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Who Will Make the 12-Team College Football Playoff? Odds and Best Bets

by Mike Allen - 8/12/2024

Who will make the 12 team college football playoff? Riley Leonard Notre Dame

This season, particularly the 2024 12-Team College Football Playoff, is a historic moment, and one that is long overdue. Finally, the bureaucratic bowl money situation gave way to a playoff system that was a step up, but we always knew it could improve. Now, in 2024, a 12-Team College Football Playoff debuts, and college football fans around the country are excited.

Before we jump into the betting odds and our best bets for the 12-Team College Football Playoff, let's touch on the criteria the committee will use to choose 12 teams for a postseason tournament.

The first 5 teams in will be the 5 highest ranked conference champions. From there, the next 7 highest-ranked teams will be accepted.

What a fun time for college football. The 12-seed could be a team like Liberty or perhaps Appalachian State. The over/under for how many SEC teams make the college football playoff is set at 4.5. The conference is loaded this season.

With that said, maybe they beat up on each other, and we see an at-large bid from one of the weaker conferences like the ACC or the Big 12. Clemson is a team that comes to mind, and Iowa in the Big 12 could get to that magic number of 10 wins that could propel them into the playoff.

Betting Odds to Make the 12-Team College Football Playoff

Ohio State: -550

Georgia: -500

Oregon: -300

Texas: -225

Notre Dame: -200

Penn State: -150

Ole Miss: -135

Alabama: -110

LSU: +125

Michigan: +150

Florida State: +165

Missouri: +175

Tennessee: +200

Clemson: +200

Miami: +200

Texas A&M: +225

Utah: +225

Liberty: +300

Kansas State: +325

Boise State: +400

USC: +425

Oklahoma: +450

Auburn: +650

Iowa: +650

Washington: +1000

Colorado: +1200

Best Bets to Make the College Football Playoff

Unfortunately, we had to steer clear of the betting favorites. Odds of (-500) is too much to pay. Maybe you are a big dog, and the (-300) for Oregon is inside of your price range.

I tried to give you a little bit of everything with the range of betting odds today.

Notre Dame: -200

The Fighting Irish are currently tied with the next team we will talk about for 5th on the College Football Power Index’s teams most likely to make the 12-Team CFP at 59.1%. These two teams are also only two of six projected to win 10 or more games.

Their probability to win out, and running the table this regular season, is higher at 15.8% than any other program in the country.

The Irish have a tough start to their schedule, as they have to travel to College Station for their first game of the year. From there, it's mostly smooth sailing until they host the Seminoles of Florida State the first weekend after the election. They travel to LA to play USC, of course, but they will likely be favored heavily there.

If this team wins 10 games, I believe they are in.

Penn State: -140

The Penn State Nittany Lions are once again flying under everyone’s radar this year. We don’t know, of course, how the Big Ten will play out with the additions of Oregon and other Pac-12 teams now in the conference.

Penn State also plays USC this year. However, other than that, they host the Ohio State Buckeyes in early November. For games vs currently ranked teams, that’s it for Penn State.

Maybe they slip up in a look-ahead game the prior week, traveling to Wisconsin. That's a worry, but not enough to get me off of the moderately priced (-140).

Alabama: -110

Wow, 12 teams will make the playoffs this year, and we are getting near even money on the Alabama Crimson Tide to be a part of it.

It sounds too good to be true. When you look at their schedule, however, you begin to understand. There will be 9-win teams who get in. So, why not a famous one with a gigantic fan base from the best conference?

Clemson: +200

The Clemson Tigers come in here with a pretty price tag of (+200). I have to be honest. I was a buyer and a believer in quarterback Cade Klubnick last season. He did let me down. However, college football players, particularly quarterbacks, can experience an immense amount of growth from year to year.

Towards the end of the last season, Klubnik began to show signs of maturity and improvement. He will need it right away this year, as the Tigers open up against Georgia, and the following week, a hungry App State comes to town.

Maybe they lose when they travel to FSU, and they lose to Georgia as well. The rest of the road is very doable for Dabo and the boys.

Appalachian State: +1000

They have a big game against Liberty mid-season. Should App State find a way to secure that W, they will be in the driver's seat to lock in that 12th seed.

Liberty is currently (+300). I did have them on here, and I took them off after a few flashbacks from the beating they took in the Fiesta Bowl. It's too soon for the selection committee to bring back the Flames.

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