College Football Playoff odds entering Week 5: Hello Florida, goodbye Oklahoma

The College Football Playoff looks to be within reach for seven teams but the Oklahoma Sooners may not be one of them after losing to Kansas State.

With the Oklahoma Sooners losing, the latest College Football Playoff odds have changed.

In Week 4 of the 2020 college football season, we saw a pair of top-six teams fall at home to unranked teams. No. 3 Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the one-loss Kansas State Wildcats, as Chris Klieman seems to have Lincoln Riley’s number. The No. 6 LSU Tigers got torched by Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ Air Raid offense. Both teams are now playoff longshots.

2021 College Football Playoff odds entering Week 5

• Clemson Tigers: (5/2)
• Ohio State Buckeyes: (3/1)
• Alabama Crimson Tide: (5/1)
• Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs: (10/1)
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Texas Longhorns: (20/1)
• Miami Hurricanes, Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions: (30/1)
• Auburn Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, USC Trojans, Wisconsin Badgers: (40/1)
• Minnesota Golden Gophers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas A&M Aggies: (60/1)
• North Carolina Tar Heels, UCF Knights: (100/1)
• Boise State Tigers, LSU Tigers, Utah Utes: (200/1)
• BYU Cougars, Cincinnati Bearcats, Kansas State Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, Washington Huskies: (300/1)

The teams with the three best odds come as no surprise with the Clemson Tigers at 5/2 odds, the Ohio State Buckeyes at 3/1 odds and the Alabama Crimson Tide at 5/1 odds. It would be shocking to not see Clemson and Ohio State make the four-team field. Though somebody else can win the SEC this year, Alabama remains the presumptive favorite to win its Power 5 conference and get in.

As for that final spot, it’s looking like it will come down to what happens in Jacksonville. The SEC East rival Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs have 10/1 odds, tied for the fourth-best odds and the last spot to make the field. Not that far behind them are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Texas Longhorns at 20/1 odds. These seven teams are on a different level right now.

Oklahoma drops into a four-way tie for the eighth-best odds at 30/1 with the Miami Hurricanes, the Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions. LSU has cratered into a three-way tie for the 23rd best odds at 200/1 with the Boise State Tigers and the Utah Utes. Overall, there are 21 teams with 100/1 odds or better at getting into the playoff. So where should you wager?

If we looking at the seven teams with the best odds, Alabama at 5/1 feels like your best bet. The SEC might get two teams in this year, and if it does, expect the Crimson Tide to be one of them. It’s probably in your best interest to stay away from Notre Dame at 20/1 for now because the Irish have to play presumably Clemson twice to get to the playoff, and they’d have to win at least once.

As for other bets outside of the 20/1 odds range, here’s three to sink your teeth into. Miami at 30/1 seems like a good time to buy because it might be the ‘Canes who are the second-best team in the ACC, not Notre Dame. Auburn at 40/1 is enticing, but the Tigers have to play on the road in Athens and Tuscaloosa. For an extreme dark horse, how about the Utah Utes at 200/1? Why not?

Though Oklahoma has a chance of getting in it seems, that LSU has not shot at repeating in 2020.

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