Bowl Season, and with a busy first Saturday, the College Football Playoff is quickly approaching. We now stand a week out from the all-important Semifinals, but which of the four teams really stands the best chance of taking home the title. Is it LSU’s time, or will Clemson make it three out of the last four? Can the Big Ten score? What about the dark horses the Oklahoma Sooners? Plenty of intriguing reasons for why each of the four teams could win it all. Let’s take a look at the teams and which has the best odds of winning the 2019 College Football Playoff.
#1 LSU Tigers (+120)
What hasn’t gone the LSU Tigers way so far this season? From beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa to an unbeaten regular season. Or winning the SEC Championship over Georgia. We can’t forget the incredible season quarterback Joe Burrow was able to have which resulted in the school’s second Heisman Trophy Winner. Coach Ed Orgeron has LSU playing at a very high level at the right time. They get the Sooners in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. This match-up is no easy game, but the Tigers might have all the right tools, to not only get through this game but win the whole CFP.
#2 Ohio State and #3 Clemson (+205)
It’s quite fitting that the two teams who share similar odds to win the National Championship will face each other in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Semifinal in Glendale. It’s also ironic because these teams last met in this game back in 2016, and Clemson was able to cruise to a 31-0 victory over the Buckeyes. Clemson has won each of the last two head-to-head meetings. But this year’s Buckeyes feel like a completely different kind of team.
Ohio State not only cruised through their schedule unblemished they took care of business against the Big Ten’s best teams. That included a thrashy of rival Michigan for the second consecutive season. They also took down the Wisconsin Badgers twice en route to the Big Ten Championship. Not only that but they also sent to finalists to New York for the Heisman Ceremony. With Justin Fields at quarterback along with arguably the best running back in the country in J.K. Dobbins, the Buckeyes offense is almost unstoppable. Defensive end Chase Young has been almost unstoppable as he leads the country in sacks, and was the first Ohio State defensive lineman to be named Big Ten Defensive Player of the year. He also brought home the Bednarik and Nagurski awards. Ohio State looks to have it all on both sides of the ball.
Clemson feels like the underdog, and they feel like they are disrespected, even though they have won two of the last three National Championships. They walked through the ACC, even though a one-point win over a struggling North Carolina, sure made people nervous. It was shocking that quarterback Trevor Lawrence wasn’t even named a Heisman Finalist. That won’t hurt the focus though as he seems to prove he’s the best by what he does on the field in the big moments. He has a chance to do just that as the Tiger and Buckeyes face-off for the second time in the last four seasons. It doesn’t hurt he has some very valuable weapons around him including running back Travis Etienne. Can the Tigers Shutdown the Buckeyes again?
#4 Oklahoma Sooners (+1200)
The talk all seems to be about LSU, Ohio State, and Clemson. Yet the Oklahoma Sooners find themselves in the playoffs once again for the fourth straight season, with a third different quarterback. This time feels a little different. Jalen Hurts has been a proven winner. He didn’t win the Heisman like his predecessors Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, but what did that help those previous Oklahoma teams get, just losses in the Semifinals. Is Alabama regretting letting him go, well he has a chance to prove just that? He led the Sooners to the playoffs this season, but there is no Alabama standing in the way. Is it the perfect time for the Sooners to play the underdog and shock the world? Don’t sleep on the Big 12 Champions.
