The 2024 College Football Playoff bracket is set, and the games kick off this weekend! Here are our expert picks, predictions, and best bets to win the national championship!
The dawn of a new era in college football. The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff is set. Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State—the top four conference champions—earned the first-round byes, their reward for a season of dominance.
For the first time, playoff games will unfold on campus. Texas, the No. 5 seed, will host No. 12 Clemson. No. 6 Penn State welcomes No. 11 SMU. No. 7 Notre Dame hosts No. 10 Indiana. And in Columbus, No. 8 Ohio State faces No. 9 Tennessee. The path to glory begins.
So, what are the odds, expert picks, and best bets for this historic college football playoff?
2024 College Football Playoff Championship Odds
The stage is set, and the stakes are higher than ever. As the 12-team College Football Playoff begins its historic run, the favorites are clear. Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC runner-up Texas lead the pack, both at +350. Not far behind, Georgia, crowned SEC champion, sits at +360, while Ohio State follows at +525.
The odds tell one story, but the beauty of this new format is the unknown. Who holds the edge? Who could rise from the shadows? A season’s worth of grit, heartbreak, and triumph comes down to this—a chance to etch their names into history. The chase for the national championship begins.
So, what are the best bets and expert picks for this historic college football playoff?
| Teams | Odds |
| Oregon Ducks | +350 |
| Texas Longhorns | +350 |
| Georgia Bulldogs | +360 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | +525 |
| Penn State | +650 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | +1000 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | +2800 |
| SMU Mustangs | +4000 |
| Arizona State Sun Devils | +4000 |
| Indiana Hoosiers | +4500 |
| Clemson Tigers | +5000 |
| Boise State Broncos | +6000 |
2024 College Football Playoff Expert Picks, Predictions, & Best Bets
When you first look at the bracket, Penn State seemingly has the most straightforward route, while No. 1 overall-seeded Oregon seems to have that path of most resistance. This is pretty laughable, considering Oregon defeated Penn State in the Big Ten championship, and one would think it would get the easiest path in the bracket as the No. 1 seed.
If you go back to the start of the 2024 season and check out our 2024 College Football Playoff bracket predictions, you’ll see we picked Oregon as the No. 5 seed to meet Texas in the national championship game, with the Longhorns as the No. 4 seed. That final is still possible as Oregon and Texas are on opposite sides of the brackets as the top two overall seeds.
Our final four consisted of Georgia, Oregon, Ohio State, and Texas. So, what are the best bets, and where is the value?
Best Value Play
When looking for value in this bracket, Notre Dame immediately jumps at +1000. The Irish will host Indiana in round 1, but the Georgia Bulldogs await if they get past the Hoosiers. First, we have no idea if this Irish team is for real or not. I believe the defense is solid, but they’ve never faced a high-powered offense. I love Jermimiah Love at running back, but does Riley Leonard have enough to lead them to four straight victories over the best teams in the nation?
Irish fans keep talking about their three top-25 wins. Army is good, don’t get me wrong. Those three wins were Army, Navy, and Texas A&M. I understand that A&M was ranked in the top 10 when Notre Dame beat them to start the season, but the reality is that Texas A&M finished sixth in the SEC. They weren’t even a top-5 team in their conference. Notre Dame played a schedule ranked 59th in SOS. We just don’t know who they are, so I can’t make sense of playing them.
Nico Iamaleava as a redshirt freshman:
199/303 (65.7%) completions
2,512 yards (209 YPG; 8.8 YPA)
19 TD/5 INT (1.7% INT rate)
Most importantly, a 10-2 record and a berth in the CFP.SKY IS THE LIMIT FOLKS pic.twitter.com/juC6kEi5AD
— Orange Inferno 🍊🏆 (@VolsAboveAll) December 1, 2024
Tennessee also jumps at +2800. Let me start by saying they have an arduous path. They open on the road at Ohio State as 7.5-point underdogs. If they claim an upset victory over the Buckeyes, they get the No. 1 overall seed and undefeated Oregon Ducks in round 2. They’re also led by a true freshman quarterback, Nico Iamaleava. He’s had some growing pains, but he’s also been electric at times and may just have the gunslinger mentality needed to make this improbable run.
Josh Heupel has built a juggernaut of an offense in Knoxville, and they have the firepower to get hot and make a historic run from the first round to the national title game. I’ll take this +2800 value on the Volunteers.
Best Value Bet: Tennessee +2800
Best Overall Bet to Win the 2024 College Football Playoff
I understand why Oregon and Texas are the favorites, but I think they both have challenging paths to the championship game. Texas has a very difficult first-round game as they play host to a stingy Clemson team that enters with Cade Klubnik under center, a quarterback who has continued to improve in his second full season as the starter for the Tigers.
If Texas gets past Clemson, I like them against Arizona State in the second round, but one of Oregon, Tennessee, or Ohio State would await them in the semifinals. That brings me to the fourth favorite, the Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs come in at +360 to win the national title. It goes without saying this is a team and program with a championship pedigree. They’re built for this. And unlike a few other teams in this tournament, they are battle-tested in 2024 and have come out on top in most of their marquee matchups.
Great day to be a Georgia Bulldog 😎 pic.twitter.com/nmLBK9AJ6J
— Thumser (@JeffreyThumser) December 8, 2024
The Bulldogs are 4-0 against teams in this tournament. They’ve blown out the Clemson Tigers 34-3. They’ve beaten Texas twice, including on the road in Austin. And they’ve beaten Tennessee. Of course, the starting quarterback’s health looms large as Carson Beck deals with an elbow injury. His status is still up in the air. Regardless of who they face in the second round, I like the Bulldogs. Even if they’re a bit sluggish from the layoff, I think the defense will do enough for them to beat either Notre Dame or Indiana. That brings us to their potential semifinal matchup. They would see either Penn State, SMU, or Boise State. While I think Penn State would absolutely create the most matchup issues with Georgia, I’d still take the Bulldogs.
Of course, this is a risk if Beck is out and backup Gunner Stockton has to lead the Bulldogs in the playoffs. He’s clearly not as battle-tested as Beck. But they’d still have an excellent run game and one of the best defenses in the country, led by the best coach in the tournament. I’m taking my chances on the Dawgs.
Best Bet: Georgia Bulldogs +360
