2021 National Championship Odds: Clemson Holds Edge Over Ohio State

The No. 1 Clemson Tigers made a bit of a jump in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship odds (+230 down to +180) this week after scoring a decisive 42-17 triumph over the then-No. 7 Miami Hurricanes in Week 6.

While Clemson pulled further away from the field atop the oddsboard, Florida plummeted (+1400 to +2200) in the College Football Playoff odds following its narrow 41-38 defeat to No. 21 Texas A&M.

Online sportsbook Bovada has released the 2020-21 national championship odds and has listed Clemson as the +180 favorite, followed by Ohio State at +250, Alabama at +350, Georgia at +900 and Florida at +2200 to round out the top five on the oddsboard.

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2020-21 College Football National Championship Odds

Odds as of October 13 at Bovada

New to the college football scene? Check out our handy college football betting guide to help you get in the action. Also, keep an eye on our College Football Odds page for the latest up-to-date betting lines.

Clemson Continues To Roll

It has been a relatively stress-free start to the 2020 campaign for Clemson as it has jumped out to 4-0, outscoring opponents 169-53. The Tigers knocked off the first of two ranked opponents on their schedule, topping then-No. 7 Miami 42-17 last week.

Trevor Lawrence, the Heisman Trophy hopeful and projected first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has gotten off to a red-hot start. The junior QB has completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 1,140 yards with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. 

The next true test for Clemson will come at No. 4 Notre Dame on November 7. Assuming the Tigers take care of the Fighting Irish, they will carry the No. 1 seed into the College Football Playoff and thus have the shortest college football national championship odds.

Ohio State Instantly Climbs To No. 2

With the Big Ten announcing on September 16 that play would resume again in late October, Ohio State (+250) is immediately worth a wager, despite having less time and fewer games to prepare for a playoff appearance. 

Similar to Clemson, Ohio State returns its starting QB, Justin Fields, who was a 2019 Heisman Trophy nominee and finished the season with an impressive 41-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Additionally, the Buckeyes had the fourth-best recruiting class for the 2020-21 season, including bringing in the top-ranked wide receiver in Julian Fleming and the top-ranked offensive lineman, Paris Johnson Jr. Fields will have weapons all around him and this OSU team should be one to watch when they hit the field.

Biggest Risers After Week 6

Texas A&M +10000 to +5000

There was a lot of love for the Florida Gators in the early stages of the season as the team from The Swamp entered Week 5 ranked No. 4 in the AP poll. That didn’t bother head coach Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies squad, which hosted the Gators and sent them packing with a 41-38 defeat. With that, Florida fell from No. 4 to No. 10 in the polls, while Texas A&M went from No. 21 to No. 11 and its odds followed suit.

Georgia +1400 to +900

With Florida losing, it gave No. 3 Georgia some breathing room in the SEC and with a second straight win over a ranked team (beating then-No. 14 Tennessee 44-21) the Bulldogs are worthy of being fourth on the oddsboard. The defense has been extremely stingy through three games, giving up a combined 37 points.

It is very possible that we see Georgia among the biggest risers this week and among the biggest fallers next week as the Bulldogs head to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 2 Alabama in what will be their toughest test of the season. That said, if the Bulldogs can knock off the Crimson Tide, they may end up in the biggest risers category once again as they would surely shoot up the national championship oddsboard.

Biggest Fallers In Week 6

Miami +6000 to +15000

After jumping out to a 3-0 start, beating a ranked team on the road and outscoring opponents 130-58, Miami ran into a brick wall in its fourth game at No. 1 Clemson. The Hurricanes fell six spots in the rankings from No. 7 to No. 13 and face a huge uphill battle if they want to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

I don’t want to say they are dead in the water because they could run the table, ending with a win at home over No. 5 North Carolina. If any of the other top contenders falter, there may be an opening.

Texas +8000 to +15000

The Big 12 has been an absolute slugfest thus far in the college football season, with only three teams – Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State – holding perfect conference records, and only Oklahoma State holding a perfect overall record. That’s not exactly the teams you would expect; in fact, Oklahoma and Texas both have 1-2 losing records within the Big 12.

The Longhorns suffered their first loss of the season two weeks ago in a narrow 33-31 defeat against TCU and followed that up with a 53-45 overtime loss to Oklahoma this past week. With two losses on its record and a quick glance at its remaining schedule, it’s hard to see a path for Texas to make the College Football Playoff.

Pac-12 Commits To Shortened Season

After the Big Ten announced it was reversing its stance on the cancellation of its football season, the Pac-12 was the lone Power 5 conference that was holding out. 

Well, on September 24, the conference announced it would begin a shortened seven-game season on November 6. This is welcome news for Oregon, which is likely to be the Pac-12 favorite and could become the first Pac-12 team since 2017 to make a College Football Playoff appearance.

The Ducks have the shortest – albeit quite long – odds among Pac-12 teams to win the national championship (+10000). The Ducks sit 12th in the AP rankings, but they will be playing a shortened six-game season, which I don’t think will be enough to earn a CFP spot even if they run the table.

What is a Futures Bet for NCAA Football Teams?

When it comes to big events for any sport, you can bet months in advance. In this case, a futures bet is a wager made on which team will win the national championship. Each week, oddsmakers will update the odds to reflect how a squad is doing. If a team is plagued with injuries, their chances of making it to the NCAA football final game slim down. A surging squad will see their odds skyrocket.

Understanding College Football Championship Odds

When you go to a college football sportsbook, you’ll see the betting lines laid out like this:

Unlike a traditional straight-up bet where there’s a clear favorite marked by the minus sign (-), ‘Bama is the fave since they have the lowest odds. The rest are considered underdogs.

If you believe that LSU has the greatest odds of winning the championship, and you bet $50 on them, you’d get a payout of $275 – your original $50 is returned along with your winnings of $225. On the other hand, if you’re looking at Georgia and think they’re going to turn it around and win it all, that same $50 would give you $750 – you get your $50 back, plus your prize of $700. Our odds calculating tool will show you how much you’d win based on the odds and amount bet.

When you see futures odds that you like, it’s best to jump on them early. As mentioned above, betting sites will adjust the odds as we get closer to bowl season and teams move up and down in the standings.