NCAA football betting: Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Ole Miss surging in national championship odds
While Alabama and Georgia have separated from the pack in the college football national championship odds at BetMGM, the volume of early-season upsets has caused plenty of odds movement elsewhere.
Alabama and Georgia, the teams currently topping the AP poll, are listed at +175 and +255, respectively. Next in line is No. 3 Oregon at +1200. The Ducks are 4-0 and have one of the biggest wins of the season, a 35-28 road upset over Ohio State.
Despite the loss, Ohio State hasn’t fallen too far behind the rest. Now ranked No. 11 with a 3-1 record, the Buckeyes are now listed at +1400 ahead of six undefeated teams: Oklahoma (+1600), Penn State (+2500), Notre Dame (+3000), Cincinnati (+4000), Ole Miss (+4000) and Iowa (+5000).
Oklahoma opened the year at +800 but has been struggling on offense. Penn State has two strong early wins over Wisconsin and Auburn. Notre Dame, up from +5000 last week, hasn’t exactly impressed, but is 4-0 heading into this weekend’s game against Cincinnati.
Speaking of Cincinnati, the Bearcats are now listed at +4000 after being +10000 last week. The Bearcats are coming off a bye week, but have a big chance for a CFP résumé boost with their much-anticipated trip to South Bend.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, gets to go on the road to square off with mighty Alabama. If the Rebels win in Tuscaloosa, we will see a massive jump both in the team’s ranking and national title odds. Ole Miss opened the year at +10000 to win it all.
Iowa also opened the year at +10000 and continues to win behind its stellar defense. The Hawkeyes, now listed at +5000, have a big test on Friday night with a trip to play undefeated Maryland.
What about Arkansas?
Arkansas has been one of the biggest surprises of the season so far. Now ranked No. 8, the Razorbacks upset Texas A&M on Saturday to improve to 4-0. Arkansas now has impressive wins over both A&M and Texas and is up to +6600 in the national title odds.
Why aren’t the Hogs further up the odds list? Well, Arkansas’ schedule is about to get even more difficult. The Razorbacks have back-to-back road games against No. 2 Georgia and No. 12 Ole Miss in the next two weeks. There are also still games against No. 22 Auburn, LSU and No. 1 Alabama on the schedule.
Arkansas opened the season with +10000 national championship odds.
Clemson, Texas A&M odds plummet
Clemson opened the year just behind Alabama among the national title favorites. The Crimson Tide opened at +300. Clemson was next at +350.
Four games and two losses later, the Tigers are all the way down at +8000.
Clemson lost 10-3 to Georgia in Week 1, but was still listed among the national title favorites as recently as last week (Clemson was +1000 last Monday). Since then, the offense has continued to struggle. Clemson needed a late defensive stop to beat Georgia Tech, 14-8. Over the weekend, Clemson lost on the road to NC State.
Clemson wasn’t the only team that saw a big drop in its national title odds. After the loss to Arkansas, Texas A&M fell from +3000 to +8000.
Updated national title odds via BetMGM
Alabama: +175 (no change)
Georgia: +225 (was +350 last week)
Oregon: +1200 (was +1800)
Ohio State: +1400 (was +1500)
Oklahoma: +1600 (was +1200)
Penn State: +2500 (was +3000)
Notre Dame: +3000 (was +5000)
Ole Miss: +4000 (was +6600)
Cincinnati: +4000 (was +10000)
Iowa: +5000 (no change)
Florida: +6600 (no change)
Arkansas: +6600 (was +10000)
Michigan: +6600 (no change)
Clemson: +8000 (Was +1000)
Texas A&M: +8000 (was +3000)
Texas: +8000 (was +6600)
Michigan State: +8000 (was +15000)
