Clemson Among College Football Favorites to Win Next National Title
No Trevor Lawrence? No problem, at least according to oddsmakers.
Despite a Clemson football team that will have a different backfield in 2021 than it had when it started 2020 the favorite to win the national title, the Tigers are still among the teams with the best odds to win the next one.
Betonline.ag lists Clemson in a tie for second behind Alabama on its first release of national championship odds for the 2021 season.
The Tigers are 4-to-1, along with Georgia, to win it all. Those two teams face each other to kick off the season on Sept. 4. Coming off a dominating 52-24 victory over Ohio State on Monday to win the 2020 title, Alabama is the favorite at +350.
After that, it's Ohio State (+650) and Oklahoma (+750) before a huge dropoff to Iowa State (+25000) and Florida (+2800).
Odds from Betonline.ag
Clemson was the preseason No. 1 in 2020 and had the best odds to both make the playoff and win the national title, but the Tigers suffered their first regular-season loss since 2017. They still won the ACC in a rematch with Notre Dame and went on to the CFP, where they lost to the Buckeyes 49-28.
For the Tigers to get back there again and live up to the expectation from oddsmakers, it'll be on D.J. Uiagalelei in his second year and Lawrence's replacement. Clemson will also be without ACC all-time leading rusher Travis Etienne and star receiver Amari Rodgers. The offense is still awaiting word on receiver Justyn Ross, who could give the Tigers a huge lift.
Meanwhile, the defense is getting back stars Derion Kendrick and James Skalski. It could return nearly its entire starting lineup from a year ago.
