Week 8 brought more chaos: No. 3 BYU, No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 14 Iowa and No. 15 USC all lost to unranked teams. No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 16 Houston also lost, shifting the national title odds.
Ohio State is no longer the favorite as Georgia is now the top contender to win the title despite both teams being on bye. Notre Dame’s odds have also increased even though they were on bye. Miami’s and Indiana’s odds remain the same after their victories, while LSU, Alabama and Texas saw their odds increase.
Utah, despite being undefeated and ranked in the top 10 in the AP Poll, is not among the top eight teams favored to win the national championship. In fact, their odds are +4000, the best of any Big 12 team.
Here is where the title contenders
stand after eight weeks, courtesy of FanDuel.
Georgia (+420)
Even though Georgia just lost to Auburn in their last game, it makes sense they are the favorite to win it all. Through the first eight weeks of the season, they appear to be the best overall team. They also have only one loss, while many SEC teams have at least two. The rest of their schedule is tough, with their next three games against currently ranked teams in Florida, Ole Miss and Missouri. If they can survive that stretch, they should be clear favorites when the CFP begins.
Notre Dame (+470)
Their only loss this season was to BYU, which ended controversially, with Big 12 officials admitting the Fighting Irish should have had one more second to try to win. They also played an unusually sloppy game, losing a fumble right before halftime, or they probably would have won. I still don't see them winning the national championship. They don't have a player who can take over a game like other teams do.
Ohio State (+500)
With Julian Sayin out, Ohio State’s chances of winning the National Championship seemed to go with him. It remains to be seen how their offense will look the rest of the season without him, but they still have Jeremiah Smith, who is very dangerous no matter who the quarterback is.
Miami (+650)
Quarterback Darian Mensah and receiver Malachi Toney are playing on another level. Mensah threw for 387 passing yards and four touchdowns against Pittsburgh last week. Three of those touchdowns went to Toney, who had 16 receptions and 194 receiving yards. This is his third game with at least 150 receiving yards and at least two touchdowns. With this duo, it is hard to see anyone beating them.
Indiana (+850)
Indiana didn't score a touchdown until overtime. They had all of their starters. Josh Hoover played quarterback the whole game. Michigan’s defense has given up fewer than 20 points, reflecting how well the Wolverines are playing defensively. Still, it is concerning to see their offense play so poorly when looking at Indiana’s chances at a repeat.
LSU (+1000)
LSU has had two close losses to Ole Miss and Kentucky, but also has dominant wins over Clemson, Texas A&M, and Auburn. The biggest concern is that they have lost to the toughest opponent they have faced so far: the Rebels. They have a rough stretch to finish the season with games against Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. If they can come out of those three games with a win, they really could be contenders.
Alabama (+1000)
After back-to-back losses against Georgia and Tennessee, the Crimson Tide got back in the win column with an 11-point victory over Texas A&M. Any SEC team is going to have an incredibly difficult schedule, and with the committee focusing a lot on strength of schedule, that could be enough to get Alabama into a playoff game, assuming they win their remaining games.
Texas (+1500)
Texas’ success relies on Arch Manning. After blowing fourth-quarter leads the previous two weeks, Manning and the Longhorns held on to beat Ole Miss, their second SEC win of the year. First, I am not convinced they will even make the playoffs. But if they do, Texas is not consistent enough to win the title.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: College football national championship odds after Week 8 chaos
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