The 2019 college football season officially starts Saturday — although the first fully scheduled football Saturday isn’t for another week.
And like every year, one of the biggest storylines throughout the season will be debating who will make the College Football Playoff. The playoff has yet to expand beyond four teams, so that leaves room for a lot of contentious disagreements among fans and analysts.
Beyond having a strong record or even an undefeated regular season, it will all come down to which teams are conference champions, which ones have the strongest schedules and which ones dominated the most. If a playoff contender has one loss, was it a good loss or an ugly defeat? And based on the way the selection committee has behaved in past years, only Power 5 teams are invited.
So before the 2019-20 season starts, here are the teams with the 10 best preseason odds of making it to the playoff, according to PointsBet as of August 22.
1. Clemson Tigers
The defending national champs open the 2019-20 college football season as the favorites to win their third title in four seasons, so of course, they have the best odds to make the playoff.
Make the playoff: -550
Miss the playoff: +380
Led by Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback Trevor Lawrence, PointsBet also has the Tigers at -120 for an undefeated regular season and +450 to go 15-0 for a second consecutive year. Among a less-than-challenging ACC crowd, Clemson is all but guaranteed to make the playoff.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
For college football fans who like consistency – whoever you are — the preseason odds have Alabama and Clemson headed for Part 5 of their College Football Playoff saga. But going into the 2019-20, the Crimson Tide trail Clemson in just about every preseason prediction — but just barely.
Alabama has the second-best odds to win it all and to make the playoff, but if quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — who’s second behind Lawrence in the preseason Heisman odds — and star wide receiver Jerry Jeudy stun like they did in 2018, the team might be unstoppable and meet the Tigers in the national championship game again.
Make the playoff: -330
Miss the playoff: +250
3. Georgia Bulldogs
To make the playoff, Georgia most likely has to not just return to the SEC championship game, but also win this time, which also likely means beating Alabama. After having leads in the 2017-18 national championship game and last year’s conference title game, the Bulldogs lost to the Crimson Tide. But between quarterback Jake Fromm and running back D’Andre Swift, this might be their year.
Make the playoff: +120
Miss the playoff: -150
4. Michigan Wolverines
Michigan hasn’t done much in Jim Harbaugh’s first four seasons, including missing the Big Ten championship game. The Wolverines need to beat Ohio State in the regular season, get to the Big Ten title game and win and then they’ll be looking at a playoff berth. Easier said than done.
Make the playoff: +250
Miss the playoff: -280
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The selection committee looked past Notre Dame not having a conference championship to play in and handed the team a playoff spot last year after it finished the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record. But the Fighting Irish will likely have to have another undefeated season to make the playoff, but this time, they have Georgia on their schedule in September.
Make the playoff: +650
Miss the playoff: -1250
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
Between first-year head coach Ryan Day and Georgia transfer quarterback Justin Fields, Ohio State looks a bit different this year. But that doesn’t mean it can’t return to the playoff as the Big Ten’s first representative in three seasons. The Big Ten East is more challenging than the West, but if the Buckeyes can survive with no more than one regular-season loss – it can’t be another ugly loss — get to the conference championship game and win, they’ll have a strong playoff argument.
Make the playoff: +210
Miss the playoff: -280
7. Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners have made the playoff in three of the last four seasons, but can they keep that hot streak going? They have a new quarterback, but the good news is he’s Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts, who should find similar success in their system like mobile Kyler Murray did last year. A third-straight Big 12 championship with a strong record should get them back to the playoff.
Make the playoff:+195
Miss the playoff: -255
8. Texas Longhorns
Is Texas back to being a college football powerhouse? A Big 12 title would certainly suggest yes. And that’s probably what the Longhorns will need to get to the playoff, along with no more than one close loss. To win the conference, Texas will likely have to face Oklahoma twice — once in the regular season and again in the Big 12 title game. If it can’t beat the Sooners twice, it needs to at least win in conference championship game to have a shot at the playoff.
Make the playoff: +530
Miss the playoff: -850
9. LSU Tigers
The Tigers do not have an easy road to the playoff. Doable, but difficult. And unless the SEC mixes up its divisions, they will continue to have the misfortune of being in the SEC West with Alabama. So not only do they have to play division rivals Alabama, Texas A&M and Auburn, but they also have Texas and Florida on their schedule. To make the playoff, they need to win their division, the SEC championship game and have a nearly perfect record.
Make the playoff: +550
Miss the playoff: -750
T-10. Washington Huskies
The Huskies have one playoff appearance on their resume from the 2016-17, and despite having a significant amount of turnover on their roster this year — including losing nine starters on defense — oddsmakers still think they could make the playoff again. But they still have to win the Pac-12 and might need an undefeated record to get in this year.
Make the playoff: +800
T-10. Utah
The Utes were quietly Pac-12 South champs last season before losing to Washington in the conference title game. But if they can return to that game and win this time — which might require beating the Huskies twice in one season — they’re a dark-horse playoff contender.
Make the playoff: +800
