2025 College Football Playoff predictions: Oklahoma in prime Cinderella position
It seems like the college football world is in agreement that the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff is essentially a two-horse race between Ohio State and Indiana.Maybe red-hot Georgia is able to claw its way in there, but most of the signals are pointing to a rematch of the Big Ten Championship, which finished 13-10 in favor of the Hoosiers, the only undefeated team in the country. Oddsmakers at FanDuel are certainly leaning in that direction.Ohio State is the betting favorite to win the national championship at +190, with Indiana right behind the Buckeyes at +320.Georgia is the third choice at +600, just ahead of Oregon (+800) and Texas Tech (+850). The Ducks are the only team in this cohort that doesn’t have a bye into the quarterfinals, but a Round 1 matchup with James Madison isn’t expected to be an issue for Oregon.
The Ducks are three-score favorites over the Dukes at home on Saturday night.James Madison is 750/1 to win the tournament, tied with Tulane for the longest odds.The Dukes and Green Wave are both in interesting situations, with their respective head coaches taking part in the College Football Playoff before leaving for new posts in 2026. That isn’t the situation for Ole Miss, which takes on Tulane in Round 1.
The Rebels watched Lane Kiffin abandon ship after the regular season, with his former defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, taking over on a permanent basis starting this weekend.Ole Miss is a huge favorite in Round 1, and the Rebels going on a revenge tour after the Kiffin saga is a sexy narrative, but 22/1 feels a little bit short for a team that is staring down Georgia and likely Ohio State in the next two rounds.There are three other teams in the same range as Ole Miss.Texas A&M is slightly ahead of the Rebels at 18/1, while Alabama and Miami are just behind them at 25/1 and 27/1, respectively.The Aggies are 3.5-point favorites over the Hurricanes in College Station on Saturday, a price that tells us that these two te...