The Georgia Bulldogs are favored to win a third straight consecutive national championship this upcoming season. While the defending champs being a favorite shouldn’t come as a surprise, it actually kind of is. Historically surprising, actually. This is the first time in eight years that a team other than Alabama or Clemson has been the preseason favorite.
Yes, Alabama and Clemson’s long reign of (preseason) terror has come to an end. Georgia is currently sitting at +240 to win the College Football Playoffs. This is also history-making. The Bulldogs’ +240 line is the fifth-shortest odds for a preseason favorite in over 20 years, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They’re followed by Alabama (naturally) at +550, Ohio State at +800, and Michigan at +850. Clemson comes seventh on the list at +1800.
The Georgia Bulldogs will be entering the season with inexperienced junior quarterback Carson Beck taking the team’s snaps, so them being such a huge opening favorite is a bit of a surprise. This might explain why (smart?) money is coming in on several other teams with longer odds: LSU (+1000), USC (+1000), Michigan (+850), and Ohio State (+800).
“USC has just been getting hammered,” John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook, told ESPN.
In response, the Trojans’ odds have since moved from +1600 to the +1000 number currently attached to their name. However, some brave punters like a real longshot squad – the Deion Sanders’s led Colorado Buffaloes, who you can get in on at +50000.
