College Football Playoff title odds: Alabama is the new favorite

Alabama is your new CFP title betting favorite. (USATSI)

After a dominant win against Texas A&M, Alabama has taken the lead over Mississippi State and Florida State in Bovada's 2014 College Football Playoff title odds.

Before you freak out about a 1-loss, up-and-down Tide team taking that top spot on the board, remember these things:

1) As you'll see in the table below, there is not much separation at the top. Alabama, Mississippi State, Florida State, Ole Miss, Oregon and Georgia are all clustered near the top.

2) Remember that betting odds not only reflect the opinion of the oddsmakers but also public action. Alabama is a team the public loves to bet, and Bovada might have seen a rush of action following the Tide's 59-0 dismantling of Texas A&M.

Moving beyond the shock of seeing Alabama up top, let's look at the full board for some insights into Bovada's outlook on the rest of the 2014 season.

What to make of the SEC West contenders: Alabama not only sits above Mississippi State and Ole Miss, but has much better odds than Auburn. Why? Likely because Auburn has road trips to Ole Miss, Georgia (listed. No. 6 below) and the Iron Bowl will be in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers were off last week and now face a grueling six week stretch to close the regular season. Auburn can beat anyone on its schedule, but one more loss (especially if it comes in the Iron Bowl) likely knocks the Tigers from SEC West contention.

If Ole Miss can travel to Baton Rouge at night and emerge with a win, just like Mississippi State did earlier this month, the Rebels will have just three dangerous games left on the schedule: Auburn (home), at Arkansas and the Egg Bowl, which is in Oxford this year.

Like Auburn, Mississippi State just finished its last off week of the season. However, since the Bulldogs are still unbeaten it is possible that Dan Mullen's squad could lose one game, as long as it's not the Egg Bowl, and still be in contention for the playoff.

Big Ten on the rise: No teams have benefited from the Big 12 cannibalization more than Michigan State and Ohio State . While both teams have non-conference losses already, it is more and more likely the winner of their meeting on Nov. 8 will be the favorite to win the Big Ten and lock up a playoff spot. The Buckeyes have dominated opponents since that loss to the Hokies and Oregon's success only makes Michigan State's resume stronger. While it is tough to call a winner, it is easy to predict that the winner is in a great spot to contend for the title.

A few notes for other contenders:

Florida State: If FSU wins out, it makes the playoff. The Seminoles chances to win the playoff is a wager worth revisiting later in the season but for now there is no team with an easier road.

Oregon : The selection committee has vowed to take injuries into consideration. Is that just for the flashy positions or does that include Ducks tackle Jake Fisher? If so, the committee could argue that Oregon's loss to Arizona deserves special consideration for Fisher's absence.

Georgia : While the rest of the SEC East burns, Nick Chubb is carrying the Bulldogs back to Atlanta. Gurley or no Gurley, it looks like Georgia will have its one shot at whoever emerges from the SEC West.

TCU, Baylor, Kansas State: Definitely not the group we are used to seeing for 'Big 12 title contenders,' but if Florida State or Oregon lose and one of these teams wins out there could be an open spot for the Big 12 in the playoff.

Check out the full odds list below, courtesy of Bovada:

National title odds (courtesy of Bovada)

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