NCAA football betting: Georgia, not Alabama, attracting most national championship money
Alabama may be the defending champions, but another SEC team has attracted the most national title betting money over at BetMGM.
Realignment has dominated the recent news cycle, but the actual college football season is fast approaching. Alabama, on the heels of an undefeated season, is the betting favorite at +250, but Georgia has actually been on the receiving end of more futures money at BetMGM.
The Bulldogs, who currently have +500 odds after opening at +800, have received the third-most tickets at 11.4%, but have attracted 23.8% of the money — ahead of the Crimson Tide and the rest of the field. Alabama has received the most bets at 20.5% and is right behind Georgia in terms of money at 20.9%.
Georgia has a combined 46-9 record over the past four seasons, but has just one SEC title and one College Football Playoff appearance to show for it. Both of those came in 2017, Kirby Smart's second season as the head coach at his alma mater.
The Bulldogs showed flashes of an explosive offense late in the 2020 season once USC transfer JT Daniels became the team's starting quarterback. Will that carry over into the 2021 campaign and lead the Bulldogs to an elusive national title?
What about the other top teams?
Oklahoma, meanwhile, has received the second-most bets (14%) and the third-most money (17.4%). The Sooners are currently listed at +800.
Clemson has the second-best national title odds at +450, but are not a very popular pick after losing Trevor Lawrence to the NFL draft. The Tigers have received 4.7% of the bets and just 3.6% of the money. The reigning four-time Big Ten champion, Ohio State, has received the fourth-most bets (7%) and money (6.7%) at +600.
Behind the Buckeyes is Iowa State, which at +2500 has received 5.2% of the national title bets and 4.6% of the money. The Cyclones return the majority of their top players from a team that played Oklahoma for the Big 12 title last fall.
National championship odds, via BetMGM:
Alabama: +250
Clemson: +450
Georgia: +500
Ohio State: +600
Oklahoma: +800
Iowa State : +2500
Texas A&M: +3000
LSU: +3500
Florida: +4000
Notre Dame: +4000
Oregon: +4000
Miami: +4000
Penn State: +4000
Wisconsin: +5000
North Carolina: +5000
USC: +5000
Texas: +5000
Michigan: +5000
Tennessee: +5000
Arizona State: +6600
Washington: +6600
NC State: +6600
Oklahoma State: +6600
West Virginia: +6600
Auburn: +8000
Indiana: +8000
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