There are some years in which the college football championship seems like it could go to any of the four teams in the College Football Playoff. This is not one of those years.
The Alabama Crimson Tide had its biggest scare of the season in the SEC Championship Game, but even after losing star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to injury, still rallied to knock off Georgia. It was a reminder of just how good this team is on both sides of the ball and why it is the heavy favorite to win the national championship. Alabama has been the team to beat from the start of the year and the projections have gotten stronger with every dominant win. The slight hiccup against Georgia could actually be helpful for those choosing Alabama because the odds of them winning the title have gotten a little worse.
The one team that may be able to give Alabama a run is the Clemson Tigers. Clemson went undefeated like Alabama in its schedule and has shown the ability to hang with the Crimson Tide in past years. Clemson did not have the toughest of schedules but its talent is awesome and a national championship game between these teams could be a good one.
In order to make it to the finals, Clemson will need to knock off Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish is the third undefeated team in the College Football but one bettors refuse to put on the same pedestal as the others. Notre Dame hasn’t been the same type of juggernaut and will be the underdog against the Tigers.
Alabama’s first game will be against the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma’s spot in the College Football Playoff was in limbo but it beat Texas to win the Big 12 Championship game and jumped past Ohio State and Georgia to sneak in. The Sooners have one of the most explosive offenses in the country behind quarterback Kyler Murray. Alabama has a dominant defense full of NFL-level talent so Murray will need to work hard to move the ball, but he is good enough to dice up the best of defenses.
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Odds Analysis
Alabama -228
Clemson +263
Oklahoma +1400
Notre Dame +1400
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Notre Dame is a longshot, and sometimes those can be tempting. However, the Fighting Irish stands little chance of winning their first game of the College Football Playoff, as Clemson is more talented on both sides of the ball. The Tigers are also not a great pick. The odds are too high for them to win the national title. Clemson figures to get there but an expected matchup with Alabama is not good news.
The focus on national championship picks should be on the other side of the bracket. Alabama is the clear favorite and will most likely come away with the title. However, at -228 there isn’t a bunch of upside there. The pick instead is Oklahoma.
The Sooners had one hiccup this year in their loss to Texas, and everyone is going to focus on their poor defense. However, college football is an offensive game and Oklahoma may be able to score enough to pull two unlikely upsets over Alabama and Clemson. The defense will bend but if it can force some turnovers and not break in the red zone, this could be the surprise champion.
Oklahoma certainly is an underdog, but the odds are screaming for action on this team. The Sooners were lucky to get into the College Football Playoff, but they will plan to make the most of it by pushing for the championship in NCAA football odds.
NCAA Football Picks: Oklahoma Sooners at +1400 to win the national championship
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