Here’s something that may surprise college football fans and bettors: The top-ranked team entering the College Football Playoff national semifinals has yet to win the championship. The No. 1 team has made it to the final three of five years, but Clemson lost in the title game following the 2015 season, and Alabama did after the 2016 and 2018 seasons. All three of those teams were unbeaten entering the title game.

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Does that mean potentially bad news for current CFP No. 1 LSU? The Tigers are +250 to win their first national championship since the 2007 season. LSU claimed the top spot with its impressive Week 11 victory at Alabama, ending the Crimson Tide’s 31-game home winning streak. The Tigers have yet to reach the College Football Playoff, but the only way they don’t this year is if they are upset in at least one of their final two regular-season games (home to Arkansas and Texas A&M – so very unlikely) and then lose in the SEC Championship Game to Georgia.

If LSU reaches the SEC title game with one loss and wins there, it’s still getting in. The CFP isn’t going to turn away the champion of college football’s best league.