If you’d viewed the preseason college football rankings in August and failed to pay attention in the ensuing four months, seeing Alabama at number one in the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee’s ranking, the same position that they occupied before play began in 2021, wouldn’t come as a surprise. However, what transpired in the 14 weeks of the college football season was anything but routine, despite the Crimson Tide ending up just where they started. Let’s have a look at our College Football recap from the conference championship matches so you continue betting against the NCAAF National Championship odds.
Updated 2021 College Football National Championship Odds
Alabama heads a quartet of teams that will face off in the CFP to determine the game’s latest national champion, making their seventh appearance in the eight years of the format’s existence. Georgia, who Alabama defeated last week 41-24 to win the SEC championship, is seeded third and will play in their second CFP, while second seeded and Big Ten champion Michigan and third seeded American Conference winner Cincinnati will be making their debuts in CFP play.
Michigan advanced to the CFP by virtue of defeating Ohio State 42-27 to capture the Big Ten East and then soundly defeating the West division champion Iowa by a score of 42-3 to finally win their first league title under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Cincinnati became the first Group of Five team to make it into the playoff by going undefeated at 13-0, including a critical 24-13 win over Notre Dame that ultimately catapulted the Bearcats into CFP consideration.
In the first semifinal game, Cincinnati will take on 12-1 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl Classic while Georgia and Michigan, who both completed their seasons at 12-1, will face off in the Orange Bowl. The winners of those contests will meet on Monday, January 10 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the national championship.
Odds to Win if All
At MyBookie, Alabama is the slight favorite with odds of -102 to give head coach Nick Saban his fourth national championship in the CFP era, seventh with the Crimson Tide and eighth overall. Georgia, the team Alabama beat in the SEC Championship game and the top team in the CFP rankings until their loss on Saturday, has odds of +115 to win their first national championship since Herschel Walker led them to a title following the 1980 season.
Michigan, which was able to rebound from a 37-33 loss to Michigan State during which they squandered a 30-14 third quarter lead, has odds of +600 to win their first national championship since the 1997 season in their first appearance in the CFP. At +1450, Cincinnati is the longshot in the field to defy all of their detractors and pull off one of the biggest upsets in college football history to crash the Power Five party and come away with an improbable title, the first ever for their football program.
Early Look at Semifinal Lines and Odds
The opening lines for the national semifinals have Alabama at -13.5 over Cincinnati with a total of 58, while Georgia is the favorite at -7.5 over Michigan with a total of 43.5 in the nightcap of the New Year’s Eve doubleheader. With the games still almost four weeks away, those lines could change, so keep checking back with MyBookie for the latest lines and odds.