College Football Playoff betting odds: Alabama and Oklahoma open as favorites

Oklahoma and Alabama opened as favorites in their respective College Football Playoff games, although the latter is sure to be a head-scratcher.

The College Football Playoff Selection Show has become a spectacle. It provides as much drama as a typical college football Saturday, and is big on both production and theater. Teams that get left out tend to curse its existence, but it’s part of what makes the sport so great.

They made a controversial decision this year when they let a one-loss, non-conference champion Alabama into the top four over a two-loss, conference champion Ohio State. That the Crimson Tide are playing Clemson in the CFP Semifinal should only fuel speculation that the decision was based on money rather than results.

It didn’t take long for the College Football Playoff field to be set before the Vegas betting lines were released. While Oklahoma was a deserved favorite over Georgia, it appears that the Playoff Committee wasn’t the only one that potentially made a questionable decision when it comes to Alabama:

You read that right: fourth-seeded Alabama, who got housed by Auburn in the final week, is a betting favorite over top-seeded Clemson. You can’t even cite recent history as a reason, since it was only last season that Clemson beat Alabama in the national championship.

The only logical explanation is that Vegas values a loss to Auburn more favorably than a loss to Syracuse, but since that game, Clemson have looked like an absolute juggernaut.

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Of course, they’re only doing this to encourage more people to put money on Clemson. This line is going to look different closer to game time, and this story will probably disappear sooner rather than later. For the time being, college football fans should be grateful to have their own version of Cavs vs. Warriors unfolding.