College Football National Championship Odds: Ohio State Favored While Alabama Tumbles

No. 1 Alabama’s stunning loss to unranked Vanderbilt sent shockwaves throughout college football. Unsurprisingly, the Crimson Tide's odds took a tumble while Ohio State entrenched itself as the current frontrunner.

The Buckeyes are +280 to win the title at DraftKings despite being No. 2 in the AP Top 25. They’re a perfect 5-0 and have won their first two games of Big Ten action in convincing fashion, downing Michigan State 38-7 and Iowa 35-7. Despite that, they received only nine first-place votes in the recent AP poll.

The new No. 1 team in the nation is the Texas Longhorns, who also have the second-best odds to win it all (+400). Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is expected back for this week’s Red River Rivalry game against No. 18 Oklahoma after missing the past two weeks with an oblique injury. Arch Manning held down the fort in his absence, but Ewers remains the clear QB1.

The team with the third-best odds is No. 5 Georgia at +500. Meanwhile, Alabama has the fourth-best odds at +650 after last week’s surprising loss. The upset also saw them drop to No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Oregon ranks third in the poll but has the fifth-best odds to win it all at +1000.

For those who forgot, the college playoff field is expanding to 12 teams this year. It'll be comprised of the five highest-ranked conference champions as well as the next seven highest-ranked teams. There’s no limit to how many teams from a single conference can qualify, nor is there any rule guaranteeing a bid for every single conference.

Jumping from four playoff teams to 12 drastically changes the number of teams with a legit chance to win it all, and the odds certainly reflect it. Here’s the latest look at where things stand.

College Football National Championship Odds

Odds according to DraftKings as of Oct. 7.