2019 College Football National Championship Odds, Picks, and Predictions

2019 College Football Odds, Picks, and Predictions

Written by on July 2, 2018

Summer training camps for the NFL start later this month. College football teams have been practicing since April. As to be expected, the Alabama Crimson Tide are the odds favorites to win the 2019 College Football National Championship. Are the Crimson Tide a lock to win their second straight National Championship? Check out odds as well as picks and predictions for the 2019 College Football National Championship.

2019 College Football National Championship Odds, Picks, and Predictions

Current odds on the favorites to win the 2019 College Football National Championship
  • Alabama                     +180
  • Clemson                     +500
  • Ohio State                  +500
  • Georgia                       +580
The only four teams offering less than double-digit odds to win the 2019 College Football National Championship are:  Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Georgia. Of those 4 teams, Alabama is easily the biggest favorite to take home the College Football Playoff this season. The Crimson Tide won last season’s National Championship. Although Bama lost some players on defense, they didn’t lose nearly as many players on D as Georgia did. Georgia lost so many players that they’re probably an underlay at +580 to win the National Championship this season. The Bulldogs had a somewhat easier schedule last season while the SEC Division they play in, the SEC East, has better teams in 2018 than it had in 2017. Ohio State is a lot like Georgia heading into this season. The big difference is that Ohio State lost some players on both defense and offense. On defense, the Buckeyes lost starting cornerback Denzel Ward. Ward was a standout corner that became a Top 10 pick in this April’s NFL Draft. At least Ohio State’s defensive line appears to have enough talent to hold up opposing running backs. The key is at linebacker where coach Urban Meyer might not have the players that can keep the most talented RBs from rushing to the third level. Offensively, the line is good enough to block for a couple of talented running backs in J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber. The QB position is, so far, a mess. Neither Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow nor Tate Martell has yet to secure the position. Are the Clemson Tigers a safe bet to win the 2019 National Championship? Clemson has climbed to second choice after starting the season as a +800 third choice. The reason? Coach Dabo Sweeney. Sweeney has put together one of the most consistent, best, college football programs in the nation. Clemson should be better this season than it was last season. QB Trevor Lawrence will push last season starter Kelly Bryant to the limit. In fact, rumor has it that Sweeney might prefer Lawrence to start because he can stretch the field with his arm while Bryant is more of a rushing QB. Clemson’s defense is stacked. Athlon described Clemson’s D as having an NFL defensive line. Christian Wilkins, Clellin Farrell, and Austin Bryant were supposed to go pro. They didn’t. In college football, everything starts on the line. If the line can hold up rushers until linebackers can arrive to shut the door or pressure QBs into bad throws, the secondary and linebackers don’t have to be All-Americans for a defense to thrive. That appears to be Clemson. Clemson looks like a lock to make it to the College Football Playoff. Alabama figures to join them just because the Crimson Tide is set on offense while they’re so deep on defense whomever they lost last season hasn’t been too difficult to replace. As far as Georgia and Ohio State are concerned, it will be hard for either to make it to this year’s College Football Playoff. Georgia has too many key positions on defense to fill. The Bulldogs must also replace running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Ohio State doesn’t yet have a starting quarterback while both their secondary and linebacking corps are in flux.