Sports fans and bettors can officially let out a collective sigh of relief, as football season has finally arrived. The 2025 college football campaign is set to commence on Saturday, August 23 with a mini Week 0 slate, followed by a loaded Week 1 that’ll begin on Thursday, August 28.
As the anticipation builds ahead of kickoff, players at Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook have been working hard and fast to lock in any last-minute futures bets, from National Championship winner to whether a specific team will reach the College Football Playoff – and we’ve got all the data.
Before the chaos ensues this weekend, let’s take a look at the most interesting betting trends at Hard Rock Bet:
Most-bet teams to win the 2025 National Championship
- Texas Longhorns (+425)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (+425)
- Florida Gators (+3000)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (+700)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+1200)
- Georgia Bulldogs (+600)
- Clemson Tigers (+1000)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (+1100)
- Oregon Ducks (+750)
- Miami (FL) Hurricanes (+3000)
- LSU Tigers (+1600)
- Florida State Seminoles (+10000)
** Referenced odds subject to change
Chalk Leads the Charge
Chalk Leads the ChargeWe’ll begin with the obvious. It should come as no surprise that the co-favorites, Texas and Ohio State, are leading the way in terms of most bets to win the 2025 College Football Playoff. In fact, the defending champion Buckeyes and preseason No. 1-ranked Longhorns have garnered more than twice the amount of action as any other team in the field thus far. That being said, Hard Rock Bet players will certainly be keeping tabs on their early-season meeting, which will take place during Week 1 in Columbus.
Gator Boys Stay Hot?
In a shocking turn of events, the No. 15-ranked Florida Gators have racked up the third-most bets to win the 2025 National Championship at Hard Rock Bet. Priced at 30-1 to win it all, the Gators are one of the bigger long shots to make the list. They are joined in the top 12 by fellow Florida schools Miami (also 30-1) and Florida State (100-1).
It’ll undoubtably be a make-or-break Year 4 for HC Billy Napier, who secured his first winning season with the Gators in 2024. After a sluggish 4-5 start, Florida notched four straight wins to end the season – capped off by a 33-8 victory in the Gasparilla Bowl over Tulane.
And while the program as a whole has yet to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014, players at Hard Rock Bet are feeling optimistic after their counterparts on the basketball court pulled through as an even-bigger long shot to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Will the football Gators keep the good times rolling in Gainesville? Their gauntlet of a schedule certainly won’t make things easy – after a pair of tune-up games to open the season, Florida will play 7 of its final 10 games against preseason Top 25 teams.
Most-bet teams to Reach the College Football Playoff
- Florida Gators (+350)
- Texas Longhorns (-325)
- Miami (FL) Hurricanes (+170)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (-400)
- Clemson Tigers (-200)
- Florida State Seminoles (+1400)
- Georgia Bulldogs (-250)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (-350)
** Referenced odds subject to change
Among the Top 8 most-bet teams to reach the 2025 College Football Playoff at Hard Rock Bet, all but three of them are considerably heavy favorites. The three underdogs to make the list? The aforementioned trio of FL schools: Florida, Miami and Florida State. After all, Hard Rock Bet is the exclusive provider of Florida sports betting.
Florida Loves Florida
At generous odds of +350, Florida has received by-far the most bets to reach the CFP – we’re talking more than twice as many as Texas. This isn’t a shocker by any means, however, especially when considering the amount of action we’ve seen on the Gators to win the whole kit and caboodle.
Hurricanes Brewing
Similar to the Gators, the Miami Hurricanes are receiving their fair share of action to reach the CFP in 2025, clocking in with the third-most bets thus far. Miami’s program is on a similar trajectory, as they prepare to enter Year 4 under HC Mario Cristobal, fresh off his best season with the ‘Canes. Although Miami did end up missing the Playoff in 2024, their 10-3 record marked the program’s best finish since 2017.
Despite losing QB Cam Ward to the NFL, players at Hard Rock Bet expect the Hurricanes to take the next step with a light schedule on tap in a very weak ACC. In fact, after taking on No. 6 Notre Dame in their season opener, Miami will face just two preseason Top 25 teams the rest of the way – a home tilt against No. 15 Florida in September and a road matchup at No. 16 SMU in early November.
Most notably, No. 4 Clemson – the clear favorite to win the conference – does not appear on Miami’s schedule. At +170, there is definitely a path for the Hurricanes to clinch their first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff since it first began in 2014.
Seminole Miracle
Floridians are surprisingly bullish on a bounce-back season for HC Mike Norvell and co. following the program’s 2-10 finish in 2024 – its worst since 1974. In addition to receiving the 12th–most bets to win the 2025 National Championship at 100-1, Florida State has totaled the sixth-most bets to reach the CFP at 14-1.
It isn’t as crazy as it sounds: before last year’s injury-riddled campaign, Norvell led the Seminoles to a sparkling 13-1 season in 2023, including a perfect 8-0 record in the ACC. A late-season injury to QB Jordan Travis did end up forcing the selection committee to exclude the Seminoles from the CFP in the final year of the four-team format, however the expanded playoff has opened up more opportunities to sneak in.
Aided by a fairly light schedule, this season will be predicated on how the Seminoles set the tone early on. They’ll host a pair of preseason Top 10 teams in No. 8 Alabama and No. 10 Miami at Doak Campbell Stadium within their first five games, meaning that 14-1 price could fall fast if things go well.
Most Anticipated Week 0/Week 1 Matchups
Now that we’ve gone over the most notable futures betting trends, let’s get into some upcoming games. Players at Hard Rock Bet are keyed in on the following matchups, as they’ve received the most bets among all contests taking place during Week 0 or Week 1:
- Florida State Seminoles vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
- Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Texas Longhorns
- Kansas State Wildcats vs. Iowa State Cyclones
- Kansas Jayhawks vs. Fresno State Bulldogs
- Miami (FL) Hurricanes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
With Week 0 on the precipice, it makes sense that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State made the list – the same goes for Fresno State and Kansas’ Saturday meeting in Lawrence.
But looking ahead even further to Week 1, three high-profile matchups are already racking up heavy interest from bettors, and for good reason:
No. 8 Alabama (-13.5) vs Florida State (+400)
Going back to Florida State, their season will likely shape out depending on what happens during their Week 1 clash with Alabama. Taking on the Crimson Tide to open the season always comes with major risk, as we’ve seen teams in the past have their season derailed right out of the gate, whether it be due to injuries sustained from the game or a lopsided defeat. The Seminoles will need to be up to the task in this one, as they are currently listed as 13.5-point home underdogs against the Tide.
Still over a week out, this game has received a lot of betting interest. Additionally, Florida State (+400) has been the most popular moneyline underdog at Hard Rock Bet, receiving the most bets among all applicable teams thus far.
No. 1 Texas (+2) vs No. 3 Ohio State (-130)
Simply put, it doesn’t get much better than a meeting between Top 3 teams to open up the season. To heighten the stakes even further, the defending National Champion Buckeyes will get to play host to the preseason No. 1-ranked team in Texas, a situation that may feel a bit disrespectful to any returnees on Ohio State’s roster.
This matchup will also mark the dawn of a new era, as redshirt freshman QB Julian Sayin will get his first real taste of action under center for Ohio State while facing off against sophomore QB Arch Manning. Despite entering this one as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, the Longhorns are listed as a short 2-point underdog at Hard Rock Bet. With this one likely to come down to the wire, players are rightfully getting excited for it.
No. 6 Notre Dame (-2) vs No. 10 Miami (+110)
Last but not least, we’ve got a standalone Sunday night Top 10 matchup between No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami. This modern day rendition of the legendary ‘Catholics vs. Convicts’ game is drawing major betting interest at Hard Rock Bet.
The Fighting Irish will enter this contest fresh off a 34-23 loss to Ohio State in the 2024 National Championship game, hoping to replicate the stellar regular season that got them there. HC Marcus Freeman will hand the ball off to redshirt freshman QB CJ Carr, who will be taking his first snaps under center as a college quarterback.
On the opposite sideline, Georgia transfer QB Carson Beck will lead the way for the Hurricanes, who have a major opportunity in front of them with the No. 6-ranked team coming into Hard Rock Stadium to begin the campaign. Notre Dame is currently listed as a slight 2-point favorite on the road, while Miami is garnering significant interest on the moneyline at +110. Hard Rock Bet players appear to be feeling good about this one, as the U has received major support as an underdog.
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