College Football National Championship Predictions & Odds 2024: Texas Takes Over as AP No. 1

Week 3 of the college football season has come to a close, and we have a new No. 1 team in the country as the Texas Longhorns have supplanted the Georgia Bulldogs. This comes after Texas blew out UTSA at home, Arch Manning appeared for an injured Quinn Ewers, and Georgia narrowly beat Kentucky on the road, 13-12. 

With this development and so many more, I’ll examine the top four favorites to win the national championship, some underdogs, discuss the championship’s history, where you can bet on the national championship futures, and more below.

National Championship Odds

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Favorites to Win National Championship

Ohio State Buckeyes (+330) at FanDuel

The Buckeyes move ahead of the Bulldogs, but this is more so because of the Bulldogs' performance in Week 3 as opposed to what the Buckeyes have. The Buckeyes had a Week 3 bye, leaving them with just two games played this season against Western Michigan and Akron. 

They host Marshall this week. I’m still waiting to see how they perform against a competent ranked opponent, but that won’t happen until they take on Oregon on Oct. 12. 

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Georgia Bulldogs (+400) at FanDuel

After beating Clemson 34-3 and then pulverizing Tennessee Tech, the Bulldogs had a bit of a scare on the road against Kentucky in Week 3. They came away with a 13-12 win as the Wildcats held Georgia to just one rushing touchdown from Branson Robinson with 12:20 to go in the game. Other than that, the Wildcats held a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Bulldogs were 22-point favorites in this one when the line closed, so a win of this small of a margin is certainly noteworthy. Thankfully, their defense, coupled with the poor quarterback play for Kentucky’s signal-caller Brock Vandagriff, helped them out, completing just 14 of 27 passes for 114 yards. 

Georgia has a Week 4 bye before they head out on the road again to take on Alabama. 

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Texas Longhorns (+500) at FanDuel

The Longhorns were 35-point home favorites over UTSA, and they covered, beating them 56-7. Ewers got injured in the game, allowing Manning to make an appearance. In the game, Manning had five total touchdowns, including four through the air on nine completions and a 60+ yard rushing touchdown. 

Ewers will be back, but this game gave the Longhorns faithful a lot to be excited about. Manning looked incredible. 

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Alabama Crimson Tide (+750) at FanDuel

Alabama beat up Wisconsin on the road 42-10, but to be fair to Wisconsin, their starting quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke, got injured mere minutes into the game. Still, Alabama’s offense looked unstoppable, with quarterback Jalen Milroe completing 12 of 17 passes for 196 yards, three touchdowns, and rushing 14 times for 75 yards and two scores. 

He’s putting himself in a great position for the Heisman Trophy thanks to his incredible dual-threat ability. 

They also have a bye this week to prepare for their home game against Georgia, which will be the biggest game of the college football season thus far.

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National Championship Underdogs 

Penn State (+2000) at FanDuel

Penn State was off in Week 3, but I still believe this is a team that can make some noise in the Big Ten. They had a moderate scare at home against Bowling Green in Week 2, where they won 34-27, but they have a nice tune-up game ahead of them against a lousy Kent State squad. 

I think they will get back on track. 

Miami (FL) (+2000) at FanDuel

No surprise, but Miami mopped the floor with Ball State, 62-0. Cam Ward completed 19 of 28 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns. They beat the Gators in Week 1, but that’s a team that’s 1-2 to start the year. Miami has South Florida up next before taking on a somewhat intriguing opponent in Virginia Tech at home in Week 5.

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Top 10 National Championship Teams in 2024

Ohio State

They’ve beaten Akron and Western Michigan and have Marshall on deck after a bye week. 

Georgia

They dismantled Clemson and Tennessee Tech but had a scare on the road against Kentucky. Still, a win is a win. Now, they have a bye before taking on ‘Bama. 

Texas

We all expected Texas to beat up on UTSA, but we also learned that, if Ewers ever missed any time, Manning will be a fine replacement. He had five total touchdowns. 

Alabama

Alabama got to play a Wisconsin team with their backup quarterback for most of the game, but Milroe still had five total touchdowns, including three through the air and two on the ground. They also a bye before taking on Georgia at home. 

Oregon

Oregon finally looked great in Week 3, beating in-state rival Oregon State 49-14. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel is completing well over 80% of his passes and the defense held Oregon State to just 309 yards of offense. Oregon has UCLA and Michigan State on deck before they host Ohio State later this season. 

Ole Miss

Ole Miss was on the road in Week 3 against the Hank Bachmeier-led Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and Ole Miss clobbered them 40-6. Jaxson Dart looked human, though, completing 26 of 34 passes for 377 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, and also had six carries for 35 yards and a touchdown. Dart is now completing 83% of his throws for 1,172 yards, eight touchdowns, and one interception. He’s also had a rushing touchdown in each game this season.

A Heisman campaign is brewing, and next up, they have Georgia Southern at home. 

Tennessee

Remember earlier when I mentioned Kent State as being “lousy”? Well, in Week 3, Tennessee beat them 71-0. In fact, Tennessee is now averaging nearly 64 points per game. Tennesse had 740 yards of offense, 284 through the air, and 456 on the ground. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 10 of 16 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown as Gaston Moore and Jake Merklinger also saw time. Running back Dylan Sampson had 13 carries for 101 yards and four touchdowns, while DeSean Bishop added seven carries for 120 yards and two scores. 

Tennessee has a big test in Week 4, though, as they head out on the road as the No. 6 team in the land to take on the No. 15 team, Oklahoma. 

Miami (FL)

As mentioned, they decimated Ball State, and Ward was fantastic. They draw South Florida in Week 4. To this point, Ward has completed 73% of his passes for 1,034 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception. 

Penn State

Penn State had a Week 3 bye but has a home matchup against Kent State, who allowed 740 yards of offense to Tennessee. 

USC

USC was also off in Week 3, but they have a date with Michigan at The Big House in Week 4. This game includes the Wolverines starting Alex Orji in place of Davis Warren, who threw three interceptions in their Week 3 win over Arkansas State.

National Championship History

Since 2014, the College Football Playoff has been the primary way of deciding the national champion. However, this Playoff has always been four teams. In 2024, that’s changing. It’s now 12 teams instead of four, which will allow more programs a shot at bringing home the title. This will certainly result in some underdogs winning a championship more often than in the past. 

The Crimson Tide have the most appearances with eight and won the most games with nine. 

Here are all of the national champions since the Playoff was introduced. 

How to Bet on the National Championship

In betting on the national championship, you’ll be wagering on the dedicated futures betting market. There are other markets you can wager on that indirectly apply to it, like conference winners, but the only true way to wager on who will win the national championship are futures and when the day of the actual game comes, moneyline, point spread, totals, parlays, props, and more.

Where to Bet on the National Championship

College sports betting is available in all legal sports betting states, but there are some prohibited markets. 

I’ll touch on that below and list the top online sportsbooks for wagering on the national championship and college football as a whole. 

• Arizona (AZ): Cannot wager on college player props.

• Colorado (CO): Cannot wager on college player props.

• Connecticut (CT): You cannot wager on teams based on Connecticut unless they’re in a tournament. 

• Delaware (DE): Cannot wager on in-state teams

• DC: Cannot wager on DC-based teams or any college games occurring in the region. 

• Illinois (IL): Cannot wager on college player props. You can wager on in-state teams if done at retail sportsbooks. 

• Indiana (IN): Cannot wager on college player props.

• Iowa (IA): Cannot wager on college player props.

• Kansas (KS): No restrictions.

• Kentucky (KY): No restrictions.

• Louisiana (LA): No restrictions.

• Maryland (MD): No restrictions.

• Massachusetts (MA): You cannot wager on teams based in Massachusetts unless they’re in a tournament. 

• Michigan (MI): No restrictions.

• Mississippi (MS): Cannot wager on college player props. 

• New Jersey (NJ): Cannot wager on in-state teams

• New York (NY): Cannot wager on games involving New York-based schools or player props. 

• North Carolina (NC): No restrictions. 

• Ohio (OH): You cannot bet on college player props.

• Pennsylvania (PA): Cannot bet on college player props. 

• Tennessee (TN): Cannot wager on college player props, including live college player props. 

• Vermont (VT): You cannot wager on teams based in Vermont unless they’re in a tournament. 

• Virginia (VA): Cannot wager on college games that include Virginia teams. 

• West Virginia (WV): You cannot bet on college player props. 

• Wyoming (WY): No restrictions.

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