The 2023 college football season gets underway this weekend. This means it’s time to check out the CFB Playoff odds and focus on some of the top teams in the country.

Here we’ll provide our college football futures predictions as well as a rundown of the teams to keep an eye on this year as they pursue the national championship.

Let’s start by taking a look at the NCAAF betting odds for making the College football playoffs in what will be the final year of the four-team playoff structure.

Odds to make College Football Playoff

Georgia –250
Ohio State –120
Michigan +125
Alabama +140
USC +225
Clemson +300
Florida State +320
Texas +320
LSU +350
Penn State +350
Notre Dame +600
Oregon +600
Washington +600
Oklahoma +650
Tennessee +1000

Find all To Make College Football Playoff odds at Betway sportsbook. 

Who are the favorites to make the CFB Playoffs?

The Georgia Bulldogs’ odds to make the playoffs are unsurprisingly short, and not worth betting on unless you’re building a parlay or putting down a big stack.

Ohio State comes in next at -120 with two great quarterbacks tussling over the starting job right up until Week 1. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see both players start at some point this year, but the Buckeyes are spoiled for choice, and the guy who wins the job is likely going to play a key role in helping Heisman Trophy candidate Marvin Harrison Jr. light up the college football world this season.

Michigan and Alabama are close to one another among the top four favorites with odds just over +100. After that, the top contenders include some teams that have an outside shot at not only making the playoffs this year, but also challenging for a title. 

USC is, of course, part of that conversation since quarterback Caleb Williams is among the favorites for the Heisman, and Lincoln Riley has built a program that could earn itself a spot in the top four for years to come.

LSU is also in the conversation for the 2023 NCAAF playoffs and has the third-best SEC championship odds behind the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide. It has taken the Tigers a couple of years to get their program back on track, but Brian Kelly’s team finally looks like it has rebounded from the very disappointing lull that followed a national championship win just a few years ago.

2023-24 College Football Playoff Predictions and Best Bet

Among the four teams with the best odds of making college football’s playoffs, Alabama feels like the best value.

Nick Saban’s program has consistently been one of the best in college football over the last decade, but the head coach won’t be pleased about what happened last year. While the Tide still finished atop their division, two losses against Tennessee and LSU derailed Alabama’s shot at the final four.

This year, in what will be the final version of the four-team CFB playoff format, Saban and his coaching staff will push hard to return. When the Tide make the final four, they always have a chance to win. I suspect that had they been there last year, the National Championship Game might have been a little more competitive.

There’s a lot of pressure on the quarterback position this year, but the team in general should be more experienced after struggling with a young receiving corps last season and showing some gaps in its secondary. 

With transfers coming into the program at both corner and safety in Trey Amos, Jaylen Key, and Caleb Downs, the Tide should be more secure defensively this season. Seeing those gaps plugged and more experience across the board, I feel good about Saban taking his team back to the playoffs this year with NCAAF playoff odds at +140.

The Pick: Alabama Crimson Tide to make the CFB Playoff (+140)

You know, I really like the LSU Tigers this year. In a way, they overperformed last year and gathered some momentum toward the end of the season with a tight win over Alabama that put them into the SEC championship game. Despite losing to Georgia, LSU at least gave the Bulldogs a game by scoring 30 points against the best defense in the country.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly will dive deeper into his methods and philosophies as he continues to make the team his own this year. One must admit that he has done a fine job turning the program around after its major backslide in the wake of the 2019 national championship.

The Tigers will need quarterback Jayden Daniels to take another step this year after a year of growth in 2022. He certainly has experienced receivers to work with this time around.

Defensively, LSU brought in several senior transfers, particularly for areas of obvious need at linebacker and in the secondary. That said, there are some concerns about the level of depth back there with Ohio State transfer JK Johnson out for an extended period of time and Denver Harris having spent some time away from the team as a result of issues involving his personal conduct.

If the Tigers can pull it all together, their roster is capable of making a run. Should they beat either Alabama or Georgia again this year to finish the regular season with just one loss, they will have a great shot at the playoffs.

LSU’s college football playoff betting odds stand at +350 on the Betway Sportsbook. As an outside shot, that certainly would look nice in a parlay. 

The Pick: LSU Tigers to make the CFB Playoff (+350)

Odds are subject to change*

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