Alabama clear favorite to win college football title

Alabama has separated itself from the field in college football.

The Crimson Tide is now the odds-on favorite at -125 at the Westgate to win the College Football Playoff. Clemson (3-1) and Ohio State (+350) are next, followed by a sizable gap to Notre Dame (14-1) and Florida (30-1).

The odds reflect Alabama’s clear path to the playoff — it would likely be in even with a loss to Florida in the SEC title game — but also its dominance this season, Westgate vice president of risk Ed Salmons said.

Alabama would be a 6½-point favorite over Clemson on a neutral field, Salmons said.

“Obviously, Alabama’s offense has been pretty dominant,” he said. “They’ve been so much better than the other teams, it’s almost hard to get a read on them.”

The Crimson Tide (9-0) have scored at least 38 points in every game and have scored 52 or more four times. Alabama wiped out Louisiana State 55-17 on Saturday.

Clemson (9-1) remains Alabama’s closest competition, Salmons said. The Tigers lost to Notre Dame 47-40 earlier this season while quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sidelined by the coronavirus. Every game with Lawrence has been a victory by at least 18 points.

“When they have the team together and are motivated to play, no one is in the same stadium with them in the ACC,” Salmons said.

Ohio State (5-0) has been handicapped by the Big Ten’s delayed start to the season, but the Buckeyes still appear to be on track for the playoff if they win their regular-season finale against Michigan and the Big Ten title game.

Notre Dame (10-0) faces Clemson in a rematch in the ACC title game, but the Irish would still appear to have a playoff berth in hand, barring a horrific blowout defeat. The betting market remains skeptical of Notre Dame, with the Irish on a clear tier below the top three teams in title futures.

The fly in the ointment could be Florida (8-1). If the Gators beat Alabama in the SEC title game, that could leave Ohio State or Notre Dame (if it loses to Clemson) on the outside looking in.

Salmons said Florida is his fourth-ranked team, and the Gators would be 7-point favorites over Notre Dame.

“Florida can score a lot of points. Florida could outscore even Alabama,” he said.

The odds drop dramatically after the top five. Texas A&M and Cincinnati are at 60-1, and everyone else is 100-1 or greater.

Texas A&M (7-1) beat Florida 41-38 earlier this season but was blown out by Alabama 52-24. The Aggies would need Alabama to beat Florida and then probably hope Clemson or Ohio State loses.

Cincinnati (8-0) is headed to the American Athletic Conference title game against Tulsa. The Bearcats need chaos in the next two weeks to get into the playoff mix.

Coastal Carolina (10-0) scored a high-profile upset of previously unbeaten Brigham Young on Saturday, but the betting market shows the Chanticleers with virtually no chance at playoff consideration at 500-1.

Circa line moves

UNLV hasn’t won a game this season, but bettors pounced on the Rebels after Circa Sports opened this week’s lines.

UNLV (0-5) opened as a 25-point underdog at Hawaii (3-4) in its season finale Saturday, but the line was down to 20 on Monday.

Other big line moves from the Circa openers:

— Charlotte from +23 to +19 at Marshall.

— Arizona State from -8 to -11½ at Arizona.

— Purdue from +14 to +9 at Indiana.

WSOP Main Event

The international leg of the hybrid online/live WSOP Main Event attracted 674 players on GGPoker. The remaining entrants were playing down to the final nine late Monday.

The U.S. portion of the Main Event, the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship, starts Sunday on WSOP.com. Players must be physically in Nevada and New Jersey to play, but they don’t have to be residents.

The winners of the U.S. and international legs will play heads-up in person at the Rio on Dec. 30 to crown the world champion.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.