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National championship odds have been updated following the first round of the College Football Playoff.
National titles can be elusive, and after a first-round CFP whirlwind that saw all 4 home teams win and dominate, we are down to only 8 teams that can still raise that trophy on Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Notre Dame got things started with a vengeance on Friday night in South Bend, ending Indiana’s dream season. Then on Saturday, Penn State dismantled SMU, Texas literally ran over Clemson and Ohio State easily pushed aside Tennessee, in that order, to set the stage for the quarterfinals in a little over a week.
On New Year’s Eve, Penn State will face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Then on New Year’s Day, Texas will face Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, followed by Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
National Championship odds
With those 4 tasty showdowns coming up, the updated odds are already out on who has the best shot to be the last team left standing in the inaugural 12-team Playoff. Here they are, courtesy of FanDuel:
- Texas: +350
- Ohio State: +380
- Oregon: +400
- Penn State: +450
- Georgia: +500
- Notre Dame: +600
- Boise State: +6000
- Arizona State: +7000
States: MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, NC, AZ, CO, IA, WY, IL, IN, OH, MI, NY
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As for the individual quarterfinal matchups, Texas and Penn State are both double-digit favorites over their respective opponents according to the betting markets. The other 2 games are expected to be much closer, however. Ohio State and Georgia are slight favorites in their upcoming games against Oregon and Notre Dame, respectively, as of publication.
Based on these updated odds, the Playoff looks to be wide open, considering the top-seeded and only unbeaten team, Oregon, has just the 3rd-best odds. Also, Texas, with the best odds, is just the No. 5 seed, and Ohio State, with the 2nd-best odds to win it all, is the lowest remaining seed at No. 8.
Entering the weekend, Texas had the best odds to win the national championship at 19.7%, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
