This season’s College Football Playoff will be the first to feature a 12-team bracket in a single-elimination tournament to determine a national champion. With the change in format, some online sportsbooks are offering new betting markets ahead of the 2024-25 NCAA football season.
Below, we’ll take a look at some of the betting options now available as we head into a college football season with an expanded playoff format.
College Football Playoff conference odds
Now that the field has expanded to 12 teams, the newest College Football Playoff odds market is on how many teams each major conference will ultimately have in this season’s playoff. With conferences like the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC all likely to send one or more teams to compete in the 12-team bracket, this bet gives you an over/under format for betting on each conference’s number of playoff teams.
Big Ten
Last season, Michigan came out of the Big Ten to win the national championship in the four-team playoff. This season, Ohio State is one of the top favorites to win it all, as is new conference addition Oregon. College football sportsbooks also consider Penn State and USC to be potential playoff teams, giving the Big Ten plenty of options for the 12-team field.
SEC
Always a powerhouse conference in college football, the SEC has several teams among the top favorites in national championship odds. Georgia is the top betting favorite to win it all, with Alabama, Ole Miss, and LSU also in the running. Auburn and Texas A&M are also playoff hopefuls this season, along with Texas, a semifinalist from last season that is a new addition to the SEC this year.
Big 12
While the Big 12 may lack some of the top teams getting attention in the national title hunt, the conference still has some squads with playoff hopes. Utah and Kansas State both enter the season as favorites to win the conference, but Missouri is the Big 12’s top favorite to secure a spot in this year’s College Football Playoff.
ACC
Conventional wisdom says that Florida State and Clemson are still the most likely teams to come out of the ACC to join this year’s playoff field. Both squads are in the top 15 favorites to make the 12-team bracket, but Miami also looks stronger after adding some players in the transfer portal. North Carolina State might be a longshot to make the field, but the Wolfpack could also potentially surprise some people.
