National Championship Odds: Betting favorites see shakeup after Week 2 of college football

We’re two to three games into the college football season with just over two weeks’ worth of games having been played since kickoff. That has already affected the postseason picture that we’ll see four months from now with updated odds of who will win the College Football Playoff.

Coming out of Week 2, BetMGM released updated odds of who will go on to win the national title in Miami come January 19th. That board featured plenty of parity with 26 teams at (+10000) or better to win it all in the playoff, with the Southeastern Conference leading the way with 11 teams, with half of the top-ten, while the Big Ten is then in second with six but with more in the top-five with three. The ACC then has four, the Big 12 has three all at (+8000), then there’s one apiece from the independents and from the Group of Five.

Here are the updated odds of which program will win the CFP per those over at BetMGM:

Ohio State Buckeyes (+525)

Ohio State, the defending national champions, have, despite all they lost over the offseason, just picked right up where they left off last year through two games. That’s with the Buckeyes winning 14-7 over Texas in a top-three playoff rematch to open the season before winning in a 70-0 shutout over Grambling State this past weekend.

As the top-ranked team in the country right now, Ohio State has one more game in the non-conference this weekend as a nearly five-score favorite over Ohio. Then, after a bye week, the Buckeyes will get several chances to further justify being the national title favorite at BetMGM once they open league play in the Big Ten.

Georgia Bulldogs (+600)

The next two teams on the list are similar in that they haven’t truly been tested yet and that they’re tied in second in these title odds at (+600). That starts with Georgia, who sits at 2-0 after a pair of blowouts between the hedges.

The Bulldogs haven’t been fully at their best yet with a 45-7 win over Marshall before their outing this past weekend in a 28-6 win over Austin Peay. That said, if they’re in need of a challenge, the ‘Dawgs will be getting one this weekend when they open conference play on the road against No. 15 Tennessee on Rocky Top, before then playing No. 19 Alabama two weeks later in Athens.

Penn State Nittany Lions (+600)

Again, similarly, Penn State is in a tie for the second-best title odds with UGA. That’s as the Nittany Lions also posted some fine results to this point in non-conference blowouts at 46-11 over Nevada and at 34-0 over FIU.

We won’t know much more about this team for another few weeks with a bye after this weekend’s game against Villanova. However, it’ll get real for Penn State right from the kickoff of conference play with Oregon coming to University Park at the end of the month.

Texas Longhorns (+700)

While still being one of the favorites in the country to win the national title, Texas has come out of their first two weeks with a few more questions than answers. Those have come from a 14-7 loss to Ohio State to open with in Columbus before coming back home to win at 38-7 over San José State.

Most of that obviously centers around the early play to this point of QB Arch Manning. Still, despite that, the Longhorns remain a playoff contender, with four more weeks to get right before their conference opener in The Swamp at the start of October.

Oregon Ducks (+900)

Considering they were the top overall seed and undefeated coming into the playoff last season, Oregon came into this season fairly quiet. That’s no longer the case in Eugene, though, based on what they did the past two weeks in Autzen Stadium

While a 59-13 win over Montana State was good, the Ducks announced themselves this past weekend with a 69-3 bludgeoning of Oklahoma State. That should remind everyone of what Oregon is capable of as a title contender as they open their league schedule first at Northwestern on Saturday.

LSU Tigers (+1000)

Coming in just outside of the top-five in the title odds is LSU, who had a quieter weekend after winning at Clemson the weekend prior. The Tigers opened with that 17-10 win on the road in a top-ten game before coming back to win at 23-7 over Louisiana Tech in Baton Rouge.

That win over Clemson did a lot for the early-season hype of LSU as a playoff contender. They could now add to that by opening conference play with a win this weekend over Florida in Death Valley.

Alabama Crimson Tide (+1500)

In a bit of a drop from there in the top-six is where we find Alabama, who are in a three-way tie at (+1500). We all know of the Crimson Tide’s opening upset loss to Florida State in Tallahassee, but the Crimson Tide did bounce back a few days ago with a 73-point shutout over UL Monroe.

These are still very favorable odds for a team in ‘Bama that looked as poorly as they did in their opener against FSU. The next few weeks should tell us whether they’re justified or not with a power opponent in Wisconsin coming to play them in the non-conference this weekend in Tuscaloosa before they open conference play, with a very difficult schedule, in the final week of September.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+1500)

Tied with the Tide at (+1500) is Notre Dame with just one result on their record so far. That’s with the Fighting Irish losing by three at 27-24 on the road at Miami two weeks ago.

At 0-1, Notre Dame has a smaller margin for error the rest of the way with their independent status. With that, the Irish’s odds could see a significant shift pending what happens this weekend in what’s a top-twenty matchup when No. 16 Texas A&M comes to play them in South Bend.

Clemson Tigers (+1500)

Also coming in as part of that three-way tie is Clemson. However, the Tigers find themselves here after what’s been a very disappointing two weeks for them with their 17-10 loss to LSU and a very near upset in a 27-16 victory over Troy this weekend.

Clemson has not looked like one of the title favorites many thought them to be since they opened their season up. They’ll need to figure that out as early as this week with the Tigers opening conference play on the road in a few days in Atlanta.

Ole Miss Rebels (+2500)

Rounding out the top-ten, in another three-way tie with Texas A&M and then Miami at further title odds at (+2500), is Ole Miss. To this point, the Rebels have been good through two games with a 63-7 blowout win over Georgia State before coming back to win their league opener at 30-23 over Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday.

The Rebs’ schedule won’t let up here, specifically with a four-game home stand the next five weeks in The Grove. So, if they can capitalize on that stretch in The ‘Sip, Ole Miss could see these odds improve even more when it comes to the playoff.

Texas A&M Aggies (+2500)
Miami Hurricanes (+2500)
South Carolina Gamecocks (+3000)
Auburn Tigers (+3500)
Oklahoma Sooners (+3500)
Michigan Wolverines (+5000)
Florida Gators (+5000)
USC Trojans (+5000)
Florida State Seminoles (+5000)
Tennessee Volunteers (+8000)
Louisville Cardinals (+8000)
Kansas Jayhawks (+8000)
Utah Utes (+8000)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (+8000)
Indiana Hoosiers (+10000)
Tulane Green Wave (+10000)