After a disappointing first half, Georgia is now the favorite to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The undefeated, top-ranked Bulldogs swept past Alabama this week. They are now the favorites to win U.S. Sportsbooks' national championship. At Caesars Sportsbook, Georgia is 7-5 and Alabama is 2-1. Next is Ohio State at 9-1, followed closely by Oklahoma (14-1), Iowa (20-1), Cincinnati (30-1), and Michigan (30-1).
After beating Auburn, the Bulldogs climbed to 25th in the AP Top 25. Georgia will host unbeaten Kentucky Saturday. The Bulldogs were 22-point favorites against the Wildcats in opening play.
Although the Crimson Tide was the favorite since the start of the season, they lost their lead after Texas A&M beat them by 19 points on Saturday. Alabama's defeat at Texas A&M was Nick Saban’s second-largest upset in his coaching career. In 2007, Saban's first season as Alabama coach, the Crimson Tide was 24.5-point favorites against Louisiana-Monroe.
Sportsbooks were happy with Alabama's defeat. According to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, Texas A&M's win over the Crimson Tide was its largest win in college football season. Craig Mucklow, Caesars Sportsbook vice-president of trading, said that A&M's win over Alabama on Saturday resulted in multimillion-dollar trades in favor of Caesars. A $569,738.60 parlay between three teams on the Crimson Tide, which included Ohio State (-1600), Cincinnati (-7700) and Alabama (-11,000), was one of the most popular bets. Caesars reported that this was the biggest college football wager of the season. It would have netted $105,656.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Crimson Tide was the 40th-ranked team to lose this season. This is the most losses in six weeks of the history of the AP Poll. Some long shots may be in the mix if the upsets continue. Oregon is 50-1 to win Caesars's national title. Penn State is 80-1 and Michigan State is 60-1.
