College football season is only seven months away, so it’s about time to start looking at what teams have the best odds to win the 2016 title.
Alabama is still polishing its trophy from 2015 and the Crimson Tide will once again be one of the top choices to win another championship. According to odds released Friday, Alabama is the second choice by oddsmakers to win college football’s championship at +700.
The top option? It’s the same team that entered 2015 as the overwhelming favorite – Ohio State. The Buckeyes will once again be favored this coming season, going off at +600. Ohio State will have to fare better this season than it did last year with a target on its back. The Buckeyes didn’t show the intensity needed on a weekly basis and struggled through the season until losing to Michigan State.
From there, Ohio State looked like a national championship contender, but it was too little, too late. The defense will once again be one of the best units in college football to go along with a potentially explosive offense. And it happens to play in the Big 10, where the competition level isn’t as high as other top conferences.
With Alabama and Ohio State favored to be in the college football playoff, oddsmakers expect Clemson and Michigan to join them. The Tigers and Wolverines are tied at +750, which firmly outdistances the field. Clemson lost to Alabama in last season’s championship game, while Michigan saw a resurgence under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh.
The next-best options are far off the pace, led by Oklahoma, LSU and Tennessee at +1400, and Baylor, Notre Dame and Stanford at +1600.
Teams that intrigue us are those from the Pac-12. Possibly the best conference from 2015 was left out of the playoff. If one team can rise above the rest of the teams in the league, it will have a solid chance to make the playoff and do well once it gets there.
Other high-profile teams in the Pac-12 include Oregon, USC and UCLA at +3300, Washington at +5000 and Utah at +6600. The Bruins will be one of the most talented teams in the country with the best young quarterback with Josh Rosen. The Ducks are always interesting, but like we said before last season started, Oregon’s days as the bell-cow for the conference are over.
The team that’s the most interesting is Washington. The Huskies were better than advertised last season and with Chris Petersen at the helm, Washington will only get better. Is it likely the Huskies will win the title? That’s doubtful. But it may be worth a long-shot, especially since the Huskies will host USC, Stanford and Arizona State. The toughest game is at Oregon, which albeit daunting, isn’t as difficult as in the past.
Teams with odds currently listed with the longest odds are Arizona State, Miami, Nebraska and Arkansas at +7500.
