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The odds are posted for which team will win the 2021 national championship in major college football (Football Bowl Subdivision), and while the usual suspects are at the top of the list, there are also a few surprises in the mix.
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Alabama and Clemson are once again the prohibitive favorites with 3:1 odds which, honestly, seems like a steal of a deal. We would've expected those two juggernauts to weigh-in at something more like 3:5, given that either the Tide or the Tigers have captured 5 of the last 6 titles. Nick Saban and his squads captured the crown in 2015 and 2017, and are the defending national champions after blasting Ohio State 52-24 in January.
Just banking on Saban every year can make you money. After all, he has collected 8 championship rings in his coaching career with one of those from his LSU days (2003) and the other 7 during his prolific period in Tuscaloosa.
Dabo Swinney's men took home the trophy for Clemson in 2016 and 2018.
Alabama and Clemson have played each other in the championship game three times since 2015, and the Tigers lost the 2019 title game to that other group of Tigers from LSU.
Aside from those two teams, you can also heavily weigh the likelihood that an SEC or ACC team will be 'king of the hill' in 2021. SEC teams have won 11 consensus titles since 2006 and the ACC has taken 3 since 2013. The Big Ten's Ohio State has a lone title from 2014, and then you have to go all the way back to 2005 when Texas was champion to find the only other title that didn't belong to the ACC or SEC in the last 16 years.
But now let's talk about a few of the more interesting teams near the top of the list.
After Ohio State (5:1) and Oklahoma (7:1), Georgia comes in at 8:1. The Bulldogs were 8-2 a year ago and edged Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl, but lost the eastern division side of the Southeastern Conference to rival Florida. Today, the Gators can be had at 40:1 odds, behind two other SEC teams - Texas A&M and LSU - which sit at 25:1 and 35:1, respectively.
Among Big Ten schools, Wisconsin is somewhat of a shocker for coming in 9th from the top at 35:1. The Badgers have never won the national championship, unless you count the Helms Athletic Foundation awarding them the 1942 title. Numerous other selectors, including he Associated Press, say Ohio State was the national champion that year, while multiple others gave it it to Georgia.
Another Big Ten school, Penn State, comes in at 40:1 and Michigan is listed at 50:1.
Iowa State is getting some love at 40:1, ahead of a fellow Big 12 school with tons more pedigree. Yep, Texas is at 50:1, lagging behind the Cyclones.
Also coming in at 50:1, are the top PAC-12 teams on the list - Oregon and USC.
If you want to look for some fresh blood from the ACC to shake up the pot, the oddsmakers want you to consider North Carolina and Miami. The Tar Heels have a head coach who has already won a national championship with Mack Brown guiding Texas to its 2005 title. And Miami is the team that everyone touts as being back in the hunt, even though the 'Canes haven't won a national title since 2001, and have never even won an ACC championship since joining the conference in 2004. Nevertheless, Miami is at 40:1, ahead of UNC at 50:1.
Who gets the best odds from the Group of Five conferences? That distinction goes to Boise State at a modest 100:1, even though the Broncos will be operating under a first-time head coach, Andy Avalos, after BryanHarsin left to take the reins at Auburn. That move came in an offseason that was relatively light on coachingchanges.
Cincinnati might make more sense than the Broncos, and the Bearcats would pay off more handsomely at 150:1.
We don't know about you, but we're rooting for something completely different to happen in 2021. If you're not a fan of Alabama or Clemson, you're rooting for something different, too.