With hours remaining till the Faculty Soccer Playoff Choice Present (Midday ET, ESPN), betting markets have made their stance clear: SMU (-520) is the overwhelming favourite to say the ultimate at-large bid over Alabama (+350).
These odds are present at FanDuel sportsbook as of 9:50 a.m. ET.
The talk over the spot has dominated dialogue main into Choice Sunday, the place Alabama appeared well-positioned after holding the No. 11 rating in final week’s penultimate CFP Rankings, however SMU’s slender 34-31 loss to Clemson within the ACC Championship Recreation was a worst-case situation for the Crimson Tide. Clemson obtained an auto-bid whereas SMU’s loss was clearly inside the margin of competitors.
SMU’s 11-2 file, together with an undefeated common season in ACC play, has garnered important assist regardless of its lack of top-tier wins. In the meantime, Alabama’s stronger power of schedule and signature victory over SEC champion Georgia are weighed in opposition to three losses, together with two to unranked groups, the newest being a ghastly 24-3 loss at 6-6 Oklahoma.
MORE: The case for Alabama within the Faculty Soccer Playoff
Betting traces replicate the chance that the CFP Choice Committee will reward SMU’s convention runner-up standing to keep away from setting a precedent that would diminish the worth of championship video games. If the committee booted SMU, it will basically incentivize groups to not hunt down these alternatives in order to not lose and probably fall all the way in which out of the playoff area.
Alabama acquired the good thing about the doubt final season because it obtained the ultimate spot over undefeated Florida State in a call that also roils the ACC. This time round, the ACC has a greater likelihood of bouncing an SEC staff out for the final at-large bid.
Faculty Soccer Playoff knowledgeable picks
Here is how our faculty soccer workers would vote in the important thing spots — selecting groups Nos. 5-7 and the final at-large bid within the area — in the event that they have been members of the CFP Choice Committee.
