Patrick Everson
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
Currently, two teams stand out atop the college football betting board.
Georgia is the favorite in 2024-25 College Football Playoff odds, in the first year of an expanded 12-team format. Ohio State is close behind as the No. 2 choice. Then comes Texas, Oregon, Alabama, Ole Miss and others. But South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews believes there’s a notable difference between the top two teams and the rest of the field.
“I’ve got Georgia and Ohio State a couple of points clear of everybody else in my power rankings,” Andrews said.
So South Point is offering an intriguing CFP championship prop bet: Georgia and Ohio State vs. every other FBS team.
That’s 132 other teams in all, though, of course, only a handful are legitimate contenders.
Andrews and sharp college football bettor Paul Stone provide their insights on the market.
Let’s jump into the fun.
A Pick ‘Em Prop Bet
On July 17, Andrews decided to make his College Football Playoff oddsboard just a bit more attractive. Sure, you could take favored Georgia at +275, meaning a $100 bet could profit $275, for a $375 total payout. Or you could take Ohio State +300, with a $100 bet potentially profiting $300 ($400 total payout).
But why not both? So he posted Georgia or Ohio State to win the title, giving bettors the opportunity to take both teams. Or bettors can grab the rest of the field, which is attractive in its own right, with plenty of other stellar programs.
The price point: a -110 pick ‘em. So it would take a $110 bet on either side to profit $100 ($210 total payout).
Stone said the odds are spot-on.
“When you look at a line, you ask yourself the question: which side do I like? And when you don’t see a side you like, then that means they probably made a pretty good line,” Stone said.
In standard CFP futures betting, Texas is the +700 third choice at South Point, followed by Oregon (+800), Alabama (+1200), and Ole Miss and LSU (both +1800). There’s certainly some firepower there, at least on paper.
Other teams will surely make their way into the mix as well, thanks to the expanded format. That includes name programs such as Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State and Oklahoma, and perhaps an under-the-radar team or two, such as Tennessee or Utah.
Is 2024 Ohio State’s year to win the National Championship?
Back-and-Forth Action
Andrews, an oddsmaker with a few decades of experience, won’t argue with Stone’s assessment. And as a pick ‘em bet might suggest, there’s action on both sides.
“The first bet came in on Ohio State/Georgia. So I moved five cents,” Andrews said of an adjustment to Ohio State/Georgia -115 and the rest of the field to -105. “But then money started coming back the other way, so we’re back to -110 on both sides. It looks like we’ve got a pretty good number.”
Andrews pointed to one key factor for singling out Georgia and Ohio State against the field.
“They both have a lot of depth. I don’t think one injury would really hurt either team, even at quarterback,” he said.
Joel Klatt sat down with Ohio State Buckeyes’ head coach Ryan Day.
Who To Pick
Stone will likely stay away from this prop bet, unconvinced that he’s got an edge on either side. But what if push came to shove, and he had to play it?
“I think Georgia and Ohio State are gonna be everybody’s 1 and 1A,” Stone said. “If forced to take one side or the other, I’d probably take the Georgia/Ohio State daily double, and let the other 132 teams take their shot.”
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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