It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve already approached Week 6 of the NCAA college football season here in the month of October. What is easy to believe, however, is that the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide are still the top favorites to be in the National Championship. But what about the other two spots for the College Football Playoff?
Well, as far as Clemson is concerned, they’re currently the favorite to repeat as national champions at +180 odds, while Alabama are the runner-ups behind them at +260, according to online sportsbook Bovada. But as far as the other two spots, those appear to go to the Georgia Bulldogs in third place at +650, while the Ohio State Buckeyes take the final spot in fourth at +800.
Behind them in the hunt are:
The Clemson Tigers are still getting their respect from the oddsmakers, but they’re fortunate that their love didn’t take a hit after last weekend’s near defeat to the North Carolina Tar Heels. In a game that went all the way down to the last second, the Tigers would have to squeak out a 21-20 victory. Regardless, they still sit at the top at +180 odds.
A lot of pundits are calling for the Ohio State Buckeyes to have an increase in the odds, and they have a little bit going from +900 to +800 in a week, but here’s the problem with a sharp rise: Clemson, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and Georgia Bulldogs are ahead of them. Though I agree with most that Ohio State has been playing some outstanding football this year, don’t expect their stock to increase that much unless one of those teams lose, and I don’t see that happening for awhile. They’ve been dominant, but the Buckeyes are fine where they’re at.
Let’s go over the top favorites who are contending to be in the 2019-20 College Football Playoff and review their betting odds, and afterwards, I’ll be giving you my personal prediction (and long shot pick) for who my four schools are to be in the CFP at season’s end, at least where we stand right now heading into Week 6 of the NCAA college football season. After you read and get your advice from me, you can then place your bet(s) over at one of the top football betting sites.
The Clemson Tigers have been absolutely dominant this year, plucking off opponent after opponent on their schedule en route to a smooth… Well, that was the narrative until the Tigers went down to Chapel Hill last weekend to face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels, but we’ll get to that in a minute. To start out the season, things were great for Clemson, hammering the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for a flashy 52-14 win. The next week, the competition would be a little stiffer against the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies, but it would still be a pretty convincing win by the Tigers, 24-10. After that, Clemson would get back to blowout city, pounding the Syracuse Orange on the road to get the 41-6 victory. It would get even more distant the next game against the Charlotte 49ers, 52-10. And then, it happened. The Clemson Tigers would expose themselves a little bit, narrowly avoiding defeat with a 21-20 win. The Tigers would retain their undefeated status, as well as their position in the odds, but the win would expose Clemson’s vulnerabilities. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond here in the full grind of the ACC schedule.
In my opinion, the Alabama Crimson Tide are the best team in the country, not the Clemson Tigers. Alabama has been nothing short of magnificent, annihilating each opponent that they’ve played. Things would get started off against the Duke Blue Devils, who have became a solid football program over the years, but the Crimson Tide would roll over them with no mercy to deliver a 42-3 victory. After against the New Mexico State Aggies, the Tide would push the pedal to the medal a little harder, thrashing the Aggies, 62-10. The next week against the South Carolina Gamecocks, the defense didn’t necessarily give their greatest performance, but it was yet another flashy win by Bama by a 47-23 score. Bama’s defense would get back to business in their contest against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, however, blowing out Southern Miss to win, 49-7. Last weekend against the Ole Miss Rebels, the Crimson Tide’s defense would again show a little vulnerability, allowing the Rebels to put 31 points on them in a 59-31 victory. If you want to say I’m nitpicking, that’s a fair argument to make, but those two games against Mississippi and South Carolina are something to think about in regards to their defense.
At this point, I think the Georgia Bulldogs have earned their respect with most pundits and others in the college football community, but we all have the same question: Will this be the year that they finally beat Alabama? Well, they’ve surely been playing some excellent football to start out the season while on that mission. In the opening week, they would square off against the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road and would get a pretty convincing 30-6 win. Up next, they would step outside of the conference for a couple of small-school games, starting out with a 63-17 thrashing of the Murray State Racers. Afterwards, it would be the Arkansas State Red Wolves where Georgia would deliver a victory in shutout fashion, 55-0. In their most recent game back on September 21, the Bulldogs would face off in a primetime matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was what we all expected it to be, going down to the final second in a hotly-contested game, but Georgia would prevail with a 23-17 win. They’ve been playing some great football that will most likely see them in the College Football Playoff, but the question still remains: Can they finally get past Alabama?
The Ohio State Buckeyes have been flat out dominant this season. It’s kind of funny that most predictions had the Michigan Wolverines finally winning the Big 10 this season and Ohio State taking a step back — now look where we’re at, business as usual for the Buckeyes. Things would get started off against the Florida Atlantic Owls, and you could tell some rust was getting knocked off in a 45-21 win, because after that, Ohio State would really get rolling. They would take on their in-state rival Cincinnati Bearcats in their next game, and not only would they blow them out, but the Buckeyes would deliver a win in a shutout, 42-0. Afterwards, Ohio State would then take things on the road to face off against the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Buckeyes would explode for a 51-10 victory. Up next, it would be another in-state rival, this time in the form of the Miami (OH) RedHawks, and it wouldn’t just be your typical win. Instead, they would flat out embarrass the RedHawks, slaughtering them by a 76-5 decision. The following weekend, they would hop back in Big Ten action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and it was more beautiful football from Ohio State, 48-7. With or without Urban Meyer, it looks like OSU is poised for the Playoff.
Also playing some excellent football this season, the Oklahoma Sooners have been top-notch this season. Their first game was a little shaky, but they were still able to achieve a pretty convincing 49-31 points against the Houston Cougars. After that, the Sooners really meant business though, cleaning up their defense to go along with their potency on offense. That would prove itself when they would take on the South Dakota Coyotes the next week, hammering them with O and locking them down with the D en route to a power 70-14 win. Since then, Oklahoma has been rolling. After starting out the season 2-0, they would then take things out to Los Angeles to square off against the UCLA Bruins, and it was more domination from Sooners in the form of 48-14 blowout victory. The next week, the exact same thing, but worse: A 55-16 shellacking to Texas Tech. They play Kansas this weekend in a no contest, but the weekend after against No. 11 Texas, the Longhorns better watch out. The Sooners are locked and loaded and look ready to compete against any opposition.
Other than an absolute thriller against the Texas Longhorns, which was expected, the LSU Tigers have been flat out dominant against their other opposition to start out the season. Things would get started for them against the small-school Georgia Southern Eagles, and the Tigers would be a force to get an explosive 55-3 victory. The following week, LSU would then take things down to Austin for a road game against Texas, and boy, did they get everything they could handle from the Longhorns. In the end though, the Tigers were able to squeak out a 45-38 victory to prove that they can compete among the elite, and away from Baton Rouge at that. Afterwards, LSU would then get back to the small schools, this time taking on the Northwestern State Demons and smashing them for a 65-14 win. The Tigers would begin their SEC schedule in their most recent contest against the Vanderbilt Commodores, and it was a pretty flashy victory in the form of a 66-38 score. Yeah, LSU’s defense could have been a bit better, but no need to nitpick too much. At the end of the day, it was still a four-touchdown victory that resulted in them scoring 66 points. Great football from the Tigers to start things.
From one set of Tigers to another set of Tigers, but as you see, the odds start to massively drop on in this territory with Auburn. And the main reason for that is because, even though these Tigers are still undefeated, the wins haven’t been flashy as their counterpart in LSU. Starting out of the gate, Auburn would face off against the Oregon Ducks and would end up squeaking out a 27-21 thriller at home to get things off on a good note. After that, Auburn would then square off against a couple of small schools in the Tulane Green Wave and Kent State Golden Flashes. Starting out with the Green Wave, it wouldn’t be the most dominating performance, but they would still get the job done with a great job on defense, 24-6. Afterwards, that’s when Kent State would make their way to Auburn, Alabama, and the Tigers would give them an absolute thrashing in the form of a 55-16 score. The next week, Auburn would then be forced to get back to business taking on SEC-rival and 25th ranked Texas A&M Aggies, and on the road at that. Well, the Tigers would deliver, escaping College Station with a 28-20 win to stay undefeated. The next week, they would continue their SEC tour, but this time slaughtering Mississippi State by a 56-23 score. Some flashy play, but definitely room for improvement compared to the other hierarchy for the College Football Playoff.
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