Steve Starr
- BetOnline has updated 2020 CFP National Championship odds with the college football season just over a month away
- Alabama (+225) and Clemson (+225) are co-favorites to win the College Football Playoff
- Big programs like LSU (+2500), Auburn (+3300) and Florida (+3300) hope to return to their winning ways
After combining to win the past four national championships, Alabama and Clemson are once again heavy co-favorites to capture college football’s biggest prize.
Since the two schools don’t leave a lot of room for others to be successful, I thought it would be fun to look at three former powerhouse programs that are looking to regain past glory: LSU, Auburn, and Florida.
2020 NCAA Football Championship
| Team | Odds |
| Alabama | +225 |
| Clemson | +225 |
| Georgia | +700 |
| Ohio State | +800 |
| Oklahoma | +1000 |
| Michigan | +1400 |
| LSU | +2200 |
| Texas | +2200 |
| Washington | +2500 |
| Auburn | +3300 |
| Florida | +3300 |
| Notre Dame | +3300 |
| Oregon | +3300 |
| Nebraska | +4000 |
| Texas A&M | +5000 |
| Miami FL | +6600 |
| Penn State | +6600 |
LSU Tigers (+2200)
After national championships in 2003 and 2007, and another title game appearance in 2011, LSU has become an afterthought in recent years.
Last season represented a step in the right direction as the Tigers won double-digit games for the first time since 2013, however, they still suffered an ugly 29-0 loss to SEC West rival Alabama. In fact, LSU hasn’t stayed within single digits of the Crimson Time since 2014.
Just how good is LSU safety Grant Delpit? Gene Chizik said he’s better than Minkah Fitzpatrick.https://t.co/VOya8J6WiP pic.twitter.com/yXfZ7GtFVS
— 247Sports (@247Sports) July 17, 2019
Still, with eight starters back on defense, including a kid that Tigers coach Ed Orgeron believes is the best defensive player in the country in safety Grant Delpit, Baton Rouge is once again brimming with hope.
If senior Joe Burrow can prove to be a savior at quarterback, the program has a chance to rise again.
Auburn Tigers (+3300)
In 2010, Cam Newton threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for another 20 in an unstoppable, undefeated (14-0) Heisman Trophy-winning season that ended with Auburn’s second-ever national championship. Almost a decade later and the program has just two seasons with double-digit wins since.
A steep underdog at 33/1, the Tigers season will come down to the performance of one of the best defensive lines in the country and five-star true freshman Bo Nix, who is competing for the starting QB position after leading his high school team to back-to-back state championships.
Since https://t.co/BI5PW3mHJ7 began its rankings in 2002, Auburn has signed only two five-star quarterbacks: Cameron Newton in 2010 and Bo Nix today. pic.twitter.com/7ZkggJtTMq
— Jeffrey Lee (@JLeeAURivals) December 19, 2018
The dual-threat star signals that better times are ahead for Auburn, but it’s hard to imagine the school unseating Tuscaloosa as the football capital of Alabama anytime soon.
Florida Gators (+3300)
Florida alumni who attended the campus in the mid-to-late 2000s must have the best reunions. The Gators won two college basketball national titles in 2006 and 2007 under Billy Donovan, and two more college football national championships in 2006 and 2008 with Urban Meyer.
While the 2010s has been a decade to forget, the football program finally got back on the right track last year, winning their last four games to finish 10-3.
The next Tebow? https://t.co/DTCwLNabPy
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) July 16, 2019
Many are predicting a breakout year for junior quarterback Feleipe Franks after his passing yards and touchdowns spiked under the tutelage of first-year head coach and quarterback whisperer Dan Mullen last season.
A surprise draft pick by the Boston Red Sox last month, Franks will have to be every bit as good as Tim Tebow was in his 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning year for Florida to return to prominence.
