The college football world has entered the first ever game week in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The first round games are scheduled to begin on Friday, Dec. 20 when Indiana travels to Notre Dame with the final three first round games taking place on Dec. 21.
In Georgia football’s case however, they earned a first round bye so they won’t take the field until Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl.
So the fact that Georgia has to win one less gsme would make one think that they have better odds to win a National Championship than some other teams. And while UGA does have some of the best odds to win the CFP, their odds of doing so still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Georgia Football odds to win CFP are confusing
Kirby Smart and Georgia currently have the third best odds to win the National Championship this season at +500, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That may be very exciting because Vegas thinks Georgia has one of the best chances to win, but some aspects of these odds don’t make any sense.
1-seed Oregon has the best odds to win the CFP at +350, and no one should have any issue with the Ducks being on top. But the team with the second best odds is very strange.
Georgia vs Texas Odds
Texas of all teams has the second best odds at +360, which is significantly better than Georgia. This is strange because Georgia not only beat Texas on the road this season, but also did last week in the SEC Championship game. So Georgia has proven they are the better team, so the Longhorns having much better odds is strange.
Ohio State should have worse odds than Georgia
Another thing that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense is that Ohio State has the same odds as Georgia to win the CFP. The last time the Buckeyes played they were embarrassed in a loss at home by a 6-win Michigan team. Sure Ohio State has a great roster on paper, but head coach Ryan Day hasn’t been able to use that to his advantage.
On top of Ohio State underperforming this season, the Buckeyes path to the National Championship is very difficult. Their first round game is against Tennessee on Saturday, and then Ohio State will have to play Oregon in the quarterfinals with Texas and Georgia potential waiting in the later rounds. Winning those four games in a row does not sound realistic at all, so the Buckeyes should probably have worse odds than they currently do.
Georgia’s easier path to the title game
Speaking of paths to the National Championship, Georgia’s path is very favorable. Their first game will be against 10-seed Indiana or 7-seed Notre Dame, which are two teams Georgia matches up well with. After that, Georgia’s potential semifinal opponent would be 3-seed Boise State, 6-seed Penn State or 11-seed SMU, and those matchups will likely be even easier than the quarterfinal matchup.
So Georgia’s side of the bracket is much easier than the other half, which has Oregon, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas and Clemson. So the fact that Georgia’s half of the bracket is much easier should result in better odds.
At the end of the day, these odds don’t matter all that much. Georgia still has to go out there and win these games with backup QB Gunner Stockton under center. But if Georgia can beat Texas with Stockton in the SEC Championship game, then they can beat any other team in this bracket with him as well.