- Alabama (+181)
- Ohio State (+304)
- Georgia (+380)
- Clemson (+1020)
Winner: Georgia
2021-22 College Football Playoff
Anyone who chose the Bulldogs as preseason favorites to win the title earned a solid payday come January. The Bulldogs’ 2021 defense was one of the best the sport has ever seen, and it earned Kirby Smart his first title as HC and Georgia’s first since 1980.
At +600 odds? Not half bad.
- Alabama (+250)
- Clemson (+460)
- Georgia (+600)
- Ohio State (+600)
Winner: Georgia
2020-21 College Football Playoff
After missing the CFP in 2019, Alabama reaffirmed its dominance in 2020 with a title game win over Ohio State for it’s 3rd CFP title.
The Tide weren’t preseason favorites to win the title, though. That honor went to Clemson:
- Clemson (+200)
- Alabama (+240)
- Georgia (+900)
- Ohio State (+1000)
Winner: Alabama
2019-20 College Football Playoff
Following a run of CFP appearances, oddsmakers juiced up the Tigers to a staggering -550 to make the field. Dabo Swinney’s team took care of business en route to an ACC Championship and CFP berth. The field included:
- Clemson (-55o)
- Oklahoma (+180)
- Ohio State (+230)
- LSU (+500)
Of course, the Tigers would go on to win it all–an outcome not many anticipated prior to the start of the season. Something else oddsmakers didn’t see coming was Alabama (-300) missing out on a playoff appearance.
Winner: LSU
2018-19 College Football Playoff
The 2018 College Football Playoff featured a pair of big-time favorites in Alabama and Clemson along with a pair underdogs that, well, frankly, we are classifying as such loosely in Oklahoma and Notre Dame. Their preseason odds to make the playoff:
- Alabama (-270)
- Clemson (-175)
- Oklahoma (+330)
- Notre Dame (+600)
Ohio State (+115) and Georgia (+180) were among the teams with the best preseason odds that failed to qualify.
Winner: Clemson
2017-18 College Football Playoff
The Crimson Tide entered 2017 as the overwhelming favorite to reach the playoff field at -230. They were joined by another top preseason favorite in Oklahoma and second-tier favorite Clemson. That season, it was. the Georgia Bulldogs that surprisingly crashed the party with +825 preseason odds. This year was a rare year in which a conference sent two teams to the playoff. The participants and odds included:
- Alabama (-230)
- Clemson (+550)
- Georgia (+825)
- Oklahoma (+260)
Winner: Alabama
2016-17 College Football Playoff
This was a year in which oddsmakers (mostly) nailed the field in the preseason. Three of the four teams (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State) were among the top four schools with the best preseason odds. Only Washington (+500) was a bit of a surprise to the party. Here’s how the participants’ preseason odds stacked up:
- Alabama (+125)
- Clemson (+155)
- Ohio State (+195)
- Washington (+500)
It was a bit of a surprise that the Baker Mayfield-led Sooners (+175) missed out on the field, but the 11-2 Sooners never recovered after losing two of their first three games.
Winner: Clemson
2015-16 College Football Playoff
The 2015 field was one of the rare years that featured multiple surprises. CFP staple Alabama was joined by Clemson, Michigan State and Oklahoma. In the cases of Clemson and Oklahoma, keep in mind that 2015 was a season in which not too many people saw championship upside in these schools.
- Alabama (+190)
- Clemson (+525)
- Michigan State (+550)
- Oklahoma (+800)
TCU was among the schools with the best preseason odds at +190, but the Horned Frogs fell short after a heartbreaking 30-29 loss to Oklahoma just before Thanksgiving.
Winner: Alabama
2014-15 College Football Playoff
The first year of the current format featured heavy preseason favorites such as Florida State, Alabama and Oregon as well as a Ohio State. The inaugural field:
- Alabama (-120)
- Florida State (-250)
- Ohio State (+500)
- Oregon (+125)
Winner: Ohio State
College Football Playoff Appearances by School
Clemson and Alabama each lead the way with 6 College Football Playoff appearances and 2 national titles. Georgia also joins the list with 2 Playoff titles. A look at the full list by schools.
College Football Playoff Appearances by Conference
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the SEC leads the way in terms of College Football Playoff appearances, wins, win percentage, qualifying teams and titles. Here is a look at CFP performance by conference.
College Football Playoff Odds History
Interesting notes from the history of College Football Playoff odds
- The biggest favorite ever going into a season to make the four-team Playoff field was Clemson in 2019 with -550 odds. Clemson did, in fact, make the Playoff that year.
- The most unlikely team to make the four-team field based on odds entering the season was Georgia with +825 odds in 2017.
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Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
