Updated 2019 NCAA Football Championship Odds – December 7th

There are still a few weeks to wait before we get to the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl, the games that will serve as the college football playoff semi-finals. There are arguments to be made for each of the 4 teams still in the hunt for a National Championship, but we are going to try and break them down into the latest NCAA Championship Odds with the favorite, smart pick and longshot categories. Clemson and Alabama are far and away the favorites here, which is no real surprise given their playoff pedigree, while Oklahoma and Notre Dame are serious longshots. Let’s take a closer look.

Updated NCAA Football Championship Odds – December 7th

Walter Camp All-America Team

First Team Offense@Tuaamann @JonahGWilliams@jerryjeudyFirst Team Defense@QuinnenD1#OutworkYesterday#RollTide pic.twitter.com/Zh1U02wuwL— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) 7 de diciembre de 2018

The Favorite

• Alabama Crimson Tide -240

The Crimson Tide have already won 5 titles in the last 9 years, so it is perhaps no real surprise that they are in as the favorites to win the National Championship. They have created a team that has the perfect balance between offense and defense, not to mention a Heisman finalist in QB Tua Tagovailoa.

The young QB was forced out of the SEC Championship Game with an ankle injury, but word is that he will be fine by the time the Orange Bowl rolls around on December 29. Experience may well be the key that the Crimson Tide use to win it all, although the Georgia Bulldogs proved that this team can be beaten, coming very close to taking out the champions last week in the conference final. The Crimson Tide are the favorites, but are they the smart pick? 

The Smart Pick

• Clemson Tigers +275

Given that Alabama has won this thing so often, they would certainly appear to be the smart pick, but I am reserving that title for the Clemson Tigers. Clemson went through the season unbeaten, they did have a couple of close calls along the way, although their near stumbles versus Syracuse and Texas A&M came in the early part of the season when they were still embroiled in a bit of a QB controversy.

Trevor Lawrence took over as the starter and the Tigers have not really looked back since then. Lawrence is the real deal, but he is backed up by a defensive unit that is arguably the best that college football has to offer. The Tigers are a fantastically balanced team and have also beaten the Crimson Tide in playoffs past, which they did the year they won it all.

The Longshot

• Oklahoma Sooners +1400

The Sooners are in as the #4 seed and will need to open up the playoffs by going against the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide. That’s a tough way for any team to start, which might cause you to lean in the direction of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the longshot pick. I am going the other way, though, as I think the Sooners have a QB and an offense that can cause any team some serious problems.

Yes, they are not very good on the defensive side of the football, but this is not a team that you want to get in a shootout with. The defense actually played a role in the win over Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. If they can deliver 2 more good performances, there is no reason why the Sooners can’t be a great longshot pick.

Last 10 NCAA Football Champions

• 2017: Alabama Crimson Tide
• 2016: Clemson Tigers
• 2015: Alabama Crimson Tide
• 2014: Ohio State Buckeyes
• 2013: Flordia State Seminoles
• 2012: Alabama Crimson Tide
• 2011: Alabama Crimson Tide
• 2010: Auburn Tigers
• 2009: Alabama Crimson Tide
• 2008: Florida Gators