Posted on December 08, 2019, by Travis Pulver
This time of year is both wonderful and depressing, and not because of the Holiday Season. No, it’s because college football’s Bowl Season is about to start, and we now know which four teams are in the college football playoffs.
But as great as that is, it also means the college football season is almost over, which is depressing. However, there is one thing, of course, that could ease the pain—money.
Putting money down on someone to win the national title and cashing in would be a great way to end the season. To that end, it may help to know who made it in and what the odds are.
With a dominant win over then-No 4. Georgia, LSU was an easy choice for the committee. While Ohio State had a poor first half against Wisconsin, they dominated the second to win the Big Ten title—which made their selection a no-brainer.
As could be expected, Clemson crushed Virginia in the ACC title game to lock down their spot. But with the loss to LSU, Georgia fell out of the top four. Oklahoma was more than happy to move up to No. 4 from No. 6. Utah had their shot, but losing the Pac-12 title to Oregon put an end to their national title dreams.
The only thing that may have been surprising to some was LSU moving back into the No. 1 slot. So, it’s LSU at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Clemson at No. 3, and Oklahoma at No. 4.
The Odds
According to DraftKings, their odds of winning the national title are as follows:
- LSU +120
- Clemson +200
- Ohio State +225
- Oklahoma +1200
In some cases, the odds have come a long way. Shortly after last season ended (January 31), Clemson’s odds were not too different then they are now (+175). But Ohio State (+750) and Oklahoma were considered more like fringe contenders (+1400). But LSU wasn’t really in the picture at +5000.
Ohio State’s got as high as +1800 early in the season, but then trended downward for the rest of the season. LSU’s fluctuated a lot during the offseason, but once the season got underway, they trended down.
Oklahoma’s jumped up to +1900 following their one loss and then got as high as +4000 at the end of the regular season following a few games where they won but didn’t play exceptionally well.
So—who’s going to win the college football playoffs?
The Games
LSU and Oklahoma will face off in the Peach Bowl on December 28. Clemson and Ohio State play in the Fiesta Bowl on the same night. As could be expected, the Tigers are heavy favorites over the Sooners (2. points). But it is a little surprising that Ohio State is the underdog to Clemson (by two points).
As for who will win, that will be discussed in-depth at a later date. But you kind of have to pull for LSU and Ohio State. Those two are arguably the best two teams in the country this season. So, it would only be right if they ended up facing off in the national title game.