USC CFP National Championship Odds: Trojans Remain Steady on Major Sportsbooks

Published: Sep 19, 2022
Updated: Jan 6, 2024

It was a dominating win at home for the Trojans. However, the USC football national championship odds remained steady across all the major US sports betting sites entering this week.

The Trojans throttled Fresno State at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a 45-17 victory. After a flurry of upsets a week ago, most of the top college football teams avoided disaster and walked away with wins this past weekend.

There is still time to make a low-risk, high-reward bet on USC to win it all before sports betting sites start showing more faith in the Trojans. FanDuel California, DraftKings California, and BetMGM California all have the best College Football Playoff futures odds for USC at +1200. Georgia is the favorite to win the championship on the major US sportsbooks, except on Caesars Sportsbook California, where Alabama holds the top spot.

USC’s focus now shifts back to conference play. The Trojans will look to claim their spot in the Pac-12 title game over the next two months. Their title odds may not move much between now and then if the teams ahead of them don’t lose. However, any hopes they have of realistically winning it all hinges on them not getting tripped up in conference play.

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USC Football 2022 CFP National Championship Odds

TeamBetMGM SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookFanDuel SportsbookCaesars Sportsbook
Georgia+175+175+180+210
Alabama+200+210+200+200
Ohio State+300+275+300+325
Clemson+1000+1400+1100+1200
USC+1200+1200+1200+1400
Michigan+2500+1800+2500+2500
Oklahoma+4000+4000+4000+4000
Penn State+5000+6000+6000+6000
Tennessee+5000+6000+6000+7500
Oklahoma State+10000+10000+10000+7500

Odds listed for four of the top sportsbooks as of Sep. 19, 2022.

Sportsbooks Keep USC Odds Relatively the Same

Unlike Week 2 of the college football season, we didn’t see much chaos in Week 3. Only one of the Associated Press Top 25 teams lost to an unranked opponent.

So without the impactful upsets, USC’s championship odds didn’t move much across all the major US Sportsbooks. In fact, the only place where there was any movement was on Caesars, where the Trojans moved from +1600 to +1400. The odds stayed the same at +1200 on FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM.

USC is still ranked No. 7 on the AP Poll. However, the Trojans still have top-five sports betting odds across all four major US sportsbooks.

The other four teams at the top of the list are Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson. Since the College Football Playoff was instituted in 2014, these are the only four teams to have competed for the championship on more than one occasion. Also, there has been only one occasion where one of these teams didn’t win the championship, when LSU won in 2019-2020.

All things considered, USC will need to do a lot to push past these powerhouse schools if it has any real shot of taking home the championship this year.

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Surprise Teams in the Pac-12 Could Help Trojans’ CFP Case

If USC can run the table, I like its chances of making the playoff no matter what happens in front of it. But beating up on teams like Rice and Fresno State isn’t going to convince the College Football Playoff selection committee that USC is one of the best four teams in the country.

The Trojans will need to dominate Pac-12 play. The conference has been on the outside looking in at the CFP more often than not. However, the Pac-12 seems to have a few teams making significant strides. Meaning wins over those teams could help boost USC’s resume when it is all said and done.

Currently, USC only has one ranked conference opponent on its schedule, No. 13 Utah. After losing to Florida earlier in the year, the Utes will have to run the table if they hope to have any shot at making it to the playoff. Knocking off a one-loss Utah team on the road would be a massive feather in the cap for the Trojans.

If we project forward to a potential Pac-12 championship game matchup, we could see USC take on an undefeated Washington or a solid one-loss Oregon. A win there would be huge for the Trojans. If USC can show out in quality wins, I would expect them to get the nod over a one-loss SEC runner-up.

Oklahoma could throw a wrench in all of this. Imagine having five unbeaten conference champions and a one-loss Alabama or Georgia and picking four of them to compete for a national championship. That is not a job I’d sign up for.

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Other College Football Future Bets

In many states, betting on college sports has several restrictions. For example, in Arizona, you can’t make any player prop bets in college. However, several future betting options are still available in college football across the sportsbook landscape.

Most major sportsbooks offer future bets like:

  • Who will win the Heisman Trophy?
  • Whether or not a particular team will win 10+ games.
  • Whether or not a specific team will make the College Football Playoff.
  • Who will win each conference.
  • Champion vs. the field: Picking one or two teams to win the championship over all the others.

How Do I Bet on College Football?

When you first start betting on college football, you’ll likely struggle as you fall into one of several beginner traps. Here are three common ones to look out for and hopefully avoid.

1. Don’t bet on everything.

There are so many teams and conferences in the NCAA that it’s impossible to be knowledgeable about all of them. In addition, different conferences play very different styles, which shows in the points scored. Instead of being a generalist and trying to know everything about all the teams, consider finding a niche and focusing on a smaller subsection of the college football betting market.

2. Don’t be afraid of big numbers.

College football has a significant disparity between the best and worst teams, and when they meet, there will be huge spreads available. For example, a team could be favored by over 50 points. Similar large numbers also exist in the total when two high-octane offenses face off against each other.

For bettors coming from other sports, they may not be used to such large spreads, and they might want to stay away. Instead, do your research and figure out if it’s a strong bet. Don’t get scared off by the large numbers.

3. Shop for the best lines.

Too many bettors stick to one sportsbook for all their gambling. Instead, shop around for different lines from various books to find the best possible NCAA football odds. You may be surprised at how often lines can differ from sportsbook to sportsbook.

When California sports betting launches, you’ll want to download multiple CA sports betting apps for this purpose.

USC CFP National Championship Odds FAQs

What are USC football’s chances to win the CFP national championship?

USC football’s best College Football Playoff title odds are +2000 as of this writing. That’s an implied probability of 4.8%.

Is USC the favorite to win the 2022 college football national championship?

No. The current favorite is Alabama, with DraftKings offering the highest odds at +175.

Did USC football add any key transfers in the offseason?

Yes. The biggest of them all was Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams, who followed head coach Lincoln Riley over to USC and is currently a top-three preseason Heisman Trophy favorite.

Who offers the best College Football Playoff odds on USC?

FanDuel and BetMGM both offer the best USC CFP national championship odds as of this writing, at +2000. Caesars Sportsbook has the Trojans at +2200 and DraftKings has them at +2500. With these odds, if you’re making a preseason bet, you’d want to make your bet through DraftKings.

When’s the last time USC football won a national championship?

USC last won a college football national championship in 2004-05, when Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush led the Trojans to a 55-19 win over Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners.

C.J. Pierre

C.J. Pierre is a Lead Writer at CA Casinos, currently residing in the Phoenix-Metro Area in Arizona. He has been covering news and sports for over a decade for both online and TV broadcasts. He was born and raised in Minneapolis and an alum of Minnesota State University: Moorhead. He recently dove into tribal casino news. He also covered the launch of sports betting in Arizona. C.J. has experience as a reporter and videographer and has covered high school, college and professional sports throughout his career. Most notably following Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Vikings and North Dakota State University football.