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NCAA football betting: Georgia is now new national championship favorite, but not by much

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
·3-min read

Georgia is the new betting favorite to win the national championship, but not by much.

Thanks to Alabama’s shocking loss on the road to Texas A&M, the Bulldogs moved up to No. 1 in the polls and are now the new favorites to win the national title at BetMGM. Georgia, which beat Auburn 34-10 on Saturday, is now listed at +130, but isn’t too far ahead of Alabama. The Crimson Tide is now listed at +200.

Last week, Alabama was the favorite at +150. Georgia was next at +175.

Despite Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M, there’s still a big gap between the two SEC powerhouses and the rest of the field.

Another one-loss team, Ohio State, is next at +1000 ahead of four undefeated teams: Oklahoma (+1500), Iowa (+2000), Cincinnati (+2000) and Michigan (+3000).

Oklahoma is a really intriguing team to track moving forward. The Sooners were on the ropes early on Saturday against rival Texas, but a quarterback switch from Spencer Rattler to freshman Caleb Williams sparked a massive comeback for OU. The Sooners trailed 28-7 after the first quarter and were down 41-23 late in the third quarter. They went on to win 55-48.

Iowa, now No. 2 in the AP poll, got a huge win over Penn State in a matchup of two top-five teams on Saturday, but the oddsmakers still seem skeptical of the Hawkeyes’ chances to win it all.

Iowa, which jumped up from +3500 last week, trailed Penn State 17-3 at one point in the game, but stormed back after Penn State QB Sean Clifford left the game with an injury. Still, Iowa has one of the best defenses in the country and is especially prolific at generating turnovers. Iowa has a plus-15 turnover margin through six games, the best in the nation. The Hawkeyes have forced 20 turnovers, including 16 interceptions. Both of those figures lead the country.

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - OCTOBER 02: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts against the Mississippi Rebels during the second half at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 02, 2021 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Alabama fell behind Georgia in the national championship odds following Saturday's loss to Texas A&M. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) (Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images)

For Cincinnati, there was no hangover effect after the big win over Notre Dame last week. On Friday, the Bearcats blew out Temple 52-3 to kick off conference play.

Michigan, meanwhile, forced a crucial late turnover and escaped Nebraska with a 32-29 victory. Now 6-0 and ranked No. 8 in the AP poll, Michigan has a bye this weekend and still has Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State on the back half of its schedule.

Speaking of Michigan State, the Spartans also remained undefeated after beating Rutgers on Saturday. MSU is tied with one-loss Oregon at +5000 in the national title odds. Penn State, following the Iowa loss, dropped from +2500 down to +6600.

Further down the list are two other undefeated teams: No. 11 Kentucky at +10000 and No. 12 Oklahoma State at +8000. The 6-0 Wildcats are coming off back-to-back wins over Florida and LSU as they head into Athens to face top-ranked Georgia this weekend. Oklahoma State is 5-0 with an average margin of victory of just 6.8 points. The Cowboys will head to Austin to play Texas this weekend.

Below are the updated national championship odds via BetMGM:

  • Georgia: +130

  • Alabama: +200

  • Ohio State: +1000

  • Oklahoma: +1500

  • Iowa: +2000

  • Cincinnati: +2000

  • Michigan: +3000

  • Oregon: +5000

  • Michigan State: +5000

  • Penn State: +6600

  • Notre Dame: +8000

  • Texas: +8000

  • Oklahoma State: +8000

  • Ole Miss: +8000

  • Clemson: +10000

  • Texas A&M: +10000

  • Arizona State: +10000

  • Kentucky: +10000

  • NC State: +15000

  • Pittsburgh: +15000

  • UCLA: +15000