Cal a Mere 250-to-1 Shot to Win 2022 National Football Title

Odds for USC to win College Football Playoff have dropped sharply since January

The additions Cal made in the offseason must have impressed gamblers because the current odds of the Golden Bears winning a national football championship this season are considerably shorter than they were in January.

Granted, Cal is still a long shot, as you would expect, but as of August 16, the Golden Bears were a mere 250-to-1 shot to win it all, according to the odds for 77 schools posted by BetOnline. Back in January, Cal was 500-to-1 to win the national championship, making Cal one of just 11 teams whose odds got shorter since January. Now the Bears are tied with Washington for the fifth-shortest odds in the conference.

Since the January odds were posted, Cal added Purdue transfer Jack Plummer, who is expected to be the Bears’ starting quarterback. They also added UCLA transfer Odua Isibor, who looks like he will be a starting outside linebacker; Arizona State transfer Spencer Lovell, a good bet to be a member of Cal’s starting offensive line; Utah transfer Xavier Carlton, who is likely to get playing time at outside linebacker and/or defensive end, and defensive end Henry Ikahihifo, who was at College of Canyons last season. (Linebacker Jackson Sirmon had transferred from Washington to Cal a week before the January 11 odds were posted by BetOnline.)

Those players must have swayed the oddsmakers.

No team can compare with USC, however. The Trojans were 40-to-1 shots to win it all back in January. But USC has overhauled its roster in the meantime, with Oklahoma transfer quarterback Caleb Williams and Pittsburgh transfer wide receiver Jordan Addison leading a bunch of talented players who were added to the Trojans’ roster. Now USC is 14-to-1 to win the national championship, and only four teams have shorter odds than the Trojans, who have by far the shortest odds of any Pac-12 team.

Here are the odds of the five favorites, with their current odds followed by their odds back in January

Alabama is 2-to-1 after being 13-to-4 in January

Ohio State is 7-to-2 after being 7-to-1

Georgia 19-to-4 after being 7-to-2

Clemson is 8-to-1 after starting at 12-to-1.

USC is 14-to-1 after starting at 40-to-1

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Current BetOnline odds for all Pac-12 team

USC – Current odds: 14-to-1. January odds: 40-to-1

Utah – Current odds: 66-to-1. January odds: 33-to-1

Oregon – Current odds: 100-to-1. January odds: 33-to-1

UCLA – Current odds: 200-to-1. January odds: 100-to-1

Cal – Current odds: 250-to-1. January odds: 500-to-1

Washington – Current odds: 250-to-1. January odds: 200-to-1

Arizona State – Current odds: 300-to-1. January odds: 200-to-1

Oregon State – Current odds: 300-to-1. January odds: 500-to-1

Stanford – Current odds: 300-to-1. January odds: 500-to-1

Colorado – Current odds: 500-to-1. January odds: 500-to-1

Washington State – Current odds: 500-to-1. January odds: 500-to-1

Arizona – Current odds: 500-to-1. January odds: 500-to-1

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Cover photo of Jack Plummer by Trevor Ruszkowski, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.