Historical College Football Playoff Odds from Past Seasons

• Track of the odds to make the College Football Playoff from every season since 2019-20
• See how each team’s playoff odds shifted week to week and which contenders fell off
• Looking for this season’s CFP odds?

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Making the College Football Playoff is half the battle. Teams that open as locks have missed. Teams nobody saw coming have crashed the bracket. The 2024-25 expansion to 12 teams opened the door for Group of Five programs and at-large bids that would never have existed in the four-team era.

SBD has tracked the odds to make the CFP for every season going back to 2019-20. This page is a record of how those odds shifted from preseason through Selection Sunday for the contenders that mattered.

Use the jump links below to go to a specific season:

2025-26 | 2024-25 | 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | 2019-20

2025-26 CFP Odds

Indiana opened at +575 to make the 12-team field and ended up winning the whole thing, going 16-0 and beating Miami 27-21 in the national championship. Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, and Oregon opened as the heaviest favorites to make the bracket.

• Aug. 18: Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, and Oregon are the heaviest favorites to make the playoff field ahead of Week 0.
• July 22: Texas opens as co-favorite with Ohio State to win the national championship at +550, but their odds to make the playoff (-185) suggest some vulnerability.
• June 3: ESPN’s FPI gives Clemson just 47% odds to make the playoff despite top-5 preseason ranking.

Odds to Make 2025-26 College Football Playoff

Odds as of August 17, 2025, at BetMGM Sportsbook.

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2024-25 CFP Odds

The first 12-team College Football Playoff. Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State took the four automatic conference champion seeds. Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Indiana, Clemson, and SMU filled out the bracket. Ohio State entered as the No. 8 seed and ran the table, beating Notre Dame 34-23 for the national title.

• Dec. 8: SMU secured the final playoff spot over Alabama. The Mustangs’ 11-2 record and close ACC Championship loss to Clemson (34-31) proved enough to edge out the 9-3 Crimson Tide.
• Nov. 25: Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, and Penn State were removed from betting boards as virtual locks to make the playoff.
• Nov. 4: Ohio State jumped to -3000 to make the CFP after beating Penn State in Week 10. The Nittany Lions stayed alive at -350 despite the loss.
• April 29: Georgia (-500) and Ohio State (-450) opened as the favorites to make the new 12-team playoff field.

Odds to Make 2024-25 College Football Playoff

Odds as of December 8, 2024, at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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2023-24 CFP Odds

The final year of the four-team playoff. Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama qualified. Undefeated Florida State got snubbed after Jordan Travis’s season-ending injury. Michigan beat Washington 34-13 in Houston for the title, the first under Jim Harbaugh.

• Dec. 3: Florida State’s odds to make the CFP improved to -450 on average after beating Louisville in the ACC Championship. Oddsmakers are projecting Alabama (+110) will be the team left out on Selection Sunday.
• Dec. 2: Alabama became a huge -800 favorite to make the CFP after defeating Georgia in the SEC Championship, while the Bulldogs’ playoff odds faded to +400.
• Nov. 26: Michigan became a -4000 favorite to make the CFP after beating Ohio State, while the Buckeyes’ odds faded to +1300.
• Nov. 21: Oregon is now a heavy -170 favorite to make the CFP even though Washington is ranked No. 4 in the latest CFP rankings. Florida State has seen their odds fade to +140 due to Jordan Travis’s injury.
• Nov. 6: Oregon (-105) has claimed a spot in the four-team CFP odds following its big win over Cal in Week 11.
• Nov. 1: After Ohio State was unveiled as the No. 1 team in the initial CFP Rankings, DraftKings shortened the Buckeyes’ CFP odds from +115 to +105.
• Oct. 23: Ohio State (+110) has overtaken Washington (+120) as the fourth favorite to make the CFP after the Huskies narrowly avoided an upset loss to Arizona State.
• Oct. 16: Washington is now one of the favorites to make the four-team CFP after taking down Oregon in Week 7 to remain undefeated.
• Sept. 5: Florida State’s odds to make the playoff improved to +180 following its Week 1 upset win over LSU. Colorado now has +3500 odds to make the CFP after upsetting TCU.
• Aug. 21: Iowa has seen notable improvement in its odds to make the CFP. After opening around +2500, the Hawkeyes are now at +1100.
• June 6: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and Alabama opened as the four favorites to make the CFP. The two-time defending national champion Bulldogs had the best odds at -250.

Odds to Make 2023-24 College Football Playoff

Odds as of December 3, 2023, at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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2022-23 CFP Odds

Georgia, Michigan, TCU, and Ohio State qualified for the playoff. TCU’s run from unranked to undefeated regular season was one of the wildest stories in CFP history. Georgia capped a second straight title with a 65-7 demolition of TCU in the championship game.

• Nov. 6: Based on the odds to qualify, the four-team playoff is expected to be Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and Tennessee, which would be the first time two conferences (SEC, Big Ten) put two teams in.
• Aug. 10: Ohio State is the shortest on the board, even though Alabama has better national championship odds. The Buckeyes are seen to have an easier path through the Big Ten compared to Alabama in the SEC.

Odds to Make 2022-23 College Football Playoff

Odds as of November 6, 2022, at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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2021-22 CFP Odds

Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Cincinnati qualified. Cincinnati became the first Group of Five team ever to make the four-team CFP. Georgia beat Alabama 33-18 in the championship to end Kirby Smart’s title drought against his old boss.

• Aug. 9: The only movement so far sees Penn State fade from +1200 to +1300.
• Aug. 5: The opening odds favor Clemson (-700), Alabama (-370), Ohio State (-225), and Oklahoma (-210). Only one other team is shorter than +475 (Georgia at +170).

Odds to Make 2021-22 College Football Playoff

Odds as of August 9, 2021.

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2020-21 CFP Odds

The COVID season. Massive scheduling chaos and odds gaps as conferences started and stopped at different times. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Notre Dame all made it through to the four-team playoff. Alabama rolled past Ohio State 52-24 for the title behind DeVonta Smith’s Heisman season.

• Nov. 18: Alabama (-900) and Ohio State (-775) are basically etched into CFP stone already, while Clemson (-400) and Notre Dame (-245) are heavily favored to grab the other two spots.
• Oct. 13: CFP qualification odds have been re-posted. The top three favorites remain unchanged (Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama) even though the Buckeyes still haven’t played a game in 2020.
• Oct. 2: There are still no odds to reach the four-team playoff at online sportsbooks. It’s possible they will not be posted again given the Big Ten teams are playing eight-game schedules and the Pac-12 just seven.
• May 12: The four-team playoff odds have been open for over six weeks and not a single team has seen its odds change.
• Mar. 25: The opening odds favor Clemson (-200), Ohio State (-150), Alabama (-125), and Oklahoma (+125).

Odds to Make 2020-21 College Football Playoff

Odds as of November 18, 2020.

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2019-20 CFP Odds

LSU, Clemson, Ohio State, and Oklahoma qualified for the playoff. LSU’s run was historic. Joe Burrow’s Tigers went 15-0 with one of the best offenses in college football history and beat Clemson 42-25 in the title game.

• Nov. 19: Minnesota and Baylor are both off the board after losing their first games in Week 12. Alabama dropped from +220 to +280 after Tua’s hip injury.
• Nov. 12: Minnesota improved from +1400 to +600 after its statement win over Penn State. The biggest gainer was LSU (-240 to -800) after beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
• Nov. 6: The day after the initial CFP rankings put Clemson at No. 5, the Tigers’ odds to make the playoff improved to a nation-leading -450.
• Oct. 28: After Oklahoma (+250) lost in Week 9, there’s now a big divide between the top four (Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Ohio State) and the field.
• Oct. 23: Clemson (-300) and Alabama (-230) are back in the top two spots, with Ohio State falling to -190 despite remaining undefeated.
• Oct. 10: Midway through the year, Ohio State has the shortest odds (-360), even though Clemson (-220) and Alabama (-260) remain undefeated.
• Aug. 29: On the eve of Week 1, the two favorites saw their odds get a bit worse: Clemson (-560 to -530) and Alabama (-340 to -290).
• Aug. 12: Florida and Auburn both saw their odds get considerably longer, dropping from +700 to +1000.
• July 26: Ohio State fell outside the top five (now at +230), getting passed by Michigan (now +220). Oklahoma fell from +140 to +190.
• July 17: Clemson is now -480 on average to qualify for the CFP. One book is paying +425 on the Tigers missing out.
• July 4: Clemson is now a -340 favorite to make the CFP (77.3% implied probability). The other big gainer since the odds opened is Notre Dame, which started at +380 and is now +330.
• May 17: Originally, only eight teams were on the board. Now 14 teams are available, with Auburn, Florida, LSU, Nebraska, Oregon, and Washington added.
• May 9: Alabama and Clemson both start the offseason as -250 favorites to make the four-team playoff yet again.

Odds to Make 2019-20 College Football Playoff

Odds as of November 19, 2019.