College Football Playoff Futures Bets For Week 9: Miami Hurricanes Are Prime Contenders
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College Football Playoff Futures Bets For Week 9: Miami Hurricanes Are Prime Contenders

John Supowitz deciphers the odds for three of the top contenders for the College Football Playoff Championship heading into Week 9.

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This college football season has been nothing short of thrilling. We saw the No. 1 team in the country lose in back-to-back weeks, and several top-10 teams lose to unranked opponents.

Three top teams continue to play at a high level this season, and we’ll look at the championship contenders who deserve attention.

All odds via DraftKings

Futures Bets For CFB National Title Contenders Week 9

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+475)

Notre Dame suffered a tough road loss to BYU. However, the Fighting Irish should have gotten one second back on the clock after an incomplete pass on the last play of the game. If they get that second back and score, they win and are likely ranked No. 1 in the country.

The Fighting Irish still played well overall, finishing with 376 total yards and converting all their fourth-down opportunities. Nolan James continues to establish himself as the leader in the backfield, with 77 rushing yards at 4.8 yards per carry and a touchdown.

The big question is the defense. It looked dominant early in the season, when the Irish faced weaker opponents. However, they allowed 28 points and 360 total yards to BYU. Performances like that are unacceptable in the playoffs.

The loss looks worse after BYU’s defeat to unranked Central Florida, but that won't keep Notre Dame out of the playoff.

Notre Dame could be kept out of the playoff if it loses to Miami. The matchup against the Hurricanes could be its last big test of the season. The Fighting Irish have little room for error, and losing this important game at home would look bad on their playoff resume.

Miami Hurricanes (+580)

Recently, being the No. 1 team felt like a curse, as the top-ranked program went down in consecutive weeks. After Georgia lost to unranked Auburn, Miami moved up to the top spot.

The stage was set for another upset as the Hurricanes came off a highly emotional overtime win over their biggest rival, Florida State, and hosted an unranked Pittsburgh team that had a winning record.

No upset of the No. 1 team this week. The Hurricanes scored the first 17 points against Pittsburgh, led 31-7 at halftime, and won, 52-23.

Darian Mensah continues to post cheat-code numbers, and had only two fewer touchdown passes (4) than incompletions (6) against Pitt.

The connection between Mensah and Malachi Toney looks like the best in the country, with Toney having 194 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. This is the second time this season Toney has finished with 190+ receiving yards and 3+ touchdowns.

They don’t have any ranked opponents left on their ACC schedule, but they have one more big matchup when they head to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. Miami’s win over Notre Dame last year was the deciding factor in getting the Hurricanes into the playoff and keeping the Fighting Irish out. Fortunately for Miami, even if they lose to Notre Dame, they’re likely still in the playoff as long as they win the ACC title. 

Utah Utes (+4800)

In just one week, the Big 12 landscape has changed quickly.

Last week, BYU looked like the team to beat in the conference after defeating Notre Dame, but followed that up with an overtime loss to unranked Central Florida. Last year’s Big 12 champions, Texas Tech, lost its first game of the season to unranked Cincinnati.

Utah faced its first major test of the year against No. 14 Houston. Down 13-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Utes scored 14 unanswered points to win and take sole possession of first place in the conference.

Devon Dampier is becoming a dangerous dual-threat quarterback, finishing against Houston with 204 passing yards, 150 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns.

Utah had another excellent defensive showing, allowing fewer than 20 points for the fifth time this season.

The Utes now control their own destiny for the Big 12 title, but they still face a major hurdle when they take on BYU in two weeks. A win over the Cougars could solidify their status as a Big 12 favorite and a team capable of competing in the playoff.

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