Sportsbooks Stand to Lose Big If These CFB Teams Win It All

Over the course of the past 16 college football seasons, the national champion has come from the SEC 12 times. That includes each of the past three seasons. If one of the two top favorites – Georgia or Alabama – wins the College Football Playoff at the end of this season, it would make four straight for what is considered the sport’s most dominant conference. 

Georgia, the reigning national champion, is listed at +175 at sportsbooks after starting the 2022 season 4-0. The Bulldogs, who lost five members of their top-ranked defense to the first round of the NFL draft, have allowed just 32 points so far this season. Head coach Kirby Smart’s team did look lethargic, however, in last week’s 39-22 win over Group of 5 Kent State. 

Bettors have not jumped all over the Bulldogs to repeat. In fact, Georgia has 11.1 percent of the tickets and 10.3 percent of the handle in the national championship futures market. It’s not just the performance against Kent State. Georgia lost a ton of talent. Plus, the likelihood of a repeat champion is not high. Alabama was the last to do it – 2011-12.

Speaking of the Crimson Tide, they check in at +200 on the national championship betting board. Head coach Nick Saban’s team is also 4-0 and Saban’s defense has allowed only 29 points. QB Bryce Young is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and LB Will Anderson could be the first pick in next year’s NFL draft. 

Those are a few of the reasons why Alabama bettors hold the most tickets – 16.9 percent – to win the CFP. A full 25.7 percent of the betting handle is on the Crimson Tide as well, but that number is not the highest. Another college football power has commanded the most money in this market and it’s not Utah State.

Wait…what? The Aggies are currently listed at +30000 to win this year’s CFP. Utah State actually returned a ton of starters, including QB Logan Bonner, and had a number of high quality transfers. Somehow, the Aggies commanded a number of $1,000 bets to win the CFP over the summer. Don’t worry though. Utah State, which is off to an ugly 1-4 start, has only 0.3 percent of the tickets and 0.1 percent of the handle.

Ohio State is a different story. If there’s one team that sportsbooks do not want to win this year’s College Football Playoff national championship, it’s the Buckeyes. When the market opened with Georgia and Alabama at the top, Ohio State was listed between +600 and +800 at most sportsbooks. 

The Buckeyes return QB C.J. Stroud, who is the Heisman Trophy betting favorite at +150 right now, plus a host of talent on both sides of the football. It has shown so far in 2022. Ohio State is 4-0 and is averaging nearly 50 points per game. 

Ohio State has 15.2 percent of the CFP tickets (No. 2 overall), but has 26.9 percent of the handle. That means there is some serious sharp money on the Buckeyes. Ohio State is currently listed at +300, but many of the bets on the Buckeyes came in when they were at +600 or higher. That is why sportsbooks cringe at the thought of an Ohio State championship.