College football hasn’t seen a preseason national championship favorite like Alabama since 2005, when Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush were revving up the USC Trojans for a run at a second straight BCS title.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide enter the season as the consensus favorites for a third consecutive year. Alabama is +175 to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. According to Sportsoddshistory.com, those are the best odds for a preseason favorite since USC was listed at +160 before the the 2005 season.
Alabama has won two of the past three national championships and has been favored in 110 of its past 111 games. The Crimson Tide open their season against Louisville on Saturday in Orlando, Florida.
No. 2 Clemson, at 4-1, is the clear-cut second favorite and has attracted significant interest from bettors in Las Vegas and New Jersey. More money has been bet on the Tigers to win the national title than has been wagered on any other team, including Alabama, at several sportsbooks.
At William Hill’s books in Nevada and New Jersey, 22 percent of the money bet on the national championship odds is on Clemson, substantially more than how much has been wagered on Alabama (14 percent) and three times more than has been bet on any other team.
More than half of the money bet on the national championship odds at DraftKings’ new sportsbook in New Jersey is on the Tigers and Tide, with 30 percent of it on Clemson, the company said.
Georgia and Ohio State are among the second tier of contenders on odds boards. The Bulldogs and Buckeyes are each 6-1 at the Westgate.
Michigan is 10-1, followed by Washington and Auburn at 15-1. The Tigers and Huskies face off on Saturday in Atlanta.