Bettors knew Alabama would be ahead of Miami before CFP rankings came out

Bettors knew before anyone.

Without any new information becoming available, bettors came out in droves to wager on the Alabama Crimson Tide to make the College Football Playoff, a prognostication that appears correct for now.

The latest poll by the Associated Press has the Alabama Crimson rated No. 11 while contending team Miami is rated No. 14.

DraftKings tells The Post that the odds opened at +220 after the Crimson Tide defeated Auburn before being wagered down to -250 ahead of the AP Poll’s release on Tuesday.

The bet of Alabama to make the CFP now sits at -370 as their No. 11 ranking now clearly points to the team having the inside track of being among the final 12 teams.

The dramatic move from +220 to -250 is a difference between 31.25 percent in implied probability and 71.43 percent.

It’s an obscene move for a wager that includes precisely zero in-game edge or value.

Although typically in information-based betting markets, the money in the betting markets can tell a major piece of the story.

Whether correct speculation or inside knowledge, this bet now has a 78.72 percent chance of victory.

Alabama has three losses, including an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma, while Miami just came up short last week against Syracuse.

After the poll’s release, Miami’s athletic director eviscerated the CFP committee for their decision.

“Really ?? ….what put Bama over the top of Miami for the last spot in is that Miami went 1-2 in their last 3 games (by an average of 4.5 pts, to a ranked Syracuse and GT team that just took UGA to 8OT),” Dan Radakovich wrote on X. “Bama went 2-1 (to 5-7 Auburn, destroyed by OU, and beat FCS Mercer).”

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In the past, we’ve seen awards and draft betting be seriously influenced by bettors wagering on eventual winners in the lead-up to the regular season’s conclusion.

Despite conflicting reports from Adrian Wojnarowski during the 2022 NBA Draft, bettors smashed Paolo Banchero to be the No. 1 pick and wound up being correct as the ex-ESPN super-reporter missed on a big one.