Four Team Expert Picks to Make the 2018 College Football Playoff

Updated 2017 College Football Playoff Title Odds

Written by on May 31, 2016

With basketball and hockey drawing to a close, sports fans who do not love baseball are in for a long, barren summer. Just because there isn’t any action to watch doesn’t mean we can’t spend all sorts of time talking about the sports we do love. The college football season is now just a mere 3 months away, which means it’s time to blow the dust off the NCAA crystal ball and take a look at some teams that might well be hoisting the championship trophy in the early part of 2017. The College Football Playoffs have proven to be a huge success, and there are already calls for it to be expanded, sooner rather than later. That’s not likely to happen anytime soon, though, which means we are looking at 4 spots to be filled come the end of the regular season. Let’s take a look at the most current NCAA football odds to see which teams are sitting at the top of the pack right now in the eyes of the bookies.

A Closer Look at the Updated 2017 College Football Playoff Title Odds

Alabama Crimson Tide (+700)

It’s hard to bet against the current champion, and the team that has won it all 4 times in the Nick Saban era. Every year sees the Crimson Tide lose a host of starters to the NFL draft, but great recruiting makes it easy for them to reload and be ready for another run at the title. As always seems to be the case, the big question mark for Alabama is at the QB position. They are loaded in just about every other position, but that QB spot looks bleak, at least until the season starts and Saban finds a way to get his team to win every week in spite of any weaknesses.

Clemson Tigers (+700)

Clemson had their best season in the history of the school last year, but fell at the final hurdle, losing in the Championship Game to Alabama. The future certainly looks bright for this group, as star QB DeShaun Watson will be back to lead a brilliant offense. On the defensive side of the ball, there is some work to be done to replace departing starters, but this was exactly the same situation faced by Dabo Swinney and his coaching staff last season, and we all saw how well that worked out.

Michigan Wolverines (+700)

After a few years in the doldrums, the Wolverines roared back to life last season under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. College football fans expected this team to improve under their fiery new coach, but no-one saw them being as good as they turned out to be. With another full year of recruiting under his belt, expect Michigan to take another step forward this season, with a spot in the playoffs a very strong likelihood.

Ohio State Buckeyes (+650)

No team lost as much talent to the NFL draft as the Ohio State Buckeyes did last year, but Urban Meyer has proven to be a master recruiter during his time as a college coach. Of the 6 returning starters, the most important may well be QB J.T. Barrett, who is the undisputed number 1 this season. That should provide this team with the stability it needs during the rebuild, and given the amount of 4- and 5-star recruits that will be taking the field this season, the Buckeyes deserve to be at the top of the online college football odds.