2024/25 College Football Playoff: Picks and Predictions

Late summer marks the start of the 2024 college football season, and it's a long road to the winter's College Football Playoff.

The battle for a spot in the brand new 12-team CFP is on the horizon, and with it comes a number of ways to capitalize on the value that this new format brings.

While there are some of the usual programs listed at the top of the odds board, this new format makes looking into a potential longshot a pretty attractive option compared to previous years.  

Let’s dive into the odds and our expert’s predictions for the College Football Playoff and National Championship this season.

2024 College Football National Championship pick and prediction

Oregon Ducks  (+800)

While Oregon’s odds to win its first national title in program history have dropped throughout the summer, there’s still value on this loaded Ducks team to take home the sport’s top prize. 

After moving to the pacific northwest from Georgia, head coach Dan Lanning has been excellent in his first two seasons with the Ducks, posting a 22-5 record over his first 27 games with the program.

Lanning has prioritized hitting the transfer portal, bringing in plenty of talent on both sides of the ball this offseason, particularly in the defensive backfield with the dynamic cornerback duo of Jabbar Muhammed and Brandon Johnson.

Most importantly for Oregon, Dillon Gabriel will step in at quarterback and lead an offense that should be tailor made for him to have consistent success. The former Oklahoma and UCF quarterback should have a plethora of weapons at his disposal, both in the receiving corps and out of the backfield as part of what projects to be one of the best offenses in the country.

Compared to some of the other National Championship contenders (particularly in the SEC), the Ducks have a pretty favorable schedule, as Oregon dodges the likes of Penn State, USC, Iowa and Nebraska while getting its biggest game of the season against Ohio State at home. 

Upon examining the Ducks schedule, the only truly difficult road game for this Oregon team is going to be at Michigan on November 2, a game in which the Ducks should still be favored by around a field goal.

There’s a clear path to the Big Ten title game with this schedule, and even if Oregon finishes with 2 losses within the conference, the Ducks still should make the College Football Playoff. 

This outright number is one that could drop significantly by midseason, so backing the Ducks to win it all at this price is our headline selection.

2024/25 College Football Playoff picks and predictions

Utah Utes (+240)

Due to the specific machinations of the new College Football Playoff format, there’s going to be value on a Big 12 team to qualify for the 12-team playoffs this season.

Therefore, it’s difficult to understand how a team that will be favored in at least 10 games this season and has the best shot at winning the Big 12 (and securing a first round bye in the playoffs as a result) can be priced at greater than +200 to make the College Football Playoff.

After an injury-riddled season in 2023, Utah returns a lot of its key contributors on both sides of the ball, including veteran quarterback Cam Rising, who missed the entirety of the 2023 campaign due to injury. Thanks to Rising’s presence under center, the Utes offense should hit the ground running and be much improved from that 2023 campaign.

On the other side of the ball, it’s hard to have any concerns with longtime defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley’s defense, a unit that continues to produce at a high level no matter the season.

Outside of a pair of difficult games against Oklahoma State and UCF, the Utes should sail through the remainder of their road games, in addition to likely being double-digit favorites in all of their contests in Salt Lake City.

Utah also dodges a few bullets in avoiding Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech and West Virginia on the schedule, all of which are projected to finish in the top half of the Big 12 this season.  

As long as Kyle Whittingham’s team is able to split these tricky road spots against the Cowboys and Knights, Utah should safely make it into the Big 12 title game. From there, this selection has plenty of value.

Boise State Broncos (+400)

The reason as to why this number is longer than any of the Power 4 playoff contenders is because the Group of 5 is only promised one spot in the playoff under the current format.

However, we’re of the opinion that Boise State is clearly the best team in the Group of 5, while also having a schedule that is conducive to racking up impressive results that could influence the selection committee’s decision making come December. 

For starters, the Broncos won the Mountain West a season ago despite not having consistent quarterback play and firing their head coach during the middle of the season. This campaign should produce far less tumult and should just be about football. 

Former 5-star recruit Malachi Nelson should start at quarterback, and he promises to be electric from the opening snap. Ashton Jeanty - one of the best running backs in the nation - is back to run behind a solid offensive line, and Boise State has a plethora of weapons on the outside to share the wealth. 

On defense, the Broncos should be rock solid once again under defensive coordinator Erik Chinander and head coach Spencer Danielson overseeing that unit.

Most importantly, the Broncos only have one clear loss on their schedule, a game at Oregon on September 7. Outside of that contest, Boise State should be favored in every game, with opportunities to earn impressive wins against Washington State and Oregon State on the blue turf.

As long as the Broncos finish with just one loss and are able to win the Mountain West Championship, they should be clear favorites to make the College Football Playoff as the Group of 5 representative.

Read the full list of odds for teams to make or miss the College Football Playoff.

2024/25 National Championship outright odds

Georgia	+300
Ohio State	+400
Oregon	+800
Texas	+800
Alabama	+1200
Ole Miss	+1400
LSU	+1800
Penn State	+2200
Notre Dame	+2500
Florida State	+2500

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.