Florida State Revival Among College Football Playoff Bets For 2023 Season

We’re just over a month away from college football season starting.

Let’s look ahead and examine three early bets to make in the College Football Playoff futures market. We start with the program that’s home to one of the best head coaches in the country and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, the USC Trojans.

USC to make College Football Playoff +260 on DraftKings
At the end of last season, the Trojans nearly made the College Football Playoff but ultimately lost to Utah in the Pac-12 title game. USC being that close to making the postseason with historically one of the worst defenses the sport has ever seen speaks to the overall dominance of Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley. Thanks to the transfer portal, USC has beefed up the defense considerably. Linebacker Mason Cobb from Oklahoma State, defensive end Jack Sullivan from Purdue, and explosive defensive tackle Anthony Lucas from Texas A&M all should contribute in a major way. The transfer portal also solved another Trojan shortcoming by beefing up the offensive line. With the trenches being improved on both sides of the ball, I believe USC will be able to push through and get into the postseason this time. I’ll bet on the Trojans to make the College Football Playoff at +260 available on DraftKings.

Florida State to make College Football Playoff +280 on DraftKings
When I was growing up in the late ’90s to early 2000s, the Florida State Seminoles had one of those powerhouse programs that always were at or near the top of the college football universe. Gone are those dominant days of the program led by Bobby Bowden. Since then, the Seminoles have had some highs like winning a national championship in 2014, but they’ve also experienced years of futility. It appears now, however, they may have found some consistency in success. The Noles finished with an impressive 10-3 record last season and are coming into this season with a ton of momentum after beating Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl. All-ACC quarterback Jordan Travis is one of the best in the country at his position and has plenty of weapons at his disposal. With what is expected to be a down year for the ACC overall, Florida State has a distinct scheduling advantage, outside of a rematch for the season opener against LSU. I’m willing to bet on Florida State to make the College Football Playoff at +280 available on DraftKings.

LSU to make College Football Playoff +350 on DraftKings
While everybody debates how dominant Georgia will be again this season and whether Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide will return to their dynasty form, I’m looking elsewhere to the LSU Tigers. Brian Kelly finished with an impressive 10-4 record and won the Citrus Bowl in his first season in the bayou. With QB Jayden Daniels back for another year in the offense, four productive running backs returning to fold and that tough SEC defense, I could see the Tigers shocking everybody and getting into the postseason. We’ve seen two SEC teams make it into the playoff before, so there already is a precedent set with the committee for that notion. I’ll take a flyer on the returning starters and the coaching ability of Kelly to lead LSU into the College Football Playoff at +350 available on DraftKings.