College Football National Championship Week 6 Update
As we head into Week 6, the talk regarding who will be this year’s National Champion heats up.
We saw some interesting things in Week 5 that changed a few people’s minds. Alabama has jumped Clemson into the No. 1 spot in both the AP and Coaches Poll. But there is still a whole slew of unbeaten teams. So who will end up in the college football playoffs? Let’s start looking at the latest NCAAF odds on the national title.
Alabama +260
The Crimson Tide are now No. 1, but they are still No. 2 on the Las Vegas odds boards. Perhaps oddsmakers see another Clemson-Bama clash coming and they like the match-up for Clemson just a hair more.
Bama gets their bye in Week 6 so we won’t get to see them in action against any tough teams until they play the No. 25 Teas A&M Aggies next week. But if what we saw in Week 5 was any indicator, the Tide is the real deal. Their offense dismantled the Ole Miss Rebels defense. And the score is misleading because Ole Miss only scored late because the entire second-team Bama defense was on the field to get some playing time.
Clemson +180
Clemson still has the highest probability of winning the national championship according to the odds. The implied probability works out to the Tigers having a 35.7% chance at winning. Alabama’s odds put them at 27.8%.
Clemson also gets a bye this week which is a good thing for them, after their performance against North Carolina. They have an extra week to drill and drill and drill. Their Week 7 matchup is quite a bit weaker than Alabama’s, as they take on a struggling Noles squad. Needless to say, their schedule isn’t nearly as tough as Alabama’s. They get Louisville after FSU and their hardest game is probably SC. Meanwhile, Bama gets No. 25 A&M, No. 5 LSU, and No. 7 Auburn. So, it will be interesting to see how the rankings work out, especially if Clemson doesn’t absolutely dominate the rest of their schedule.
Georgia +600
The Bulldogs are once again a tough team and perennial playoff contender. They proved their mettle against a strong Notre Dame team last week and face a resurgent Tennesee team this week. They have a tough schedule, with A&M, and unbeaten Florida and Auburn all in the mix. If any of these top for teams take a regular-season loss, it would probably be the Bulldogs, which could open the door for a team like LSU or Auburn – if Auburn beats Florida.
Ohio State +800
Most of us expected more of a battle when the Buckeyes went into Lincoln. But they simply rolled over Nebraska like a combine reaping the cornfields and tore them up. They are averaging 52 points per game which is why they are 20-point favorites over Michigan State, who are ranked at No. 25 on the Coaches Polls. But the real story of this new Buckeyes squad is their swarming defense that allows just 9 points per game, good enough for the No. 3 defense in the country. Given the 8 to 1 odds. OSU needs some serious consideration for a national title bid. They’ve steamrolled everyone they’ve come up against so far.
Like Bama, they have a pretty tough schedule as well. They Still have No. 25 Sparty, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 12 Penn State, and No. 19 Michigan on their schedule. To close the season, they have to go into Harbaugh’s Wolverine land, which won’t be easy.
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