How to Bet on College Football Playoff Futures: Betting Trends, Historical Results for CFP Futures

Betting on College Football Playoff futures is nothing new but under the new CFP format, it’s become bigger and much more exciting.

The 12-team playoff, introduced in 2024, expanded not just the field but the number of futures bets you can make at your favorite college football betting apps.

This guide will cover those futures bets, including where you can find the best value and trends that emerging.

Types of CFP Futures Bets

Betting on the college football national champion might be the most popular CFP futures bet, but it’s not the only thing you’ll find at your favorite online sports betting app.

Here’s an example of the CFP futures markets available at DraftKings as the 2025 season approaches:

• CFP Champion
• To Make the College Football Playoff
• Make the Playoff Y/N
• Number of Teams from X Conference in CFP (Over/Under)
• College Football Playoff No. 1 Seed

As the season progresses, you can expect to see more markets pop up, including advancement to different rounds and CFP Final exactas – bets on the two teams to make the final and winner.

When to Make College Football Playoff Futures Bets

Picking a team to win a title prior to the season is equal parts skill and luck. Sure, you can identify who the most talented team is, but there’s plenty you can’t account for prior to the teams taking the field.

So yes, that’s when you typically can get the best odds for elite teams, but it’s hard to do. Here are some strategies for the timing of your CFP futures bets.

Take Advantage of Temporary Dips in Performance

The expansion of the CFP does allow more opportunities to find favorable odds on the team you think is going to win it all.

Under the previous four-team system, teams couldn’t really afford to have a dip in performance and still earn a playoff spot. One loss could seriously dent your hopes, and a second was almost always disqualifying.

Notre Dame’s Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois in 2024 would have almost certainly knocked the Irish out of contention in the four-team era, same with Ohio State’s shocking loss against Michigan Thanksgiving weekend. But in the 12-team format, they not only qualified but wound up playing each other in the final.

If you were prescient enough to still have faith in the Irish after that debacle, you could have gotten them at +300 to make the playoff. Not win it, make it. The week before, they were listed at -300.

Ohio State’s title chances, meanwhile, were barely dented by the Michigan loss, falling from +425 to +450, as the Buckeyes were still an advanced statistical darling.

See the Field First Before Making CFP Championship Bets

The CFP is a grind, and the potential road to the final could be just as important as who is actually the best team.

Take Oregon, for instance, in the 2024-25 Playoff. The Ducks were the 1 seed, but had a potential date with Ohio State in the quarterfinals – a team they defeated in a thriller at home earlier in the season.

Bettors who had placed their wagers prior to the bracket announcement were likely not excited about that prospect, and they were proven right as OSU won the rematch in a laugher.

Penn State, meanwhile, had a road to the semifinals that included SMU at home and Boise State at a neutral site. The Nittany Lions rolled in those matchups, and were relatively fresh going into the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame. They still were coached by James Franklin, though.

Target ‘Make the Playoff’ Bets Over Championship Futures in Preseason

Odds to make the CFP aren’t going to pay out nearly as much as championship futures, but if you’re trying to win your bets, they’re a much more practical preseason option.

You won’t find value in the big names here. Georgia, for instance, is -285 to make the CFP at BetMGM. But if you are targeting a top 15-ish team, or even a smaller conference team, this could be the way to go.

Maybe you like Lanorris Sellers and South Carolina, which is ranked No. 13 in the 2025 Preseason Coaches Poll. South Carolina probably isn’t winning it all, but it’s +400 to make the playoffs and entering the season essentially on the bubble.

Alternatively, you can also pick against a team to make the CFP. Not a fan of the Kalen DeBoer fit at Alabama? The Crimson Tide are +150 to not make the playoffs.

College Football Playoff Futures Betting Trends

The debut of the 12-team playoff in the 2024-25 season makes it a little difficult to parse betting trends, as things are now very different. But we are seeing some things hold, and others change.

The SEC’s CFP Dominance is Dwindling

Is two years a trend? It’s tough to say, but each of the past two seasons the CFP National Championship Game was not only won by a non-SEC school, but didn’t even include one.

In 2024, Michigan (Big Ten) defeated Washington (Pac-12 at the time), and in 2025 Ohio State (Big Ten) defeated Notre Dame (Independent). Prior to that, at least one SEC team had played for the title in eight straight seasons, winning six of those.

That’s 60% of the CFP champions in the four-team era coming from one conference. They also had 10 of the 20 finalists.

There are plenty of theories (NIL, Transfer Portal, a blip that will get corrected), but we’re clearly beyond the days of just expecting the SEC to turn out the nation’s top team.

Power Conference Schools Have Dominated the CFP

March Madness this is not, at least not yet. Non Power 5 schools found it almost impossible to crack into the four-team playoff, as only Cincinnati was able to do so from a Group of 5 conference.

One bid is promised to the Group of 5 in the current format, and Boise State claimed it a year ago, earning the No. 3 seed. It promptly lost the Fiesta Bowl, however, against Penn State.

So, in 11 years of the CFP, one in a 12-team format where a bid is guaranteed, non-Power 5 schools have two entries and zero wins.

While it feels like there’s more parity at the top of the mountain, that has yet to fully roll downhill.

Look Toward Top of Preseason Odds Board, But Not the Top

If you’re looking to pick a champion in the preseason, you probably don’t want to scroll past the top three – at least on odds boards.

In eight of the past 10 years, the eventual champion had at least the third best odds in the country in the preseason. The only exceptions are Michigan in 2023-24 (fourth) and LSU in 2019-20 (ninth).

That Tigers team, which featured Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson and is considered one of the most dominant of all-time, is really the only true preseason longshot to win in the past decade, with odds of +3300. And that’s LSU!

Three might be the magic number, as that’s the most common preseason placement for eventual champions (four) in the past 10 years, followed by second (three). Penn State entered the 2025-26 season with the third best odds at bet365. The team that is still coached by James Franklin.

Alabama’s 2018-19 title is the only one to come from a team that was the preseason favorite.