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After defeating Penn State last week, the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) have jumped into the No. 1 spot ahead of the LSU Tigers (11-0) in the latest College Football Playoff rankings update.
The Clemson Tigers (11-0), who haven’t been challenged all season, remained undefeated with a win over Wake Forest to maintain the No. 3 slot in the rankings. Georgia (10-1) remains the only team with a loss who is in the top 4. Right now, the Alabama Crimson Tide are in serious danger of missing out on their first CFP since its inception in 2014, sitting at the No. 5 spot but needing some help in order to get in. Let’s take a look at the updated National Championship odds after this week’s update, via DraftKings Sportsbook.
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So right now it appears to be a three-man race between the Buckeyes, LSU and Clemson at the top. Georgia still has to play Georgia Tech and then LSU in the SEC Championship game, so assuming they drop to a two-loss team, that could shake things up a bit. That would be Bama’s chance to sneak into the top 4 if they can knock off Auburn in the Iron Bowl this weekend. That would mean Bama would go in as a one-loss team, their only L being to LSU. The Bulldogs would have losses to LSU and South Carolina. This makes the Crimson Tide an intriguing bet to win it all at those odds.
Unless LSU loses back-to-back games, they’re a lock for the top 4. Ohio State needs to beat Michigan and then Wisconsin or Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship game, but as long as they split, they should get in as well. Clemson has it the easiest. The Sooners could have a compelling case if they beat Oklahoma State and then Baylor in the Big 12 title game, moving them to 12-1, so again, if you think they can sneak in, anything is possible.
Minnesota isn’t a bad deep sleeper at those odds. Realistically if they were to beat Wisconsin and then Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, they’d move to 12-1 and would have wins over two top 10 teams in OSU and PSU, plus another win over the Badgers. The Gophers’ only loss would be on the road to Iowa by four points.