Updated 2020 National Championship Odds – June 10th Edition

We’re still a couple months away from the beginning of the 2019 college football season, but it is never too early to talk about next year’s national champion. The high drama going into last year’s national championship game between Alabama and Clemson evaporated quickly, as the Tigers rolled to a rout over the Crimson Tide thanks to a smashmouth defense and an aggressive offense. Alabama and Clemson remain the top two favorites to hoist the trophy at the end of the coming campaign, with Clemson projected to have an 83% chance to make the College Football Playoff, and Alabama projected to have a 71% chance. Michigan comes in a distant third, at 41%. We have the latest 2020 National Championship odds for the contenders below, along with some thoughts about some of the top programs.

Updated 2020 National Championship Odds – June 10th Edition

Our 2019 College Football top-25 preseason rankings: 1. CLEM 2. BAMA 3. OKLA 4. GA 5. OSU 6. LSU 7. FLA 8. TEX 9. ND 10. WSU 11. UK 12. WAS 13. MICH 14. UCF 15. TA&M 16. SYR 17. PSU 18. ARMY 19. FRES 20. NW 21. WVU 22. IOWA 23. USU 24. BSU 25. CIN

— Red Zone Hive (@RedZoneHive) June 8, 2019

Contender Odds to Win the 2020 National Championship

• Alabama Crimson Tide                                                                                               3/2
• Clemson Tigers                                                                                                           7/2
• Ohio State Buckeyes, Georgia Bulldogs                                                                    8/1
• Michigan Wolverines                                                                                                  14/1
• Oklahoma Sooners                                                                                                     16/1
• Texas Longhorns, LSU Tigers                                                                                    25/1
• Washington Huskies, Notre Dame Fighting Irish                                                       30/1
• Nebraska Cornhuskers, Florida Gators, Oregon Ducks, Texas A&M Aggies           40/1
• Auburn Tigers                                                                                                             60/1
• Wisconsin Badgers                                                                                                     80/1
• Mississippi State Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, Utah Utes, USC Trojans, Virginia Tech Hokies, Penn State Nittany Lions, Iowa Hawkeyes, Florida State Seminoles                                                                                             100/1

Clemson still has quarterback Trevor Lawrence, along with ESPN 300 wide receivers Joe Ngata and Frank Ladson. Amari Rodgers (ACL) is done, but Lawrence will still have plenty of options. So the offense should be just as high-flying as it was in 2018. There are some questions on the defensive line, as the injury bug has hit some of the projected starters. However, Xavier Thomas leads a talented crew in that unit to start Clemson’s title defense. Alabama had as its biggest injury news in the spring a hip replacement surgery — for head coach Nick Saban. Tua Tagovailoa is the undisputed starting quarterback, as Jalen Hurts is now an Oklahoma Sooner. The Tide’s defense lost a ton of players to the NFL and saw their scheme shredded in the national championship game — but Saban knows how to recruit, and he knows how to put together a new scheme to win. Georgia still has quarterback Jake Fromm — and wideout Jeremiah Holloman, who looks like the real deal. Eric Stokes, a third-year cornerback, leads a secondary that will hopefully be better at stopping drives against elite teams than they were last year. Oklahoma looks set for a playoff position with their latest transfer at quarterback. Jalen Hurts looked terrific in the Oklahoma spring game, and he has also moved into a solid leadership position in the locker room. Ohio State brought in Justin Fields as a transfer at quarterback, and then Gunnar Hoak came in as a graduate transfer from Kentucky. J.P. Andrade walked on, which makes the quarterback position deep once again in Columbus. Notre Dame brings back quarterback Ian Book and a defensive line that is deep and experienced. The Fighting Irish have a monster schedule, playing Stanford, USC, Michigan, Virginia and Georgia, so getting back to the College Football Playoff will take some huge clutch performances. Michigan brings back quarterback Shea Patterson and the majority of the offense and welcomes Josh Gattis as the new coordinator. The Wolverines have the talent on both sides of the ball to win a lot of games — but they’re also in the same division as Ohio State. Florida will return Feleipe Franks at quarterback, and the offense actually looked dynamic in the spring game, thanks to a group of receivers. Graduate transfer Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga are set to lead the pass rush as the Gators are still emphasizing defense as well. LSU may have actually come into the twenty-first century on offense, as the run-pass option could finally make the difference in Baton Rouge. K’Lavon Chaisson and Grant Delpit will be the leaders of a perennially ironclad Tiger defense.