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5 best college football divisional and conference bets
While the entire sports world continues to obsess over life's most difficult questions (like, "how will anyone possibly beat the Warriors next year"), what's crazy to think about is how close we are to the start of college football season. With media days beginning in earnest next week, the countdown to kickoff has officially begun.
We got the latest reminder of that on Wednesday, when seemingly out of nowhere, Bovada released its latest round college football odds. In addition to over/under win totals, national championship odds and the Heisman Trophy, you can now bet on both conference and division champions on the website.
Oh man, what a time to be alive, huh?
It sure is, and with the odds out, it also raises another, equally fantastic question: What are the best conference and division title bets you can make?
Here are five.
Texas: +850 to win the Big 12
Between a huge Signing Day and absolutely pillaging the Baylor football program in the wake of Art Briles’ firing, head coach Charlie Strong is riding an unprecedented wave of success in Austin. Could that wave transition into a conference title?
It still feels like UT is a year away, but there are a few things working in the Longhorns' favor in 2016.
For starters, the schedule matches up favorably; the Longhorns play TCU, Baylor and West Virginia at home this fall, with their only true, tough road game in conference against Oklahoma State (a place they’ve won back-to-back games). A matchup with Oklahoma is always tough, but never forget that Texas was the only Big 12 team to actually beat the Sooners last season (leading Strong to wear a hilariously large sombrero).
Then there’s the personnel itself. And after a big spring game from Shane Buechele, it appears as though Texas finally has its answer at quarterback.
Again, a Big 12 title still seems like it’s at least a year away. But you could do a lot worse than take the Longhorns at +850.
USC: +550 to win the Pac-12
Based strictly on talent, a strong case could be made that USC should be the Pac-12 favorite. The Trojans have two strong options at quarterback (Max Browne and Sam Darnold), depth at running back (Ronald Jones II, Justin Davis), arguably the best wide receiver in college football (JuJu Smith-Schuster) and a stacked and deep defense.
Unfortunately, though, results aren’t based strictly on talent. Instead, there are other variables like scheduling. And no one in college football has a tougher schedule than USC, which plays road games at Stanford, Washington and UCLA (arguably the three best teams in the Pac-12) and 11 games against teams that made bowls last year.
Ultimately, in making this bet you’ve got to decide which you like more: USC’s talent or its schedule.
Washington State: + 650 to win the Pac-12 North
While an outright Pac-12 title seems unlikely, Wazzu is actually a nice value bet to win the division.
This is a team that won nine games last year, returns all the key pieces to one of the most explosive offenses in college football (quarterback Luke Falk, wide receivers Gabe Marks and River Cracraft) and gets most of its toughest opponents (Oregon, UCLA, Washington) at home.
What this bet might come down to is an Oct. 8 game at Stanford. Win that, and Wazzu will be in the driver’s seat to win the North.
Michigan State: +700 to win the Big Ten
After losing quarterback Connor Cook, wide receiver Aaron Burbridge and most of the defense from last year’s roster, this one doesn’t seem likely.
But at the same time, remember these two things: 1) No one is better at annually restocking his roster (and replacing seemingly irreplaceable players) better than Mark Dantonio; 2) the Spartans' three toughest conference games (Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin) are at home.
Sure, the Buckeyes and Wolverines are really good. But, hey, stranger things have happened, right?
Florida State: +225 to win the ACC
This doesn’t seem like much of a “value” bet, but given the landscape of the rest of the ACC, it actually is actually a smarter bet than you might think.
The simple truth is that the winner of the Clemson-Florida State game has gone on to win the ACC outright for the last five years, and as the talent disparity between the two clubs continues to widen compared to the rest of the league, that doesn’t look like it will change this year.
This year, Florida State gets Clemson at home -- a place where the Seminoles haven’t lost to the Tigers since 2006. That doesn’t guarantee the Seminoles will win the game (or the ACC), but based on recent history, it’s as strong an indicator as anything.
Aaron Torres covers college football for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres or Facebook. E-mail him at ATorres00@gmail.com.
