College Football championship odds, picks, predictions: Michigan, Georgia co-favorites

College Football

Updated Oct. 31, 2023 8:24 p.m. ET

The first College Football Playoff rankings are out, so fans and bettors are beginning to focus on the college football semifinals and championship game.

The two-time defending champion Georgia Bulldogs are in a tie for first with the Michigan Wolverines.

The teams come in as the co-favorites to win it all at +250 after the release of the initial CFP ranking of the 2023-24 season.

Zooming up the oddsboard are the sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks. The 7-1 Ducks moved past undefeated Washington (8-0) to fifth at +1400.

Oregon passed the fifth-ranked Huskies (+1700) despite losing to Washington 36-33 in Seattle on Oct. 14.

Also making a move are the No. 7 Texas Longhorns, who moved from +2200 to +1700.

Let’s take a look at the current odds of winning the national championship:

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS *

Georgia Bulldogs: +250 (bet $10 to win $35 total)

Michigan Wolverines: +250 (bet $10 to win $35 total)

Florida State Seminoles: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)

Ohio State Buckeyes: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)

Oregon Ducks: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)

Alabama Crimson Tide: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)

Washington Huskies: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)

Texas Longhorns: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)

Oklahoma Sooners: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)

LSU Tigers: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)

Penn State Nittany Lions: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: +20000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)

Louisville Cardinals: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)

Ole Miss Rebels: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)

* odds as of 10/31/2023

Editor’s Note: Expert’s picks made prior to the start of the season

Insight via FOX Sports Betting Analyst Geoff Schwartz:

College football has over 130 teams, with 69 of those teams in the Power 5 conferences. With the wide array of options for winning a college football title, it should be difficult to pick winners each season. Quite the opposite is true.

Thanks to Bud Elliott of 247Sports, we know only 16 teams have a chance to win the title this season. Bud developed the Blue-Chip ratio, a formula that looks at the number of blue-chip prospects on each team. “Put simply, to win the national championship, college football teams need to sign more four- and five-star recruits (AKA “Blue Chips”) than two- and three-star players over the previous four recruiting classes.”

Since 2011, every national champion has over 50% blue chips on the roster, with most exceeding 60%.

With that in mind, I’ll give you two teams who can win the title.

Georgia+215 (at time of pick)

There has not been a team that has won three straight college football championships since the players could fold their leather helmets into their back pockets after a game.

After two championships, the only thing holding back Georgia from winning a third straight would be apathy, which I doubt happens with new players all over the field, and a slight talent drain. Georgia’s defense was historically good in 2021 and slightly worse in 2022, and now its lost most of those players to the NFL.

Are the new crop of Georgia defenders as good? I’d guess they are, and we will see the same Georgia defense.

On offense, UGA must replace Todd Monkin at offensive coordinator and Stetson Bennett at quarterback. On paper, new QB Carson Beck is more talented than Bennett, which could give it an upgrade at the position after two straight titles. Georgia’s schedule is a cakewalk, and its toughest game will likely be the SEC Championship Game.

If the Bulldogs get there undefeated, they are in the playoff regardless of the result of that contest. As we saw in 2021, an SEC title game loss doesn’t mean much for the title run.

Georgia is the best team in the country, so why not?

Michigan +800 (at time of pick)

I could easily pick Alabama here and would feel awesome with that selection. However, I will take the Wolverines and pray they figure out how to win a game once the new year begins. Michigan’s Blue-Chip ratio is well below that of Georgia, Clemson or even Alabama, but it has a formula that wins games. It beats people up at the line of scrimmage and mostly does not make mistakes.

J.J. McCarthy is talented at quarterback, Blake Corum returns at running back, and the offensive line is loaded with talent.

While the veteran defense still needs to find that consistent pass rush it saw with Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the talent will be excellent again. I’m fine with sprinkling a few bucks on a team that made the playoff two years in a row.

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