Nine college football futures bets

Erik Buchinger -

Most of the professional gamblers out there will tell you ever deal with futures bets, but those guys are doing this to earn a living. The rest of us bet on sports for a fun. And betting on college football futures are fun.

Most of these bets were placed over the spring and early summer, and numbers could be different depending on where you see them.

Because I’m an optimist finding all that is great in the world, the only win totals I bet were overs. I like cheering for teams I think are good more than hating teams I think are bad, and I could not really find teams that I thought were significantly worse than what their win total says.

Let’s dive in.

Georgia National title +900

I have not officially made my national title pick yet but looking at the odds, Georgia provides the best value with Clemson and Alabama as heavy favorites going into the season. The Bulldogs have to be the favorites in an improving SEC East, and Jake Fromm established himself as a top-three quarterback in the nation. Georgia will likely have to get past Alabama once and maybe twice this season, but the Bulldogs should have beaten the Tide the last two times they played each other. Georgia will win a national title with Kirby Smart within the next three years, and this might just be the one.

Sam Ehlinger Heisman +2500

Texas is back, folks, and I am all about Sam Ehlinger’s chances to win a Heisman Trophy this season. I love everything about this fella. He’s taking shots at people, and people are taking shots at him. A Baker Mayfield-type without the crotch-grabbing. Remember when people were really mad about that? That was wild.

I’m taking this stat from Stewart Mandel from The Athletic (yeah, I’m a subscriber and a bigger sports fan than you, what of it?), but Ehlinger is the sixth Power 5 quarterback to throw for at least 25 touchdowns and run for at least 15 touchdowns. Who else did that? Guys like Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota and Lamar Jackson. What do all those guys have in common? They all won Heisman trophies.

Texas OVER 9.5

Not only am I taking Ehlinger to win a Heisman, I’m also picking Texas to win the Big 12 and reach the College Football Playoff. To do all of those things, the Longhorns are going to need more than nine wins, so I’m all over the over here. The two toughest tests this season will be against LSU and Oklahoma, but both of these games are being played in Texas. Then it’s just a bunch of unexciting Big 12 teams and fortunately for Texas, Maryland is not listed on the schedule this season.

Utah OVER 8.5

Utah is my favorite team in college football this season. I am all about the Utes. Despite returning few starters going into last season, Utah was on a roll scoring 40 or more points four consecutive games before starting quarterback Tyler Huntley and NFL-caliber running back Zack Moss missed the rest of the season with injuries. Both of them are back. Nobody cares about Utah, and that’s why I think this is the most undervalued team in the country. I’ll be riding the Utes all year long. If you’re looking at week 1 already, I think Utah goes out and destroys BYU by three scores.

Clemson OVER 11.5

Clemson is going undefeated. 12-0. This is the best team in the country and should be favored by around 20 points in every game it plays this season. Nobody on its ACC schedule scares me, and its toughest game will probably be the second week of the season at home against Texas A&M. Early lines are out for that one, and Clemson is favored by 15.5. In case you were wondering, the Tigers favored against Georgia Tech in week 1 by 35 points. Clemson’s first test of the season might come in the College Football Playoff. The road is that easy.

Florida OVER 9

What a difference Dan Mullen makes. In 2017, the Gators fell apart, losing six of their last seven games that included absolutely getting crushed by Missouri in a 4-7 season. That should never happen to Florida football. In comes Mullen, and in his first year Florida goes 10-3. Year one of the head coach is supposed to be an expectation-free season before getting into that pivotal second year. He shattered expectations last season, and that’s going to continue. The Gators will start out 6-0 and will likely be favored in at least 10 games this year. We’ll see about at LSU and home against Georgia. But even then, that’s two losses. That means 10 wins. Ten is bigger than nine. Take the over.

Nebraska OVER 8

All aboard the hype train! It was a rocky start in Scott Frost’s first year with the team’s first win coming on October 20. The Cornhuskers won four of their last six games with close losses to Ohio State and Iowa. The hot end to the season made for massive expectations going into this year. Nebraska is 6:1 in some places to make the College Football Playoff, which is absolutely ridiculous, but the Cornhuskers should at the very least get to eight wins with a manageable schedule.

Ohio State OVER 10

What a value play we have here. Urban Meyer left Columbus to head to California and make Clay Helton’s life a living hell, but this is still the most talented team in the Big Ten. For this to go under, Ohio State would have to go 9-3. Could anybody imagine the Buckeyes going 9-3? I certainly don’t. People would be calling for Ryan Day to be fired immediately. It won’t happen. Worst case scenario with the Buckeyes is you’ll get your money back with 10 wins.

TCU OVER 7.5

The Froggies went 6-6 last year, which is incredible given the fact Gary Patterson gave me a call mid-season wondering if I could play corner. This was the most injured team in the history of injured teams and still made a bowl game. And they won that Cheez-It Bowl in a legendary game that set college football back 70 years. Looking at the unpredictable Big 12, I see TCU flirting with double-digit wins, a feat it has accomplished in three of the past five years.

Reminder, potential big news in the coming weeks for the leader of Deceptive Speed in the gambling game. Stay tuned.

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