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Latest Odds to Make the College Football Playoff Entering Selection Sunday

Brady Trettenero

By Brady Trettenero in College Football

Updated: December 5, 2023 at 6:44 pm EST

Published:


Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban celebrates after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game
Dec 2, 2023; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban celebrates after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
  • Which four teams will make the four-team college football playoff on Sunday?
  • The latest betting odds favor Michigan, Washington, Florida State, and Texas
  • Read below for the latest odds to make the CFP, plus our best bets

There are 133 teams in FBS college football, but only four teams currently make it into the playoffs. This year, the CFB playoff selection committee might have its toughest decision yet.

Sportsbooks have posted betting odds for which teams will make the CFP ahead of Selection Sunday. FanDuel Sportsbook has a clear #4 team in their odds, but DraftKings isn’t as confident.

Let’s take a look at the updated odds to make the college football playoffs, and determine which four teams will get in.

Odds to Make the College Football Playoffs

Team Odds at DraftKings Odds at FanDuel
Michigan OTB OTB
Washington OTB OTB
Florida State -450 -650
Texas -300 -250
Alabama -125 +116
Georgia OFF +1500

In the updated odds to make the college football playoffs, Michigan and Washington are both “off the board”, implying they are locks and not able to be bet on.

Florida State has the next-best odds at -550 average, which is an 85% implied probability. Georgia, meanwhile, is being offered as a +1500 (6% chance) longshot by FanDuel.

 

Odds as of 12 am ET on Sunday, December 3rd, 2023. Check out DraftKings or FanDuel Sportsbook to make a bet on the college football playoff odds.

Michigan and Washington are CFP Locks

The two teams that are basically guaranteed to make the College Football Playoff are undefeated Michigan and undefeated Washington. Both teams won their respective conference championship games and have looked deserving of a CFP berth.

Michigan was ranked number two in the fifth edition of the official CFP rankings, so we can assume they will move to No. 1 with Georgia losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship. Washington was ranked number three in the previous CFP rankings, so we can assume they will move to number two.

There’s not much debate about Michigan and Washington getting into the CFP. Both FanDuel and DraftKings had the two programs listed as massive favorites to make the CFP entering Saturday. The sportsbooks have now taken them both off the board due to the near 100% chance they will be finalists.

Will Alabama Make the College Football Playoffs?

The big question everyone is wondering when it comes to the CFP odds is whether or not the Alabama Crimson Tide will make it in. According to the latest betting odds, Nick Saban’s Tide will not make the college football playoffs.

Despite Alabama taking down the two-time defending National Champion Georgia Bulldogs, oddsmakers are projecting the selection committee to leave out the Tide in favor of 13-0 Florida State. Because Texas beat Alabama in the regular season, the Longhorns will presumably claim the other spot.

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There’s plenty of arguments about Alabama being a better team than Florida State, which is why Alabama is still an odds-on favorite to make the playoff. The Crimson Tide’s average odds to make the CFP entering Selection Sunday are -130, which is a 56% implied probability.

Alabama’s argument will hinge on the fact that Florida State is without star quarterback Jordan Travis and didn’t look impressive offensively in their recent games. The results on the field have to matter, though, or the committee is setting an ugly precedent.

Best Bets to Make the College Football Playoff

This is an unprecedented situation, which makes it very difficult to give out confident betting advice. An SEC team has never been left out of the four-team CFP since its inception, but at the same time, an undefeated Power 5 conference winner has never been left out either.

If you think the CFP committee will look at things from a business perspective, you’ll want to consider betting Alabama to make it in. We just can’t get ourselves to that point, as the games have to matter. If FSU’s undefeated regular season doesn’t matter, what’s the point of playing the games?

It’s truly unfortunate a talented team like Alabama might get left out of the playoff this year, but our best bet would be betting “no” for the Crimson Tide to make the CFP, which is a bet you can currently get for -110 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook

 

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Brady Trettenero
Brady Trettenero

Lead NHL & NCAAF Editor

Brady is the lead NHL and College Football editor at Sports Betting Dime, where he specializes in betting odds and data-driven analysis. Brady has over 10 years experience working in sports media, with work published by outlets such as ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and Fox Sports.

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