Odds and Ends: Clemson's in Intriguing Spot in National Title Chances
With four months until the season opener against Georgia, Clemson isn't the favorite to win the national title.
That distinction belongs to defending champion Alabama, which is currently listed as a +225 on DraftKings Sportsbook. For the Tigers, that's not a bad thing.
Clemson was favored to win it all before last season began. With Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne in the backfield, the Tigers were a solid bet. But they didn't win it, losing in the College Football Playoff semifinal to Ohio State.
The same thing happened in 2019, when Clemson was the odds-on favorite to hoist the CFP championship trophy. Instead, they had to stand on the same field as LSU when the Bayou Bengals beat them to win the title in New Orleans.
More good news for the Tigers: The last time they weren't the overall favorite, they won it all in 2018.
At this point in the calendar year, Clemson is listed right behind Alabama at +300. That's ahead of Ohio State (+400), Georgia (+600) and Oklahoma (+800).
So, the Tigers don't face the pressure of being the oddsmakers' favorite, and they're getting a decent number to play, especially if you think the Crimson Tide lost too much NFL talent (10 players drafted, 6 in the first round) off that title team.
Much of Clemson's chances at winning it all will come down to the arm and health of quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, who takes over for Lawrence after two ridiculously productive starts in 2020. He'll need to stay on the field, though, as the Tigers are quite thin behind him.
Meanwhile, Uigalelei, who's second in Heisman Trophy Odds (+600), will have a top-notch receiving corps, an incredibly experienced defense and a favorable schedule after the Georgia game, so being second in odds to win the national championship doesn't look too bad for Clemson.
How much will that opener determine their chances, though?
King of ACC
Will anybody ever dethrone the Tigers in the ACC? After all, they've won six consecutive conference titles. Based on the latest odds, though, this isn't the year that streak ends.
Clemson is listed as a -835 favorite to win the league. That means an $835 bet would net you $100. That's pretty steep. Oddsmakers see very little chance of a changing of the guard.
North Carolina (+700) and Miami (+700) are listed next. Neither play in the ACC Atlantic, which the Tigers are a -2000 favorite to win. Based on implied odds, that gives them a 95.2 percent chance of winning the division.
N.C. State is listed next in both odds to win the conference (+1200) and Atlantic (+800). Louisville/Virginia Tech (both +2500) and Florida State/Virginia (+5000) follow in conference title odds.
NFL MVP
It didn't take long for Lawrence, who went first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL draft last week, to top the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds. The strong-armed QB is listed as a +300 favorite. That's half the odds of Bears QB Justin Fields (+600), who's second.
Etienne, Clemson's and the ACC's all-time leading rusher, is +2500 to win that award on DraftKings Sportsbook. There are 10 players ahead of him.
If you're feeling especially froggy, check out the odds on Lawrence and Etienne to win the league's overall MVP award: +8000 and +50000, respectively.
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