2020 NCAA College Football National Championship Betting Odds and Preview

The 2020 College Football season is still about two months away with its scheduled opening on August 24, 2019. But as early as after Clemson beat Alabama in last season’s title game, the betting odds have already been released.

Alabama opened as the betting favorites but after revisiting the odds board six months later, the defending champions Clemson Tigers are the new odds-on-favorite to win CFP’s top prize this year.

Here are the odds to win the 2020 NCAA College Football championship. Odds were taken from Bet365 as of 6/26/19:

Who Are The Favorites?

Clemson opened the 2019 offseason with the second-best odds to win the 2020 CFP. But six months after the lines were first posted, the Tigers have supplanted Alabama as the football betting favorites.

The Tigers handed Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide a career-worst 16-44 loss. The Tigers’ 28-point rout broke Saban’s highest margin of defeat at Alabama which stood at 14. It was also Alabama’s first loss of more than 15 points in 12 years and the program’s worst loss since its 7-38 defeat at the 1998 Music Bowl loss to Virginia Tech. With Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence only entering his sophomore season, the defending champions Tigers are indeed the team to beat this coming season.

Alabama may have lost in last season’s National Championship Game and will also be missing several members of their coaching staff but that doesn’t mean that the Crimson Tide are no longer the cream of the crop in College Football. Nick Saban will be back and not retiring. The Crimson Tide has multiple 2018 All-Americans on both ends of the field, including Heisman Trophy finalist Tua Tagovailoa. With their recruiting class yielding commitments from the likes of Antonio Alfano, Evan Neal, and Trey Sanders, Alabama will be back with a vengeance this season.

Georgia is third in the odds board but when you look at the numbers, they aren’t in the same ballpark as Clemson and Alabama which means that Georgia may be a long shot to win next season. But remember that the Bulldogs have been very close ( a few plays ) to beating Alabama twice but could not finish the job. This year, Georgia is favored to represent the East in the SEC title game but it remains to be seen if they can do it this time around. With veteran holdovers, Jake Fromm, Andrew Thomas and De’Andre Swift leading the offense and their recruiting process dubbed as very productive,  the Bulldogs are still heavyweights.

Ohio State will be without Urban Meyer next season but that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Ryan Day has assembled a solid staff and the Buckeyes have been on fire in recruitment beginning with getting quarterback Justin Fields then securing commitments from 2020 top receiver Julian Fleming and linebacker Grant Toutant.

Oklahoma is in the same boat as Ohio State, at least as far as the current odds are concerned. Lincoln Riley has committed to the Sooners despite getting feelers from the NFL. Alabama grad transferee Jalen Hurts could become the third straight Heisman winner from Oklahoma. Five-star recruit and quarterback Spencer Rattler and a group of talented receivers give their offense a bright long-term future. On the sidelines, Riley hired Alex Grinch to fine-tune their defense, which has been the team’s Waterloo.

Michigan has some pieces which can cause excitement and there is new enthusiasm in the offense with the addition of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. The Wolverines have had some big recruiting classes under Jim Harbaugh but unless they turn the tide in their rivalry against Ohio State, nothing changes. With Urban Meyer gone though, things may change this year.

Who Wins?

It’s too early to tell but when you look at the odds board, it looks like next season’s CFP is going to be a two-team race between Clemson and Alabama. Of course, when you look at this matchup, you can’t look farther than last season’s title game where Clemson simply annihilated Alabama. It didn’t just look like an ordinary win for the title, it looked like a statement where the Tigers served notice that they are the new bullies of college football.

There are plenty of things to consider this year as with the previous years, with the new recruits and how the holdovers improve from the previous season. There are also coaching changes and transferees who could make a difference during the next season. But when you look at the current landscape, I think either Clemson or Alabama is going to win next season. If you press me to pick one, I’ll go with Alabama here. I still have faith in Nick Saban and I like Tagovailoa more than Lawrence. Prediction: Alabama

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