Updated College Football Title Odds: The Favorite, Smart Pick And Longshot

Posted by Eric Williams on Wednesday,November 9, 2016 10:00, EDT in

• College Football News, Online Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Look, if you’re a college football betting fan then you know who the definitive favorite to win the 2016 national championship is? Yes, the unbeaten and top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. But is Nick Saban’s team the smart pick to bring home the championship hardware and what about the always-looming, longshot that could upset the entire apple cart?

Let’s find out as I reveal my two other teams in addition to the Crimson Tide right now!

Analyzing The Updated College Football Title Odds: The Favorite, Smart Pick And Longshot

Odds to win 2016 CFB Championship

The Favorite To Win The 2016 CFB Playoff Championship

I don’t think there’s a college football fan on the face of the planet that doesn’t know the Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0 SU, 7-2 ATS) are the definitive favorites to bag their second straight national championship. Still, with that said, I think the Crimson Tide can be beaten – but only by a handful of teams.

Alabama ranks 17th in total offense (498.0 ypg), 10th in rushing (268.3 ypg), 65th in passing (229.6 ypg) and a stellar eighth in scoring (43.8 ppg). However, the Tide have a young starting quarterback in Jalen Hurts that is clearly athletically gifted, but is still trying to find his way as a collegiate starter as evidenced by his miniscule 12 TD passes and six interceptions.

Unlike almost every year, this season the Tide also have no real star at running back, though they still have a flat-out powerful defense that ranks fourth in points allowed (14.8 ppg) and arguably the best head coach in all of college football in the polarizing Nick Saban.

I picked the Crimson Tide to get back to the national championship this season – before losing to the team that is my smart pick to win it all. LSU gave all of Alabama’s remaining opponents this season a great blueprint on how to contain the Tide in their narrow 10-0 Week 10 loss to their longtime SEC rivals this past weekend.

The Smart Bet To Win The 2016 CFB Playoff Championship

The national championship runner-up Clemson Tigers (9-0 SU, 5-4 ATS) are my ‘smart’ pick to reach and win the 2016 national championship and for good reason too! The Tigers have arguably the best quarterback in the country (sorry Lamar Jackson) in silky smooth dual-threat signal-caller Deshaun Watson, a great, if underrated running back in Wayne Gallman and a defense that is almost as good as any in the nation.

For the season, Watson has completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,497 yards with 24 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Gallman has contributed 634 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 120 carries and both players recently declared they’ll be entering the 2017 NFL Draft.

Clemson ranks 28th in total offense (478.2 ypg), 75th in rushing (164.7 ypg), 17th in passing (313.5 ypg) and 26th in scoring (36.6 ppg). While Watson garners the lion’s share of attention for his often heroic feats, Clemson’s biggest strength might be stupendous defense that remains elite despite losing a handful of players to this year’s NFL draft.

Clemson ranks 14th in total yards allowed (317.3 ypg), 35th against the run (136.2 ypg), 16th against the pass (181.2 ypg) and a stellar 12th in points allowed (17.6 ppg). After falling just short against the Tide in last season’s title tilt, the Tigers look like they could accomplish their national championship goal this time around.

The Longshot To Win The 2016 CFB Playoff Championship

The Washington Huskies (9-0 SU, 5-4 ATS) are unbeaten and ranked fifth nationally, but they’re apparently not getting the respect they deserve because they don’t play in the SEC. No matter, the Huskies have an elite quarterback in Jake Browning with the strong-armed sophomore completing a scorching 67.9m percent of his passes for 2,273 yards with a mind-boggling 34 touchdown passes and just three sacks.

In addition to their superstar signal-caller, Washington also has a gifted running back in Myles Gaskin. The elusive sophomore has rushed for 952 yards and eight touchdowns this season while averaging a stellar 6.3 yards per carry. The Huskies rank a fantastic fourth in scoring at 36.1 points per game, but that’s not all. The Huskies also own one of the nation’s best defenses as they rank a stellar seventh in points allowed at 15.7 per contest.

Washington shouldn’t be a longshot, but they are – and they could very well upset the entire apple cart!