There’s still about a quarter of a year to go before college football’s season officially kicks off, but it’s never too late to start betting on your favorite NCAA program that’s gunning for a national title.
The folks over in Vegas have released their opening odds for college football futures, and most of last year’s top contenders are still being pegged as prime candidates to win it all in the upcoming season. Let’s find out below exactly who the oddsmakers see as solid mid-year picks.
And in the meantime, check out our feature on the experts’ picks for the NBA Finals matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors for even more enticing sports betting opportunities.
Early Futures Odds for the 2016-17 College Football Division I Season
As the reigning title-holders, the Alabama Crimson Tide – quite surprisingly – did not get the best odds at repeating as national champions.
For the third-consecutive season, the Tide will have a new quarterback at the helm of its offense. Head coach Nick Saban has done wonders those past couple of campaigns without a standout QB calling shots, but his team also had Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry in the running game. Considering that Henry declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft earlier this year, the offense now just has highly-touted yet unproven recruit Bo Scarbrough as its supposed best weapon on offense, and that’s perhaps the reason why ‘Bama is just priced at +800 to win its fifth national title in 12 years.
The Ohio State Buckeyes’ roster has also been gutted for the worse. They lost key players in Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa to the NFL Draft as well, and only three of their starters on offense and defense combined from last year are set to return this season. Then again, head coach Urban Meyer still has prolific quarterback J.T. Barrett for another run and the Buckeyes’ recruitment and development programs are second to none in the nation. As such, the bookies placed Ohio State as the slim, overall front-runner at +700 to win its second championship game in just three seasons.
As for last year’s runners-up in the Clemson Tigers, they’re actually in good shape on offense this time out after their fantastic 14-win season (a school record), with Deshaun Watson ready to lead the boys from Death Valley to another sensational campaign. However, defensive coordinator Brent Venables has another unenviable task of retooling Clemson’s D. But after the terrific job that he did for the team last season, the Tigers are still in good hands and are just half a step behind the Buckeyes at +750 from winning their first national title since 1981.
If your personal favorite or alma mater is neither one of these three elite programs, check out the rest of the odds below to find out how your school is shaping up in the sports-betting circles.
