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NCAA football betting: Oklahoma rising in national championship odds

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
·3 min read

If you want to get a bet in on Oklahoma winning the national title, now might be the time.

The Sooners opened the 2021 season with some close calls, beating Tulane, Nebraska, West Virginia and Kansas State by an average of 5.25 points. And then against rival Texas, the Sooners trailed 38-20 at halftime.

The first-half struggles against Texas caused Lincoln Riley to make a quarterback change and substitute Caleb Williams in for Spencer Rattler. Rattler had received hype as a potential first-round pick, but was plagued by inconsistent play.

Williams, a heralded five-star freshman, came in and gave Oklahoma a spark, leading an epic come-from-behind victory over Texas. A week later, Williams got his first career start against TCU and put together an excellent performance.

In the 52-31 win, Williams completed 18-of-23 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 66 yards and a score.

Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams (13) runs in for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against TCU, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams (13) runs in for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against TCU, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Sooners are now up to No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and are creeping up the national championship odds at BetMGM. The Sooners now have the fourth-best odds at +1200, up from +1500 last week and +1600 at the end of September.

Only Georgia (+120), Alabama (+240) and Ohio State (+800) have better odds than the Sooners. If you’re a believer in Oklahoma, this may be the time to jump in with a futures bet at 12-to-1. Oklahoma has two easy games ahead with a trip to Kansas and a home game against Texas Tech. OU will be significant favorites in those two games.

From there, OU has a bye week that precedes a very challenging home stretch of the regular season. The Sooners will travel to No. 20 Baylor on Nov. 13, host Iowa State on Nov. 20 and then go to Stillwater to play No. 8 Oklahoma State on Nov. 27. Those three teams have a combined record of 16-3 and are OU’s top challengers in the Big 12.

And even if the Sooners drop one of those games, there’s still a very feasible path to another College Football Playoff berth as long as they bounce back and win the Big 12.

Iowa falls after ugly loss

A week ago, Iowa had the fifth-best national championship odds at BetMGM. The Hawkeyes were undefeated and fresh off defeating Penn State in a top five matchup.

A week later, following a disappointing loss to unranked Purdue, Iowa dropped from +2000 down to +6600.

Iowa moved up to No. 2 after the win over Penn State. Now the Hawkeyes are ranked No. 11 following the 24-7 home loss to Purdue. In the loss, the Iowa defense was gashed by Purdue receiver David Bell. Bell caught 11 balls for 240 yards and a touchdown. Iowa’s offense, meanwhile, turned it over four times.

Updated national championship odds at BetMGM

  • Georgia: +120

  • Alabama: +240

  • Ohio State: +800

  • Oklahoma: +1200

  • Cincinnati: +2500

  • Michigan: +3500

  • Michigan State: +5000

  • Penn State: +6600

  • Iowa: +6600

  • Oklahoma State: +6600

  • Notre Dame: +8000

  • Oregon: +8000