– Last Updated on November 21, 2022 4:07 pm
Ready To Start Betting On College Football?
Shopping for 2017 College Football Playoffs Futures? After weeks of waiting, and months of speculation and debate, the four teams making up the third College Football Playoff have been assembled. While many outsiders will call for the inclusion of a Michigan or a Penn State, it’s difficult to question the merit of the final four.
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Alabama has been a staple of the Playoff since its inception, while Ohio State and Clemson each have an appearance in the national title game in the last two seasons, and Washington is hardly a throwaway in the fourth and final spot.
Here is a closer look at the merits of the final four teams, with an eye on the value – if any – in their betting odds.
Alabama Crimson Tide -275
The Crimson Tide ended last season as national champions, and they haven’t done anything to concede the No. 1 spot in the country, going 13-0, claiming another seemingly automatic SEC title.
Since Nov. 1, Alabama went 5-0, outscoring opponents 176-34.
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The Tide closed out their devastation of the college football landscape with a 54-16 beat down on Florida in the SEC title game.
Had they lost that contest, Nick Saban’s squad would likely still occupy the top spot in the national rankings given their body of work in the preceding 12 games.
Alabama is built to win national championships, but asking for a price of nearly 3-1 simply means there is no value to be found in backing the Tide at their current price.
Ohio State Buckeyes +370
The Buckeyes are the only team to qualify for the national semifinals after having been off this past weekend.
Ohio State lost the Big Ten East tiebreaker to Penn State and had to watch as the Nittany Lions claimed the conference title in a win over Wisconsin.
If not for a fluky finish to their game against Penn State, the Buckeyes would be sitting pretty with an undefeated record, and would be mentioned alongside the Tide as a candidate for the No. 1 seed.
Paying out at nearly 4-to-1, it’s a good time to get behind Ohio State as national champions.
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Given their current forms, Clemson may be the preferable opponent to Washington at the moment, and the Buckeyes are the only team to defeat a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team in the playoff.
Clemson Tigers +650
The Tigers claimed the ACC title for the second time in as many years in a game that was a lot closer than it probably should have been.
Clemson downed Virginia Tech 42-35. If nothing else, it was an opportunity for quarterback Deshaun Watson to pad his Heisman Trophy resume, as the junior accounted for five touchdowns against a typically staunch Hokies defense.
A year ago it was Clemson in the national title game, looking to play spoiler on another Alabama title run.
The Tigers threw a good punch in that one, but the Tide weathered the storm. With another year under his belt, Watson may be able to give Alabama a tougher test, but he has looked off at times this season, and has a very good Ohio State team to worry about before getting to that point.
Washington Huskies +1800
The Huskies enter the playoff as the clear No. 4 of the bunch, but don’t write off Washington just yet.
Many doubters will point to the team’s strength of schedule, which certainly could have been stronger, but don’t punish the team for finding success in a down year for the Pac-12.
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Washington’s only loss was to USC, and it capped off a 12-season by thrashing Colorado in the Pac-12 title game.
Head coach Chris Petersen has done a terrific job of building up this program, and given what we’ve seen him do at Boise State, the idea of him pulling off an upset with what may be the most talented squad he’s ever assembled given all the time he’ll have to prepare isn’t out of the question.
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CappersPicks.com has College football odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NCAA football lines up for early games as well.