2012 NCAA Football Betting Futures- Big Twelve Season Preview
The Big 12 enters the 2012 football season with the same number of teams it ended last year with, but the entire face of the conference has changed. The perennial Big 12 powers remain intact, but both Missouri and Texas A&M have jumped-ship for the SEC.
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In their place, is the addition of TCU and West Virginia, which actually helps to raise the overall competitiveness of this conference, given the quality of both these programs.
The following is a look at a few of the top contenders to win the Big 12 this season along with their current odds as provided by Bovada.
Oklahoma Sooners 1/1
The Oklahoma Sooners have been opened as even-money favorites at 1/1 to win the conference title, but Bob Stoop’s squad has bigger fish to fry this season as Bovada’s fourth-favorite at 10/1 to win this season’s BCS national title. The Sooners are coming off a disappointing year by their standards with a 10-3 record overall and a 6-3 record in conference play, but this year’s team is more than capable of making a legitimate run at both of these titles. Oklahoma will have eight starters returning to an offense that finished the year ranked 10th in scoring with an average of 39.5 points a game, including its starting quarterback Landry Jones. It also returns seven starters on defense led by All-Conference cornerback Demontre Hurst.
Texas Longhorns 4/1
Texas is another Big 12 power that is looking for bigger and better things in 2012. A sub-par 5-7 campaign in 2010 that included a dismal 2-6 record in conference play was followed by an 8-5 record last season but a second-straight losing season in the Big 12 at 4-5. Sophomore David Ash should get the call as the Longhorns starting quarterback on an offense that returns nine starters from last season. The defense returns seven starters from a unit that ended the season ranked 33rd in the nation in points allowed; giving-up an average of 22.2 points a game. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
TCU Horned Frogs 11/2
Texas Christian joins the Big 12 this season as the third-favorite at 11/2 to win the conference title. The Horned Frogs were a perfect 7-0 in their final season in the Mountain West and went 11-2 overall, leaving them more than confident that they are ready to compete with the big boys this season. Junior quarterback Casey Pachall stepped-in for the departed Andy Dalton and threw for 2,715 yards and 24 touchdowns, but it is TCU’s ground game that is the driving force behind this offense. All-Conference players’ junior defensive end Stansly Maponga and senior linebacker Kenny Cain join five other starters from a defense that held opponents to an average of 21.5 points last season.
West Virginia Mountaineers 6/1
The other new addition to the conference comes in as the fourth-favorite at 6/1 to win the Big 12 title this year. West Virginia returns 15 starters from last season’s 10-3 team. It remains stacked on offense with quarterback Gino Smith and wide receivers’ Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey all back in the fold. Austin led the team in receptions with 101 for 1,186 yards, while Bailey hauled-in 72 catches for a team-high 1,279 yards and 12 touchdowns. One area that the Mountaineers will have to do a much better job at in their new surroundings is keeping their opponents out of the end zone. Their defense finished the 2011 season ranked 61st in the country in points allowed.
The odds to win the conference for the other six teams are Kansas State at 12/1, Oklahoma State at 18/1, Texas Tech at 30/1, Baylor at 40/1, Iowa State 65/1, Kansas 100/1.
Complete Big 12 Odds
Oklahoma 1/1
Texas 4/1
TCU 11/2
West Virginia 6/1
Kansas State 12/1
Oklahoma State 18/1
Texas Tech 30/1
Baylor 40/1
Iowa State 65/1
Kansas 100/1
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Use the College football previews for the 2012 NCAA football season to help you with your college football handicapping at our top sportsbooks online this season.
Here are the 2012 Odds from BOVADA / BODOG (Canadians)
