The Alabama Crimson Tide brought the SEC title back home to Tuscaloosa for the fifth time in their last seven tries a season ago. More importantly, Nick Saban’s kids secured the 18th national championship in program history. Due to the Tide’s dominance both in the SEC and on the national stage, online sportsbooks have this year’s squad lined favorites to win the conference and College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy once again. But with regression on both sides of the ball destined to settle in with so much star power having since bolted for the NFL, will the door be left open for another SEC rep to kick it in? I’m of the belief linemakers have drastically inflated Alabama’s futures odds across the board knowing full well novice bettors will bet on the Crimson tide regardless of the rate of return. Last year’s team could go down in college football history as one of the very best to ever step onto the gridiron. While Bama reloads with the best of them, there will be some growing pains. The teams listed below are options I’ve thrown a couple shekels on in the futures market just in case my train of thought comes to fruition.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Alabama -170
Georgia +225
Texas A&M +1000
Florida +1600
LSU +1800
Ole Miss +2500
Auburn +2800
Missouri +4500
Kentucky +5500
Tennessee +6000
Mississippi State +8000
Arkansas +10000
South Carolina +25000
Vanderbilt +50000
Favorite to Bet: Georgia Bulldogs +225
The Dawgs have compiled 8-5, 13-2, 11-3, 12-2 and 8-2 records the five seasons Kirby Smart has overlooked UGA’s football program. Unfortunately, the improvements made in the win/loss departments have amounted to a grand total of one invite to the College Football Playoff. And wouldn’t you know it; they would go on to lose in overtime to Alabama in the title game. Georgia has failed to win any of the three meetings with the Crimson Tide since Smart took over the reins in Athens. Though the Bulldogs avoid Alabama in the regular season, its path to set a showdown up should the Crimson Tide ultimately go on to win the SEC West is very favorable. Seriously, if the Dawgs can’t get it done this season, it just might not be in the cards.
Georgia is an enormous -425 favorite to take home division honors for the fourth time in the last five seasons after the Florida Gators prevented them from ripping a fourth straight title off a season ago. The schedule is an absolute joke! Save for the season opener against Clemson, the Bulldogs won’t be faced with another threat until the middle of October when it welcomes what will be a game Kentucky Wildcats outfit “Between the Hedges.” Notice I said welcome. Georgia not only gets Kentucky at home, but also South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida and Mizzou. It’s road tests are comprised of visits to Vanderbilt, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. It avoids all the major players in the SEC West. Like I said, the schedule is a running joke!
Linemakers are bullish on the Bulldogs setting their season win total at 10.5 with 12 games on the docket. That means Georgia is allowed a single defeat in order for over bettors to cash tickets. It’s ability to come through for those buying into Kirby’s kids could ultimately come down to the season opener against the Clemson Tigers. If they win that game – they’re currently 3.5-point neutral field underdogs – you can bet your bottom dollar JT Daniels and the gang’s odds of winning the SEC and National Championship will get shorter. If you’d rather sit back and see how the matchup plays out first, go right ahead. Just know you’ll be costing yourself some line value once Kirby gets the best of Dabo in front of a nationally televised audience!
Underdog to Bet: Ole Miss Rebels +2500
The Rebels were one of the more exciting teams to watch in Lane Kiffin’s first go-round in Oxford last season. Ole Miss would go on to score a whopping 366 points through nine regular season games. The problem however was the defense which conceded a ghastly 363. Ole Miss saw an average of 81 points dent the scoreboard per game. Though Elijah Moore and Kenny Yeboah are no longer on the team, a multitude of impact players return from last year’s potent attack. Matt Corral is back for his junior campaign off throwing for just short of 3,000 yards with a 27:14 TD/INT ratio. Hopefully he can cut down on the interceptions after throwing 14 with a full offseason to learn the offense and get more comfortable with the system. With Dontario Drummond and Braylon Sanders at his disposal along with a backfield that led the SEC in rushing, Ole Miss is going to have scoreboard operators working overtime once again.
Though its first two defeats were of the double-digit variety against Florida and Alabama – the two teams that just so happened to collide in the SEC title game – Mississippi’s other three losses came against Arkansas, Auburn and LSU by an average of just 8.0 points per game. Ole Miss’s defense got a wee bit better as the season progressed, and it’s expected to make major strides in the right direction with the experience gained and reinforcements brought in. If the stop unit can rank in the 70-80 range in points allowed, I truly believe the offense will still allow for it to make some noise in the ultra-competitive SEC. If ever there was a dark horse contender to win the Heisman Trophy, it’s Corral whose 35-1 rate of return will shorten up real quick once the season gets underway.
Longshot to Bet: NONE
Sorry folks, this is the SEC. Teams like Tennessee, Mississippi State and Arkansas won’t be the last team standing. Heck, Auburn doesn’t even stand a chance! There’s simply just too much firepower and talent at the top of the heap to allow for something like that to happen. I was going to list the Kentucky Wildcats in this slot due to their ability to run the football and play hardnosed defense, but the quarterback situation kept me away. You’re better off taking a Bic to whatever cash you want to throw down on any of the teams at the bottom of the heap. If nothing else, it would be entertaining to watch it all go up in flames!
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