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New favorite: Ohio State’s national title odds see improvement entering November
By Dave Holcomb
Published:
Ohio State didn’t play this past Saturday, but the Buckeyes still scored a win — at least in the betting world.
BetOnline has improved Ohio State’s playoff odds from 3/1 to 5/2 over the weekend. That means the Buckeyes now hold better odds of making the College Football Playoff than both Alabama and Clemson, who currently have 11/4 odds of earning a spot in the final four.
According to @betonline_ag, @OhioStateFB is the new College Football Playoff favorite. Odds on Buckeyes have improved from 3/1 to 5/2. Alabama and Clemson are both 11/4.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) November 4, 2019
Playoff odds always have as much to do with the remaining schedule as it does with the teams themselves. This Saturday, Alabama faces No. 1 LSU, and many have argued the Crimson Tide doesn’t have the resume to make the playoff this year if they suffer one loss.
Alabama also has one-loss Georgia lurking in the SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide might have to win both to return to the playoff.
Ohio State could face two undefeated teams — Penn State and Minnesota — in the next five weeks, but they aren’t getting the same attention publicly as LSU and Georgia. Theatrically, Ohio State has the “easier” path to the tournament and thus, higher odds.
However, the easier schedule argument can’t be used for why Ohio State has better odds than Clemson. The Tigers play in the weakest Power 5 conference, so the Buckeyes having superior odds over the defending champions says a lot about what Vegas thinks of the Ohio State as a contender.