College Football Playoff Odds: Preseason favorites for 12-team 2024 field revealed

College Football Playoff Odds for the 2024-25 season are live across many major sportsbooks around the country following Michigan’s title victory over Washington in January 2024.

The announcement in 2022 that the College Football Playoff would be expanding to 12 teams was met with mixed responses. Some argue that 4 is the perfect number and that putting teams that “don’t deserve it” in the running is counterintuitive. Others – those of us choosing joy – refuse to complain about the prospect of watching more postseason college football.

On this page, we’ll check out the odds for the 2024-25 season, as well as the history of the playoff, some important storylines to keep aware of and much more!

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2024-25 College Football Playoff Odds

The introduction of the College Football Playoff in 2014 pit 4 of the best teams in the country against each other for the national title, rather than 2 in the BCS. A college football “casual” would assume adding just 2 teams to the fray wouldn’t change much, but don’t say that to Cincinnati or TCU fans.

Or… Georgia fans? Three teams have won the national title while entering the CFP lower than a 2-seed: 2014-15 Ohio State (4), 2017-18 Alabama (4) and 2021-22 Georgia (3). Only four times has the national championship game been between the 1- and 2-seeds since 2014.

In short, the change was objectively not made in vain. These teams deserve and were worthy of their shot at the title. It also gives teams like Cincy and TCU a shot when, let’s face it, they never would have with a 2-team playoff, even going undefeated in the regular season as both squads did.

Perhaps similar results will come from adding 8 more teams to the mix in 2024-25 and beyond. Below are the teams with the best odds to win the 2024-25 national title as of January 2024:

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Can Michigan go back-to-back?

As you can see above, the odds are not in their favor as of early January.

There are several reasons for this, of course. For one, the Big Ten is getting tougher with the additions of USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon (Michigan faces all but UCLA next season) with already tough matchups schedule against Texas and Ohio State. No more bashing the Wolverines’ schedule, folks!

Another variable is HC Jim Harbaugh, who has interviewed with a few different NFL franchises already since winning the title in early January. If Harbaugh goes, so do plenty of players, recruits and assistants. Just look at what happened to Alabama after the departure of Nick Saban.

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If Not, Who Will Knock Off Michigan’s Crown?

Here’s a look at which teams are considered top contenders for the national title in 2024 (Updated as of Jan. 23, 2024).

Georgia (+340)

With Nick Saban gone, Kirby Smart is now unequivocally top Dawg in the SEC.

The Bulldogs may have lost in the SEC title game to Alabama, but Georgia is still Georgia; winner of 2 of the last 3 national title games. Smart is still recruiting at a high level and returns a lot on the offensive line, QB Carson Beck and a strong receiver group with Florida transfer Trevor Etienne in the backfield.

There’s plenty to replace on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s ill-advised to doubt Smart’s ability to build that unit into another world-beater yet again.

Ohio State (+530)

Ohio State had a strong showing in the transfer portal this offseason, landing Alabama’s 5-star Julian Sayin, star CB Caleb Downs, Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins and former Kansas State QB Will Howard, among others.

Kyle McCord had a good, not elite season for the Buckeyes last year, and inconsistency on offense ultimately doomed them in their battle for the B1G against Michigan. Some young talent in coming at

Texas (+810)

The Longhorns’ schedule is about to get much tougher, sure, but Texas is on the up and up. That much was apparent with their CFP berth in 2023-24.

Both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning will be back, as well as much of the offensive line. There are some question marks on the defensive side but Texas is absolutely a name to watch entering the first year of a 12-team playoff.

Oregon (+1050)

Another conference newcomer!

Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore alleviate Bo Nix’s departure from Eugene, and the Ducks also added standout DB Kobe Savage out of Kansas State. Oregon’s schedule will be tough, but the Ducks are immediate contenders to win the B1G in Year 1 under Dan Lanning.

The Rest of the Field

Alabama (+980) – Out goes the greatest coach the game has ever seen, in comes Kalen DeBoer, who has an impressive resume as the guy that can take make a solid attempt at filling his shoes. But Alabama doesn’t need Kalen DeBoer to be Nick Saban.

Alabama needs Kalen DeBoer to replicate the success he had in the Pac-12 to the much tougher SEC. The Tide have resources and he’ll likely have no issue recruiting for the first few seasons. But the first few seasons are crucial, and it’s unlikely the Tide fall off the map entirely. Even if a good chunk of the projected returners and several incoming recruits hit the transfer portal following Saban’s announcement.

Ole Miss (+1217) – There is perhaps no program in the country that saw as impressive a transfer haul as Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. Sure, you lose Quinshon Judkins and Cedric Johnson, but incoming are former Texas A&M DL Walter Nolen, former Florida DE Princely Umanmeilen, South Carolina WR Juice Wells and Arkansas LB Chris Paul Jr.

Add that to the fact that QB Jaxson Dart is running it back for another season in Oxford and Kiffin may just have his best Rebels team yet.

Florida State (+1300) – Florida State is pissed off.

Everyone has heard about the Seminoles finishing the regular season undefeated and still missing the CFP. They have a long climb ahead of them, but are set to be a top unit in the ACC once again with DJ Uiagalelei, Georgia LB Marvin Jones Jr. and standout freshman CB Charles Lester incoming.

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.

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FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook offers a Bet $5, Get $150 in bonus bets welcome bonus. 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

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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.

Year	Winner	Preseason odds to reach CFP
2014	Ohio State	+500
2015	Alabama	+190
2016	Clemson	+155
2017	Alabama	-230
2018	Clemson	-175
2019	LSU	+500
2020	Alabama	+240
2021	Georgia	+600
2022	Georgia	+380
2023	Michigan	+105

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.

School	Appearances	Championships
Alabama	8	3
Clemson	6	2
Oklahoma	4	0
Ohio State	5	1
Notre Dame	2	0
LSU	1	1
Oregon	1	0
Georgia	3	2
Michigan	3	1
Michigan State	1	0
Washington	2	0
Florida State	1	0
Cincinnati	1	0
TCU	1	0
Texas	1	0

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.

Conference	Appearances	Record	Percentage	Championships	Qualifiers
SEC	12	13-6	.684	5	3
ACC	8	6-6	.500	2	2
Big Ten	9	5-6	.454	2	3
Big 12	6	2-6	.250	0	2
Pac-12	3	2-3	.400	0	3
Independents	1	0-1	.000	0	1

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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