​Cover Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images


Yes, you read that headline correctly – there's no misunderstanding or typos here. 


No. 3 Notre Dame's odds to win the College Football Playoff were actually better before the Fighting Irish were granted one of the four, exclusive spots in this year's CFP. 


Prior to Sunday's CFP Committee selection announcement, undefeated Notre Dame was eying a +1400 shot to win it all via FanDuel Sportsbook. Fast forward just two days after the Irish were officially guaranteed a spot in the playoff, and now bookmakers somehow have less confidence in the Irish winning it all. 

Despite earning the No. 3 seed in the final College Football Playoff rankings and a date with No. 2 Clemson in the Cotton Bowl national semifinal game, Notre Dame still opened as the biggest underdog to win it all behind No. 4 Oklahoma. The Sooners' currently have +1400 odds.  

So, just in case this bizarre shift still wasn't clear: oddsmakers are implying they are now less confident in Notre Dame winning the CFP after learning the Irish actually made the CFP.


If this wasn't a clear sign of potential trouble for Notre Dame's shot in the playoffs, the fact that the Irish opened as plus-11.5-point underdogs against Clemson via  FanDuel Sportsbook should tell the rest of that story. Either way, they're going need to all of the luck of the Irish they can get. 

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David Hayes is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David Hayes also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username DavidWHayes. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.