Michigan football's early national title odds: 9/1, Michigan State 25/1

The college football season is over.

And Las Vegas really likes Michigan's chances at a 2019 national championship.

Bovada released its early odds for next year's College Football Playoff champion, slotting Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines at 9-to-1 to win the whole thing. U-M finished 8-5 during Harbaugh's third season with the program, including three straight losses (Wisconsin, Ohio State, South Carolina) to close the season.

More: Michigan State fares better than Michigan in way-too-early Top 25 rankings

The Wolverines are expected to return nine starters on the country's No. 3-ranked defense. Offensively, the only positions where Michigan loses starters to graduation are fullback and left tackle. Still, the Wolverines have a litany of questions to answer, including who will start at quarterback.

Vegas believes those questions will be answered as U-M has the fifth-best odds of any team in America.

Michigan State is at 25/1 odds after a 10-3 turnaround season that was capped off by a dominant performance in the Holiday Bowl.

The Spartans also are set to bring back a load of talent on both sides of the ball, nearly 20 returning starters.

None are more important than quarterback Brian Lewerke, who threw for 2,793 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions during his first year as a starter in 2017. Running back L.J. Scott is expected to return for his senior season, while the core of MSU's No. 7-ranked defense also returns.

Bovada gave MSU the 13th-best odds to win next year's national championship.

Defending national champion Alabama is the favorite (11/4), followed by Clemson (6/1), Georgia (15/2) and Ohio State (15/2).

Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner.