The Florida State Seminoles are 14-0 SU and 11-3 ATS over their last 14 games, and they are one of only two teams currently favored to make college football’s inaugural four-team playoff this season.
College Football Playoff Odds: Alabama, Florida State the favorites
Florida State and Alabama are the only schools currently favored to make the new college football final four. See the other odds for other top teams.
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FSU is going off at -250 on those odds, enjoying the perfect combination of being an elite team with a very manageable schedule. The Seminoles won their 14 games last season by an average margin of victory of over 40 points per game, never winning a game by less than double digits until the BCS National Championship.
Fans that bet against Florida State at +170 will need the Noles to lose and four other teams to outshine them, which will be a tough task.
The Alabama Crimson Tide’s odds are at -120, both to make and miss the postseason. The Crimson Tide appear to be a top four team in the country, and if they win the SEC they are a sure thing to advance.
But with Auburn (+225 to advance, -350 not to) and LSU (Yes +250, No -400) also looming in the SEC West, the Tide will have tough competition to advance to the SEC title game; and a team that fails to do so will have trouble getting into a playoff spot over other conference champions.
The Oregon Ducks are +120 to make the playoffs and -160 not to. Oregon should be favored in every game it plays in this season, and if it can avoid a loss at home against tricky Stanford (who the Ducks are 0-2 SU and ATS against over the last two years) or on the road against UCLA (+300 to advance, -500 not to), the Ducks have a great shot of running the table. They remain heavy favorites in odds to win the Pac 12 in 2014.
Other contenders to make the postseason include the Oklahoma Sooners (Yes +150, No -200), the Georgia Bulldogs (Yes +250, No -400), the Michigan State Spartans (Yes +250, No -400), the Ohio State Buckeyes (Yes +300, No -500), the Baylor Bears (Yes +350, No -600) and the Wisconsin Badgers (Yes +400, No -700). The Big 12 and Big Ten champions are likely candidates for playoff spots.
