The Georgia Bulldogs have become a more attractive futures option for College Football Playoff bettors of late. The Alabama Crimson Tide's dominant 34-24 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Memorial in the CFP's first round had a lot to do with that, given UGA's 28-7 SEC Championship Game win over the Tide.
CBS Sports' Robby Kalland gave financial advice promoting immediate value on the Dawgs, believing they, not the Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Oregon Ducks, or even the undefeated Big Ten champion Indiana Hoosiers, are the team to beat in this year's field.
Kalland paid little mind to the Ole Miss Rebels, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Miami Hurricanes, the latter of which is Ohio State's Cotton Bowl Classic opponent on New Year's Eve in the CFP's second round of action, since the aforementioned three teams all have odds higher than +1000 right now.
"The Bulldogs have found another gear late in the season, especially on defense, and while Gunner Stockton doesn't wow you with his arm, he has a knack for coming up big for Georgia in the biggest games. A semifinal against (likely) Indiana would be extremely tough, but the way the Dawgs dominated that SEC title game makes you believe that if they can bring their A-game, they could beat anyone in this field," Kalland wrote.
Ohio State not the favorite because of Brian Hartline
You have to think the Buckeyes would've been the favorite had they not run into the Brian Hartline drama they've experienced this offseason. Ryan Day allowed Hartline to call plays in the Big Ten Championship Game, and it resulted in a disjointed effort where OSU struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone. Day demoted Hartline this past week ahead of the Cotton Bowl. Hartline will now work with receivers and aid Day in game-planning, as opposed to having autonomy.
Making the switch when Day did might've been beneficial because it got the team's first loss out of the way and removed the pressure of remaining undefeated. Still, it would've been nice not to have these worries at all. The B1G title game would've been a perfect trial run for Day as lead play-caller.
It is what it is now, and what it is is in Day and Julian Sayin's hands, not to mention all the other personnel whose jobs weren't affected by Hartline's defection to become the USF Bulls' head coach.