By Only Players staff
Updated 11/20/23 12:40pm ET
For the first time since the 2014 inaugural season of the College Football Playoff, the sport has five schools with single-digit championship odds.
Following its dominating win over #10 Tennessee, top-ranked Georgia surpassed Michigan as the +230 betting favorite at FanDuel, and the Wolverines are now +280. The odds of Ohio State (+500), Oregon (+650) and Alabama (+750) suggest they are all very much in the title picture.
It’s been nearly a decade since college football last saw such parity this late in the season. After 12 weeks in 2014, six schools held odds of +800 or shorter, according to SportsOddsHistory.com.
For additional context, eventual champ Georgia was an odds-on favorite (less than even money) at this juncture each of the past two years. In fact, not since 2017 have we seen four teams with odds of +800 or shorter through 12 weeks.
Upcoming games will sort out some of the logjam. Third-ranked Michigan hosts #2 Ohio State this weekend as 3.5-point favorites. The loser is likely eliminated from the CFP.
Sixth-ranked Oregon hosts Oregon State as 14-point favorites on Friday. If the Ducks win, they will face #5 Washington in the Pac-12 title game. The winner is probably headed to the playoff, while the loser would be denied by the committee.
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