Updated College Football National Championship Odds Heading Into Summer

Steve DomineySteve Dominey | June 14, 2019
Oregon Ducks mascot
The Oregon Ducks will head into the 2019 NCAAF season with one of the best and most-experienced signal callers in the nation in the form of Justin Herbert. (Photo credit: John Martinez Pavliga (CC License)
  • BetOnline has updated 2020 CFP National Championship odds with college football season just over two months away
  • Clemson is favored to win the college football playoffs (+200) with Alabama close behind (+225)
  • Star quarterbacks make Georgia (+700), Texas (+2500) and Oregon (+3300) intriguing underdogs

While having a name brand head coach seems to be the most surefire way of securing a national championship (unless you’re Michigan, of course), having a top-notch signal caller is becoming increasingly essential in college football.

With Clemson and Alabama (and their respective Heisman-contender QBs) still the heavy favorites from the last time we checked the odds at BetOnline, let’s look at three underdog schools with star quarterbacks who will soon be playing in the NFL.

2020 NCAA Football Championship

College Team Odds
Clemson +200
Alabama +225
Georgia +700
Ohio State +900
Oklahoma +1200
Michigan +1600
Florida +2500
LSU +2500
Texas +2500
Notre Dame +3300
Oregon +3300
Penn State +3300
Auburn +5000
Nebraska +5000
Texas A&M +5000
Washington +5000
Wisconsin +5000

*Odds taken on 05/12/19

Oregon Ducks (+3300)

With his surprise return for his senior season, Justin Herbert puts the Ducks in outside contention for the national championship. Likely to be one of the top-three quarterbacks off the board in next year’s NFL Draft, the 6-foot-6 gunslinger has elite arm talent and can use his legs.

Considering Oregon has one of the most experienced offensive lines in the nation (160 combined career starts), including Gil Brandt’s top senior offensive lineman, Herbert should also stay clean in the pocket.

If the Ducks can get out of their opening weekend matchup with the Auburn Tigers unscathed, the College Football Playoffs could be a possibility.

Texas Longhorns (+2500)

While Sam Ehlinger hasn’t picked up the same type of draft buzz as Herbert to this point, the junior quarterback’s odds to win the Heisman (+1600) are exactly the same.

Following a 10-win season that included a victory over Oklahoma and a dominant Sugar Bowl triumph over Georgia, the dual-threat QB declared on national television, “Longhorn Nation, we’re back!”

Expectations for the program are understandably sky-high after Ehlinger threw for 25 TDs and just five interceptions last season, but Texas could be held back by a defense that is breaking in eight new starters.

Georgia Bulldogs (+700)

After his magical freshman year ended with a 26-23 loss to Alabama in the national championship game, Jake Fromm followed up with a sophomore season where he ranked in the top 12 nationally in touchdowns, completion percentage, yards per attempt and efficiency rating.

Entering his junior year, the prototypical NFL-style quarterback was just projected by CBS Sports as the no. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, which would make Fromm the first Georgia passer since Matthew Stafford to go first overall.

Fromm is playing in a new offense under first-year OC James Coley, but with D’Andre Swift, one of the top running backs in the nation, at his disposal, he has an excellent chance of leading the Bulldogs back to college football’s biggest game.

Steve Dominey

Steve has almost 15 years of experience in marketing, PR and sports television. After acquiring a Journalism degree from Carleton University, he assembled highlight packs for Canada's most-watched sports network (TSN) before transitioning to a career in communications. He describes himself as a good father, great dog owner, and mediocre gambler and husband.