Way-Too-Early 2025 CFP National Championship Betting Odds

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Mon, 06/09/2025

Way-Too-Early 2025 CFP National Championship Betting Odds

The 2025 college football season is still months away, but anticipation is already at a fever pitch ahead of the new campaign. For the fourth straight year, the Aer Lingus College Football Classic will kick off the new term on August 23rd as the Iowa State Cyclones take on the Kansas State Wildcats at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. And if last year's kickoff game is anything to go by, fans are in for an absolute treat.

 

In 2024, Florida State headed to the Emerald Isle as a top-ten ranked team and a huge favorite to kick off their campaign with a statement-making victory. In the end, however, they were humbled by the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets as kicker Aidan Birr sent over a walk-off 44-yard field goal to secure his side a famous victory. With the 2025 curtain raiser just around the corner, online gambling sites already have a narrow frontrunner in mind.

 

The latest odds from the popular Bovada online gambling site currently make the Wildcats a 3.5-point betting favorite for the season opener, pricing them at -150 on the moneyline, with the Cyclones out at +130. But even though the season hasn't yet gotten underway - and it won't for another couple of months - the bookies already have their contenders earmarked for the national championship. Let's take a look at who they are.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes head into 2025 as the reigning champions and the +600 betting favorites to successfully go back-to-back. Last term, they claimed their first title in a decade and, as the number eight seeds, became the lowest-ranked team to have clinched the title since the CFP national championship game's creation. After dispatching the much-fancied Texas Longhorns in the semifinals and then the defensively resolute Notre Dame in the final, they reinforced their status as the team to beat in the NCAA.

 

 

Boasting a top-10 offense and an experienced defense, the Buckeyes somewhat stuttered their way through the Big Ten, finishing 11-2 before quarterback Will Howard then hit his stride in the postseason. He threw for over 300 yards in the 41-21 Rose Bowl upset of the unbeaten Oregon Ducks before helping his side grind out a 28-14 victory against Texas in the semifinals. The 23-year-old then delivered an efficient display against Notre Dame in the showpiece, completing 17 of his 21 passes to seal the title, but now, attention turns to the future.

 

Howard has since been drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, while wide receiver Emeka Egbuka heads to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a first-round pick. Yet, Ohio State is hardly short on talent. With quarterback Devin Brown poised to take the reins and a recruiting class ranked third nationally, the Buckeyes look resilient. Don't be surprised to see them make another all-out assault on the title this season.

Texas Longhorns

Texas football is thriving under head coach Steve Sarkisian, and fans are optimistic that 2025 could be the year they rekindle their glorious past. The Longhorns last tasted national success back in 2005, and many thought that last season would be the one in which they returned to former glories. But despite finishing the campaign as the Big 12 champions, they fell short in the semifinals against Ohio State, and now they will have to bounce back from that bitter disappointment.

 

At odds of +650, narrowly behind the Buckeyes, the bookies clearly think they are up to the task. Quarterback Quinn Ewers has since moved on to the NFL, but Texas will now be led by standout Arch Manning, who is a member of the storied Manning family alongside Super Bowl-winning uncles Peyton and Eli. The 21-year-old showed flashes of brilliance throughout his junior year, racking up a QBR of over 180 in ten appearances, and he is expected to build on that platform in 2025.

 

Big additions from the 2025 recruiting class solidify Texas’s claim as a contender. Ranked first in the nation, the class includes five-star defenders Justus Terry and Jonah Williams, who are primed to fortify their D-line. The transfers of tight end Jack Endries and linebacker Travis Shaw also add depth. However, it is Manning who is the heart of the Longhorns’ offense, and with more experience and a proven track record, he’s expected to set the pace for what could be a historic season in Austin.

Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs have been the gold standard over the last decade, claiming back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. They were heavily favored to claim a third straight crown in 2023 before being stunned by the Alabama Crimson Tide in the conference championships, and that seemingly affected their 2024 campaign as well.

 

With the likes of Brock Bowers, Amarius Mims, and Ladd McConkey all moving to the NFL last summer, the Bulldogs had a rocky campaign last season. They entered the year as the number one-ranked team in the country, but a loss against Alabama and a stunner against Ole Miss saw them drop to number six nationwide. Still, they managed to upset Texas to win the SEC despite an injury to star quarterback Carson Beck, and that has prompted the bookies to make the former champions a +750 third favorite to return to college football's summit in 2025.

 

The aforementioned Beck will complete his senior year in Miami, handing the quarterback reins to junior Gunner Stockton, the youngster who managed to mastermind that victory over Texas. Georgia’s defense took a hit with key departures like linebacker Mykel Williams to the NFL, but even still, the Bulldogs have managed to reload rather than rebuild. Five-star recruit edge rusher Garrett Ross is perhaps the pick of the reinforcements, while tight end Oscar Delp could emerge as the next offensive star in Athens.