College football is heating up at BetMGM, with college football futures markets starting to fill out ahead of the long summer months. The 2024 college football win totals are live now over on the sportsbook.'
On the other hand, the 2024 college football national championship odds market has been live since just a few minutes after Michigan pummeled Washington in last season's title game.'
The championship market has been far from static. Through the first few months of the 2024 offseason, one team in particular has been a hugely popular target among thousands of bettors: Ohio State.'
Ohio State National Championship Odds
At BetMGM, Ohio State is +375 to win the 2024 national championship. That's second in the college football futures table, behind only Georgia (+325).
At that price, Ohio State is essentially an early co-favorite to win the title this season.
Ohio State football didn't start the year with this lofty status. Instead, it grew into it after the opening turmoil of the 2024 offseason.'
On Jan. 9 – the day after last season's national championship game – Georgia was installed as a steady +350 favorite. Alabama was second in the table at +550. Ohio State and Michigan were priced similarly at +800 and +900, respectively. Texas (+900), Oregon (+1000), and Ole Miss (+1100) were also in the mix.'
Within weeks, major coaching changes rippled through the market. Nick Saban retired, and Kalen DeBoer made a cross-country move from Washington to Alabama to replace the living legend. Jim Harbaugh announced that he intended to leave the national championship in Michigan and return to the NFL.
The coaching turnover threw a real wet blanket on the top of the market, eventually dropping Alabama to +1400 and Michigan to +2000, where they remain today.
But the major drop-off of two top contenders left a huge mathematical vacuum at the top of the market.'
Ohio State filled that void, drawing major action and dropping all the way to its current +375 price. Its first market peak was in March when the Buckeyes actually matched Georgia at +350 and temporarily became a literal co-favorite.'
Since then, the market has separated them, but only by 50 cents.
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| Team | Odds (January 10, 2024) | Team | Odds (May '24) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | +350 | Georgia | +325 |
| Alabama | +550 | Ohio State | +375 |
| Ohio State | +800 | Texas | +700 |
| Michigan | +900 | Oregon | +1000 |
| Texas | +900 | Alabama | +1400 |
| Oregon | +1000 | Ole Miss | +1600 |
| Ole Miss | +1100 | LSU | +1600 |
| LSU | +1600 | Michigan | +2000 |
The big odds movement hasn't just been driven by passive mathematical adjustment on the sportsbook's end. There is a huge groundswell of support for Ohio State that spans square and sharp bettors alike.'
At BetMGM, for every $3 bet on the national championship, more than $1 is allocated to Ohio State. In total, 24.6% of all national championship tickets and 36.8% of all national championship handle are behind the Buckeyes.'
For a comparison point, consider the splits for Georgia (11.7% tickets/17.2% handle) or Texas (7.8% tickets/7.1% handle).'
So, yes, Ohio State football is dominating the 2024 futures market with more than one-third of the overall handle. But Seamus Magee, trading manager at the BetMGM online sportsbook, was quick to offer historical points of comparison when I spoke with him about the Buckeyes.'