It was a big weekend for the teams at the top of the college football landscape. Alabama pulled away from Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Clemson defeated in-state foe South Carolina. And Notre Dame survived a scare against rival USC.
With the College Football Playoff looming, those three unbeaten teams are currently the cream of the crop. But the fourth spot is up for grabs, and even those three juggernauts aren’t locks.
Georgia and Oklahoma, in particular, have a good shot of qualifying for the four-team tournament. Ohio State, which crushed Michigan, and Central Florida are other one-loss teams with a prayer.
As pundits speculate about who will get in and who will be left out, online sportsbook BetDSI has released odds on which teams will qualify for this year’s College Football Playoff.
Could Ohio State Squeak In?
The BetDSI experts are predicting Ohio State will get in, but Oklahoma will be left out. This is all contingent, of course, on how the teams perform this weekend. Ohio State plays No. 19 Northwestern, and Oklahoma plays longtime rival No. 14 Texas.
BetDSI’s odds also suggest that, with wins, Alabama and Clemson will get in. Presumably, Notre Dame will fill the other spot. Alabama (-250) has the best odds to win it all. Clemson (+350) clocks in at second, while the Buckeyes (+1100) and the Fighting Irish (+1200) round out the top four.
Related: College Football Betting Guide
Ohio State has had a tough season amid the distraction of the Zach Smith/Urban Meyer situation. Purdue spanked the Buckeyes, 49-20, in late October. But that was the team’s only real slip-up to date, and Meyer’s team remains active in the CFP hunt.
Heisman hopeful Kyler Murray, who transferred from Texas A&M, leads the Sooners. He’s passed for 3,674 yards and 37 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions. With a 206.8 quarterback rating, Murray has filled Baker Mayfield’s shoes admirably.
Oklahoma will have a big challenge against Texas, which has experienced a resurgence under Tom Herman. The Longhorns, fresh off a win over Big 12 foe Kansas, will look to play spoiler. Oklahoma’s tough matchup likely factors into the Sooners having slimmer odds than the Buckeyes.
As for UCF? BetDSI doesn’t give the Knights, who lost quarterback McKenzie Milton this weekend, much of a chance. They’re a massive longshot (at +4000) to be the first non-Power 5 team to qualify for the CFP.
Full Odds
Will Oklahoma qualify for the 2018-19 College Football Playoff?
Yes +130
No -170
Will Ohio State qualify for the 2018-19 College Football Playoff?
Yes -140
No +110
Will Georgia qualify for the 2018-19 College Football Playoff?
Yes +350
No -550
Will Texas qualify for the 2018-19 College Football Playoff?
Yes +2500
No -6500
Will Central Florida qualify for the 2018-19 College Football Playoff?
Yes +4000
No -10000
Odds to win 2018-19 College Football Playoff
Alabama -250
Clemson +350
Ohio State +1100
Notre Dame +1200
Georgia +1400
Oklahoma +2500
Conference Championship Game Odds Facts
– Ohio State’s spread (-14) versus Northwestern marks the first double-digit spread in the history of the Big Ten Championship. The underdog has won four of the last six Big Ten Championship games.
– Clemson (-26.5 vs. Pittsburgh) is the second largest favorite in ACC Championship game history. The biggest spread was Florida State (-30) against Duke in 2013.
– Alabama’s 13-point spread versus Georgia is the smallest spread the Crimson Tide have been assigned all year. The -14 at LSU was the only other time they were fewer than 21-point favorites this season..
– The SEC Championship marks the 52nd straight game in which Alabama has been favored, the longest streak in the nation. In those 52 games, the Crimson Tide will have been favored by double digits 42 times.
– Alabama has been a double-digit favorite in 22 of its last 23 regular season games. Alabama was favored in 72 straight games before its lone game as an underdog, so the Tide have now been favored in 124 of their last 125 games.
– The over/under of 78 in the Big 12 Championship game is the highest in the history of the Red River Rivalry (since totals became widely available in 1998). The previous high was 72.5 in 2016.
– The Longhorns (+7.5 vs. Oklahoma) are underdogs for the seventh straight time in this series. Texas is 6-0 against the spread in the prior six games against the Sooners.
– UCF is favored by a field goal (opened -4.5) against Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship, which is the smallest spread the Knights have incurred all season.
