College football is coming, and Top Bet is here to give you a head start on your preparation for the new season. For the entire week, you’ll find early outlooks on some select teams after their notable offseasons, as well as the key teams, players and dates to watch out for this year.
It’s going to be a very busy and entertaining season of college football. Defending champion Ohio State returns as overwhelming favorites to defend their crown, while aspiring challengers TCU, Michigan and Oklahoma State make strong bids as championship contenders. How will the 2015-2016 college football season play out? Read on as we take a look at the favorites, sleepers and long shot for the upcoming NCAA Football season.
Get to know all the important events headed your way for your college football viewing pleasure. Check out the key dates to remember for the upcoming season here.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]2015-2016 NCAA Football Preview
Favorites – Ohio State Buckeyes and TCU Horned Frogs
Defending national champions the Ohio State Buckeyes have a three-way quarterback carousel on their hands. First, they have 2014 preseason Heisman contender Braxton Miller returning from injury. Next, 2014 starter J.T. Barrett is coming off an amazing run to lead the Buckeyes to a 11-1 regular season record before injuring himself in the final game. Lastly, third stringer Cardale Jones took over Barrett’s duties to win the Big Ten Championship game, and the inaugural College Football Playoff.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The Buckeyes are loaded on both sides of the ball. Aside from the trio of capable quarterbacks, running back Ezekiel Elliott returns for his junior year after rushing for 1,402 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2014. National Championship Game defensive MVP safety Tyvis Powell returns as well as one of the eight returning starters on defense from the championship winning team. With their loaded roster, the Buckeyes are the overwhelming favorites to win the 2016 College Football National Championship at +275.
Don’t count out these TCU Horned Frogs anymore. They’re raring to unleash their frustrations this year after being snubbed from the College Football Playoff last season. The Horned Frogs were one of the biggest surprises last season, ranking as high as third before Selection Weekend. But they were snubbed of that ranking, perhaps due to the fact that they shared a conference championship with Baylor last season.
TCU may be fielding one of the best (if not, the best) offense in the 2015 college football season. They’ll have quarterback Trevone Boykin returning after throwing for 3,901 yards and 33 touchdowns last season. He also ran for 707 yards and eight touchdowns. He still has some fine weaponry in running back Aaron Green (922 yards and nine touchdowns), and wide receivers Josh Doctson, Deante’ Gray and Kolby Listenbee who combined for 23 touchdowns last year.
The Horned Frogs are +850 to win the 2016 national championship.
Sleepers – Michigan Wolverines and Oklahoma State Cowboys
Look out for the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten. The Wolverines figure to get much better with an excellent head coach in Jim Harbaugh taking over the reins. Recruiting wasn’t the problem with Michigan; they already had the talent, but lacked the necessary tools to develop them. In comes Harbaugh, who’s already proven that he can turn trash into treasure.
Harbaugh took over a struggling Stanford Cardinal team, which was 16-40 in the five years before he arrived. The Cardinals went just 9-15 in his first two years before exploding to a 20-6 record in the next two with an Orange Bowl title and a top five AP poll ranking for the first time in 70 years.
Harbaugh also excelled in the professional level bringing the San Francisco 49ers to a 44-19-1 record in four years, reaching the NFC Championship three times and narrowly losing Super Bowl XLVII to the Baltimore Ravens. With Harbaugh’s coaching pedigree, the Wolverines are worth a shot at +4,000.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys had an unspectacular 7-6 record last season, but their record alone doesn’t tell the whole story. The Cowboys found their groove late into the season, ranking as low as 114th in the country from Weeks 9 to 12 to as low as 37th during the final three games of the season.
Oklahoma State’s 2015 schedule is also quite favorable. They host the top three teams of the Big 12 — Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma — at home, and make road trips to manageable opponents such as Texas Tech and Texas. If the Cowboys know how to play the cards they’re dealt with, then they’ll be a steal at +5,000 to win the national championship.
Create a betting account now and get your futures picks in before the college football season kicks off.
Long Shot – California Golden Bears
You can’t sleep on the California Golden Bears. They may end up having the best offense in the upcoming college football season, as they are capable of carving up even the best of defenses. It all starts with a stellar quarterback in Jared Goff, who threw for 3,975 yards and 35 touchdowns last season.
Goff will have a great supporting cast with running back Daniel Lasco (1,115 yards and 12 touchdowns) and returning senior wide receivers Bryce Treggs and Kenny Lawler, who combined to catch 15 of Goff’s touchdown passes last season. The Golden Bears will also be quite solid on the other side of the ball with nine defensive starters from 2014 all returning.
California is +30,000 to win the College Football National Championship.
Writer’s Prediction
The Buckeyes stumble along the road and miss the College Football Playoff. The TCU Horned Frogs (+850) use their incredible offense to blaze a trail to the championship.
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