Mel Kiper Jr. explains why this season's title race is so important for Spencer Rattler and Oklahoma. (1:11).
It's not Alabama or Clemson. Mel Kiper has won it all! (1:11).
Alabama is the favorite for the U.S. national championship, and bettors flock to support the Crimson Tide.
At Caesars Sportsbook, Alabama is the favorite for the national title at +260. Clemson (+400), and Ohio State (+600) are close behind. Georgia and Oklahoma, each +750, complete the list of teams with single-digit chances to win this year's College Football Playoff.
Alabama has been among the top three preseason national championship favorites at sportsbooks for the last 11 years and has been the outright favorite at one point in every regular season since 2009, according to SportsOddsHistory.com.
Nick Saban's star power was lost by last season's national champion team that produced six first-round draft picks. ESPN's Bill Connelly reports that Alabama has lost 52% of its last season production, but the bettors remain unaffected.
BetRivers Sportsbook has Alabama as the favorite to win the national championship. The Crimson Tide has attracted six times as many bets as any other team. BetMGM, DraftKings and Bet365 have seen more money bet on Alabama winning the national title than any other team.
The Crimson Tide will open their season against Miami in Atlanta on Saturday. Alabama is an increasing 19.5-point favorite against the Hurricanes. The Crimson Tide is expected to be the favorite in an historic 81st consecutive match and 153 of the last154 games, which dates back to 2009. Alabama was last seen as an underdog in 2015 at Georgia. That game was won 38-10 by the Crimson Tide against the Bulldogs.
LSU, Iowa State, Texas A&M and Iowa State are each 40-1. They are the top three teams in the next tier below Caesars Sportsbook's national champion favorites. Each of Texas, Florida and Notre Dame are 50-1.
At 6-1, Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
