At the onset of College Football Betting future market action, the top favorites are familiar names on the board. But always remember that the future odds are almost always based on the past. Concurrently, the favorites you see on the board could dramatically change by the middle of the 2024 season. The retirement of Alabama head coach Nick Saban has changed everything. Cause by the retirement of Saban, Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer bolted for the Crimson Tide. That set off a wild chain of events that will have repercussions for years to come.
2024 College Football Coaching Carousel
| Date: | August 24, 2024, through January 10, 2025 |
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2024 College Football National Championship Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Georgia Bulldogs | +400 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | +600 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | +800 |
| Texas Longhorns | +850 |
| Michigan Wolverines | +1000 |
| Oregon Ducks | +1200 |
| LSU Tigers | +1400 |
| Ole Miss Rebels | +1600 |
| Florida State Seminoles | +1800 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | +2200 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | +2500 |
| Clemson Tigers | +2500 |
| Texas A&M Aggies | +3300 |
| USC Trojans | +3300 |
| All Other Teams | +4000 or higher |
A Crimson Tide of Transfers Out
It did not take long for Nick Saban’s retirement to completely change the online wagering prospects of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In less than a week, Kalen DeBoer saw 25 of Saban’s players leave the program for the transfer portal. Certainly, that is not DeBoer’s fault. But those players signed for the Saban guarantee of SEC championships and College Football Playoff appearances.
DeBoer is an outstanding coach. He led Washington to the National Championship Game this past season. However, he has stepped into a nearly impossible situation. He is following the GOAT of college football coaches in an area of the country he does not know of. In like manner, DeBoer has never coached in any capacity in the SEC. Now he enters the pressure cooker, the shadow of Saban, demanding fans who are spoiled rotten, and a league with cutthroat recruiting practices.
Of course, nobody would match Saban’s record. But that won’t matter for long. Like UCLA basketball, Alabama football will forever forward have impossible demands on its coaches.
Washington Catches a Big Fisch
Following Kalen DeBoer’s departure, Washington wasted no time in finding a top-shelf replacement. Jedd Fisch left the Arizona Wildcats for the Huskies. Fisch will be taking multiple Arizona players from the transfer portal with him in his move. Also, his offensive assistants are coming along for the ride.
Fisch performed one of the most impressive College Football Betting transformations in Arizona. First, he went 1-11 after inheriting a nuclear waste site in 2021. Two years later, he went 10-3 and won the Alamo Bowl. Arizona fans were eagerly anticipating the 2024 season as Fisch’s young players came of age. Instead, they will have a mere shell of the team that he built.
Aggie Yell For Elko
And then there is the perpetual wannabe of college football. Last November, the Texas A&M Aggies paid former head coach Jimbo Fisher $77 million to go away. Instead, Fisher’s former Aggie defensive coordinator Mike Elko arrives from Duke, where he led the Blue Devils to two bowl appearances. Elko’s work at Texas A&M and Duke caught the attention of the Aggie administrators and donors. Texas A&M hands its coaches blank checks as an institution that is desperate for success. Elko has the record of substance that could finally turn things around at College Station.