Ricky Dimon
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Through four weeks of the season, the College Football Playoff picture isn’t clear at all. No team has been dominant, not even Alabama. Other teams we thought might be in the mix have either taken themselves out of it with multiple losses or have put their chances in jeopardy with a single loss. Despite the muddled mess, two National Championship favorites have gone so far ahead of the pack that every other school would require binoculars to locate the elite duo. It’s a similar story when it comes to the Heisman Trophy odds.
Let’s take a look at where some of the futures markets stand following four full weeks of college football action.
National Championship
Alabama +175
Georgia +200
Ohio State +1200
Oregon +1500
Oklahoma +1500
Two top-10 teams went down this past Saturday; so did four others in the top 25. The result is separation at the top of the national title odds. Clemson’s 27-21 setback at NC State marked the Tigers’ second loss of the 2021 campaign, having previously fallen to Georgia 10-3. With that, head coach Dabo Swinney’s crew plunged from +1200 to +7500 on the chart. Texas A&M tumbled all the way down to +8000 following its loss to Arkansas.
Despite the Aggies’ disappointment, the SEC remains a massive favorite to bring home another College Football Playoff trophy. It’s lonely at the top for Alabama and Georgia, which boast respective title odds of +175 and +200. The Crimson Tide held steady, while the Bulldogs soared from +350 following their blowout of Vanderbilt. Of course, beating up on Vandy doesn’t mean anything. The Dawgs climbed thanks primarily to the struggles of Clemson and Oklahoma (the Sooners just barely got past West Virginia 16-13). OU, which is 4-0 but could be 1-3, has seen its championship odds slip from +750 to +1000 to +1200 over the past two weeks.
Heisman Trophy
Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss +150
Bryce Young, QB, Alabama +175
Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati +1500
Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma +2500
JT Daniels, QB, Georgia +2500
Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler is still in the Heisman Trophy discussion since his team hasn’t lost, but unimpressive play by both team and player has him descending the list of favorites. Rattler was +800 prior to the Sooners’ Week 3 contest with Nebraska; now he is +2500.
With Rattler on the way down, it appears to be a two-man race in the SEC, not unlike in the National Championship picture. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral remains the favorite (+200 to +150) and Alabama signal-caller Bryce Young is second (+225 to +175). Nobody else is even close right now. With the Rebels and Tide going head-to-head this coming weekend, that showdown could go a long way toward determining which player lifts the stiff-armed statue.
Big 12
Is it time to dive off the Oklahoma bandwagon? Rattler and company are still overwhelming favorites at -175 to win the conference title, but the door is being left open. Texas is lurking at +300 and two other teams are +1200 or better (Iowa State and Oklahoma State). TCU isn’t completely out of it at +1800, and with no one looking dominant even Baylor at +2500 may be worth a nibble.
Seemingly a foregone conclusion at the beginning of the season, things are starting to get interesting out there in the Big 12.
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