Categories
Betting Props

College Football Proposition Odds

NCAA Football Prop Betting article by the handicappers at Betus.com

NCAA Football Prop Betting – Should we give up on USC?

As we are moving into another week of the NCAA football season, we’ve experienced some shockers, to be sure, and that has thrown the whole NCAA title proposition into a little chaos. We want to take a look at where all the numbers currently stand at BetUS Sportbook, and who might emerge as the front-runners (and/or darkhorses) to take the prize at the end of the year.

Here are the NCAAF odds according to BetUS:

BetUS Football Proposition Odds

To Win National Title

Oklahoma +225
Alabama +500
Southern Cal +500
Missouri +700
LSU +900
Penn State +1200
Texas +1400
Georgia +1500
Florida +1800
Ohio State +2000

That list represents the top ten teams, and also those schools that are listed at 20/1 or less.

To be honest, this column started about ten days ago as “Can Anyone Beat USC?” Well, we found that out last Thursday night, when the Trojans went down to a 27-21 defeat. There was no doubt that under Pete Carroll, USC has had a tendency of not showing up against decidedly inferior teams. Before the Oregon State loss, that happened most recently, if you recall, against Stanford in 2007. Oregon State is a better program than that, but let’s face it – you can’t go into a game as a 25-point favorite and lose. When that happens, you are now rolling the dice as far as hopes of getting back into the title picture are concerned.

That is, unless some other teams blow it as well.

Most people obviously felt as if the Trojans (now +500 at BetUS), having passed the big test against Ohio State with flying colors, were going to stay atop that perch for a while. But now the likes of Oklahoma (+300 at BetUS), Alabama (+500 at BetUS) and Missouri (+700 at BetUS) are all much more hopeful.

I’m going to suggest that USC could be right back there by the end of the year.

We acknowledge that Arizona State, Cal and Oregon are going to be tough foes, but I don’t think they’re going to be that daunting for a USC team if the Trojans are paying attention. And they WILL pay attention from this point forward. Remember that they don’t have a conference title game to worry about either. When I started this story, I was counting on other teams having a loss along the way. My quite in the original draft was, “You know that either Florida or Georgia is going to have one, because they play each other.”

Well, I did not count on BOTH of them losing. Those were two of the favorites, and it may have taken both of them out of the picture. Now Alabama is in a “driver’s seat” of sorts, and is in fact #2 in the AP rankings. But with LSU also in the SEC, Georgia and Florida capable of beating anybody, and with any number of SEC clubs having the capacity to pull upsets (like Ole Miss), and a title game in that conference to boot, all of the SEC teams could be nicked up when the dust clears. Missouri and Oklahoma are in the rough-and-tumble Big 12, where it will not be too difficult to pick up a defeat. Let’s not forget that Texas Tech (+3000 in BetUS odds) is also in that conference, and also in the top ten.

Texas (+1400 at BetUS) is in the mix as well, so keep in mind that it is quite possible that two of the Big 12 teams on this “Top 10” list, and possibly all three, will taste defeat. Remember that two teams will make it to the BCS championship game, so that means that there is room for an Oklahoma-Texas-Missouri survivor to get there. And Oklahoma hasn’t been too well-prepared for their last two bowl games. What anyone hoping to come from “behind the lead” will have to hope for is that the SEC teams can kill each other off. I would suspect that since the SEC has won the national crown each of the last two years, they will not get cheated in the polls, so some luck would have to come into play, i.e., LSU (who has to play Florida, Georgia and Alabama) or Alabama (which has LSU and Auburn to play) losing a game they shouldn’t before the end of the regular season which would hurt their ranking at the wrong time.

You notice I’m not mentioning the Big Ten, right? That’s because I don’t have all the faith in the world in that conference. I think USC knocked their possible champion (Ohio State) so far out of the picture with that 35-3 thrashing that the Buckeyes won’t have a shot to get back into things. Wisconsin, which was +1800 at BetUS, is out of it after losing at Michigan, and is now 100/1. Penn State elevated itself from +1400 to +1200 by staying undefeated, but the Nittany Lions have to play Wisconsin and Ohio State on the road, and ultimately I don’t think they have enough to get through the whole year undefeated, which is probably what would have to happen. Even if the Lions get to a BCS game, I can’t see them beating Oklahoma, or an SEC team.

Or USC. That’s right, USC.

Okay, we can’t go so far as to call USC a longshot at this point in time. They’re ninth in both polls, but as you can see from the numbers, the BetUS team is wary of them as they are “tied” with Alabama at 5/1.

Don’t count out the Trojans.

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"