With the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Clemson Tigers suffering early season out-of-conference losses, it becomes clearer by the week that Southeastern Conference Football dictates the direction that the College Football Playoff Selection Committee casts their ballots.
Betting on College Football at 18 or over can be done at any of the online sportsbooks that are reviewed on this website, and currently, both Clemson and Ohio State remain in the top handful of teams that will be up for consideration for the CFP this December when the final four NCAAF programs are announced.
The Oregon Ducks, despite having a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes and being in a position to win the Pac-12 with an undefeated record, currently feature odds at 18+ College Football Playoffs betting sites that suggest they will miss the playoffs altogether.
The Oklahoma Sooners are in line for another strong effort in 2021-22, but they are clinging to the final spot in the top four, according to the CFP odds, with Ohio State on their heels.
This is not reflected in the overall NCAA College Football rankings, as the USA Today Coaches Poll ranks Clemson and Ohio State 6th and 9th, respectively.
USA Today AP College Football Top 10
- Alabama 2-0
- Georgia 2-0
- Oklahoma 2-0
- Oregon 2-0
- Iowa 2-0
- Clemson 1-1
- Texas A&M 2-0
- Cincinnati 2-0
- Ohio State 1-1
- Penn State 2-0
Lingering just outside of College Football’s top ten are the number 11 Florida Gators who will host the University of Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday. Despite the game being played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, the top online sports betting sites that we review are favoring Alabama to win by as many as 15 points.
Even though those lofty projections for Alabama make U of F seem weak, the Crimson Tide’s solidified status as the number one team in NCAA Football will allow the Gators to lose yet still remain in contention to reach not only the SEC Championship Game, but the CFP as well.
The way the College Football betting odds are currently stacked, combined with the inbred nature of SEC Football in general, the question is not whether two Southeastern Conference teams make the College Football Playoffs, but if three will qualify.
Sure, Alabama and the Georgia Bulldogs may seem like a sure bet at this point in the 2021-22 NCAAF season, but the aforementioned Florida Gators, as well as the Auburn Tigers, have legitimate shots at being among the final four teams in College Football and battling for a championship this January 10th in Indianapolis.
The CFP Selection Committee and poll voters have historically favored the strength of schedule offered up by the SEC and have forgiven an in-conference loss in the past. Now it seems that NCAAF oddsmakers are also onboard the SEC bandwagon, and with the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns potentially joining the Conference in the near future, this elite grouping of programs will further separate from the pack.
NCAAF may have to eventually step to either realign their conference system, or to simply declare the SEC to be the entirety of Division I Football. It may seem like a hair-brained concept in September of 2021, but with Alabama already claiming a majority of College Football’s top talent, time could be the only separator from their conference being declared the only championship worth winning.
Sources – USA Today, Bovada