College Football National Championship Odds 2025: Buckeyes Lead the Chasing Pack

And then there were four. 

With Notre Dame's win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, the college football playoff semi-finals are now set and we've got two exciting matchups on deck with the Fighting Irish taking on Penn State and Ohio State doing battle with Texas. 

The college football national championship odds still lean the way of the Ohio State Buckeyes, with Texas and Notre Dame slightly behind. 

College Football National Championship odds

College Football National Championship betting favorites

  Ohio State Buckeyes (+110 to +125)

The Ohio State Buckeyes have leaped to favorite status in the college football odds after following up a 42-17 trouncing of Tennessee in Round 1 with a similarly dominant victory over the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.

Will Howard went 17-for-26 for 319 yards and three touchdowns while Treveyon Henderson added 94 yards on eight carries for two scores of his own. The Buckeyes get another tough test (on paper, anyway) against Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10.

  Texas Longhorns (+275 to +375)

While the Texas Longhorns lost their first-round bye when they fell to Georgia in the SEC title game, they handled business in the 5/12 matchup, fending off a late Clemson run to win 38-24.

They have dropped to second in the overall odds, though, after winning a crazy double-overtime Peach Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Longhorns looked in control, carrying a 17-3 lead into halftime before ASU rallied to force overtime on a Cam Skattebo TD run late in the fourth.

Nevertheless, Texas ultimately prevailed — after a 1OT scare saw another Skattebo TD — and will hope to contain Ohio State after surrendering 510 total yards to the Sun Devils.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+375 to +522)

It wasn't pretty at times, but Notre Dame Fighting Irish benefitted from two Georgia fumbles and a kick-return TD to start the second half to secure the final spot in the college football playoff semi-finals. 

Riley Leonard was less than stellar, throwing for just 90 yards, on 15/24 passing, but did add 80 yards rushing on 14 attempts.

The star of the show was Notre Dame's suffocating defense, which limited the Bulldogs to just two third-down conversions on 12 attempts. 

Next up for the Irish is a date with Penn State in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. 

Penn State Nittany Lions (+400 to +500)

The Penn State Nittany Lions eliminated Boise State on New Year's Eve by thumping the Broncos 31-14. PSU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never really looked back.

The Nittany Lions will now face their toughest test yet, a natural site game vs. Notre Dame.

College Football National Championship lookahead lines

We may not know which teams will be playing on January 20 yet, but that hasn't stopped the oddsmakers at DraftKings from providing lookahead lines for four potential matchups. 

• Ohio State -6.5 vs. Notre Dame
• Ohio State -7 vs. Penn State
• Texas -2.5 vs. Notre Dame
• Texas -3 vs. Penn State

Lookahead lines are early betting odds released by sportsbooks for upcoming games, often before the current week’s events are finished, giving bettors a preview of expected team performances in future matchups.

College Football Playoff bracket

College Football National Championship predictions

With the field whittled down, Ohio State has emerged as the betting favorite (+125 at BetMGM), according to oddsmakers, giving the Buckeyes an implied probability of 44.44%. 

Douglas Farmer's College Football National Championship prediction: Ohio State

This was my bet in January at +650. This was my bet in August at +400. This remains my bet now. Ohio State has the best defense in the country, one so good its multiple NFL-caliber defensive linemen are somehow not the headliners. But coordinator Jim Knowles turned them loose to ruin Indiana’s unbeaten season, and that newfound aggression only raises the Buckeyes’ ceiling.

As their offense improves, despite worrying offensive line injuries, there is no weakness on this team. That cannot be said of anyone else in the country.

College Football National Championship odds over time

College Football National Championship betting splits

• Ohio State is the people's choice, gathering 12.6% of all tickets (first) and 15.9% of betting handle (first) to win the national title, per BetMGM. That makes the Buckeyes a huge liability for sportsbooks in 2024.
• Georgia is third in both ticket volume (9.6%) and handle (13%).
• Per Cameron Drucker, Senior Trader at BetMGM, “Oregon, Georgia and Texas are the favorites to win the College Football Playoff. We will be cheering for the chalk as all three of those teams are good results for the sportsbook.”

College Football Playoff odds

NCAA College Football Playoff odds are determined by professional oddsmakers at sportsbooks or betting sites. This year, the College Football Playoff bracket has expanded to 12 teams. The odds reflect the probability of a particular outcome and are set to attract balanced betting action on both sides of a wager. Here are some of the factors oddsmakers consider before releasing lines to the public:

Team performance: Oddsmakers assess the performance of the teams throughout the season, including their win-loss records and strength of schedule

Injuries: The status of key players, especially quarterbacks and other impact positions, can have a major impact on the odds.

Head-to-head matchups: The historical performance of teams against each other, as well as their most recent matchups, can influence the odds.

Public perception: Oddsmakers take into account public sentiment and betting patterns. If a popular team like Notre Dame or Ohio State is playing, odds may be adjusted to limit the sportsbook's risk.

Venue: The location of the game (neutral site or home-field advantage) can affect the odds.

Coaching: The reputation and experience of the coaches can play a big role in setting odds.

Once these factors are considered, oddsmakers set an initial line, known as the opening line. This line is adjusted based on betting activity to ensure the sportsbook has a balanced amount of money on both sides of the wager. If too much money is coming in on one side, the odds may be adjusted to encourage betting on the other side.

College Football National Championship history

Season	Team	Record	Rank
2023	Michigan Wolverines	15-0	1
2022	Georgia Bulldogs	15-0	1
2021	Georgia Bulldogs	14-1	3
2020	Alabama Crimson Tide	13-0	1
2019	LSU Tigers	15-0	1
2018	Clemson Tigers	15-0	2
2017	Alabama Crimson Tide	13-1	4
2016	Clemson Tigers	14-1	2
2015	Alabama Crimson Tide	14-1	2

College Football National Championship trends

• The CFP National Championship has been won by an SEC team in six of the last nine years. 
• An SEC team has played in the National Championship game in seven of the last eight years.
• The No. 1-ranked team has won just four of the last 10 National Championships.
• Only two teams outside of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC have made an appearance in the National Championship (2014 Oregon, 2023 Washington).

Understanding college football futures odds

Sportsbooks release college football futures odds as soon as the clock hits zero in the previous season's national championship game. There are many ways to wager on NCAA football futures but picking the outright winner of the national championship is definitely the most popular. During the offseason and preseason, you'll be able to get a plus-money price on basically any team in the nation as there is so much uncertainty around what will happen next year.

NCAA football championship odds will usually look like this:

• Alabama Crimson Tide +700

This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $700 if the Crimson Tide win the national title. If it's close to the end of the regular season and there is a particularly dominant program, you might see that a team is has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds. 

• Georgia Bulldogs -145

This means that if you bet on Georgia you would need to bet $145 to profit $100 if the Bulldogs won the championship.

Of course, futures odds are a fluid market. They can change every day based on news, injuries, suspensions, transfers, etc. In college football there generally isn't too much movement in the futures market during the offseason, but once the season begins, look for huge changes week-to-week based on wins and losses.

All the odds seen above are in American format. Should you find decimal format or fractional format easier to read, simply convert the odds using our simple odds converter tool.

College Football National Championship Odds FAQs

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