2018 College Football Championship Odds: Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Favorite

The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off a disappointing 35-31 loss to the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, but they will reload for another title run under head coach Nick Saban as the +300 betting favorite (wager $100 to win $300) to win it all next season at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

The Crimson Tide will have quarterback Jalen Hurts back under center for his sophomore season as Saban goes for his fifth NCAA title at Alabama and sixth overall.

The Tide will still have a lot of competition, though, with perennial powers such as the Florida State Seminoles—the +750 second choice to win the national championship—plus the Ohio State Buckeyes (+800), USC Trojans (+900), Oklahoma Sooners (+1000) and Michigan Wolverines (+1200) all chasing them for the top prize in college football.

After Deshaun Watson led Clemson to an upset of Alabama, all of those aforementioned schools will be relying on their respective signal-callers to make Heisman Trophy runs.

Despite Watson leaving school for the NFL, the Tigers are listed at +1600 to repeat as national champs along with the LSU Tigers and Penn State Nittany Lions, while 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals are at +2000 at online betting sites.

Jackson and the Cardinals floundered down the stretch last season, losing three in a row following a 9-1 start, as Watson nearly caught him in the race for the Heisman.

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield finished third in Heisman voting ahead of former teammate Dede Westbrook, and at least he will be back in an effort to help the Sooners get back to the CFP.

Westbrook is gone after his senior year, but Mayfield is one of the Heisman favorites again as he looks to lead his team to a third straight Big 12 title.

In the Big Ten, it will be especially interesting to see how the Nittany Lions perform next season.

Penn State suffered a 52-49 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl but returns running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley and should be able to challenge favorites Ohio State and Michigan again as the reigning Big Ten champion.