College football betting fans who are overwhelmed with trying to select one national champion from among more than 100 schools can improve their chances of achieving wagering success by betting on which teams will win more than a half-dozen individual conferences. And for those wary gamblers who want to narrow the field even more, where it's applicable, many sportsbooks even have future book prices on separate divisions within those leagues or conferences.
Let's look at the conferences and odds:
SEC: The nation's strongest conference has produced four different BCS title winners in the last five years and the fight for the SEC crown should be every bit as fierce. Alabama and Florida are co-favorites at 2/1 but LSU is a player at odds of 7/2. The three teams play one another but the Crimson Tide and Tigers each are in the SEC West so the Gators, who reside in the SEC East, may have a slight advantage in that they're more likely to reach the title game. That is, of course if Florida can get past SEC rivals Georgia, 6/1, and South Carolina, 7/1. It's double or triple digits on everyone else with defending national champion Auburn relegated to a 16/1 outsider just to win the SEC. That's how tough the conference is.
Big 12: The first thing you need to know is that the departure of Nebraska (to the Big Ten) and Colorado (to what's now called the Pac-12) has left the league with 10 teams, no divisions and no conference title game. So it's just regular season conference won/lost record that determines the champion. That should be Oklahoma, the shortest of all conference favorites at odds of 1/2. Texas A&M is next in line at odds of 4/1 followed by Texas at 6/1. But neither the Aggies nor the Longhorns get the Sooners at home. OklahomaState, 10/1, does play Oklahoma at home, in Stillwater, Dec. 3. Might be interesting, huh?
ACC: Resurgent FloridaState is the 7/4 favorite with Virginia Tech listed as the second choice at odds of 11/4. The Seminoles and Gobblers don't meet this year…unless FSU captures the Atlantic Division and VT emerges from the Coastal Division to face off in the ACC Championship game. Miami, 4/1, and North Carolina, 5/1, both from the Coastal Division, are most likely to make things difficult for Virginia Tech but each will have to do it in Blacksburg.
Big Ten: Adding Nebraska has allowed the Big Ten, which already had 11 teams (I know, it's silly) to bring its number to 12 and have a championship game. Sportsbooks are looking for Nebraska, 2/1, to emerge from the weaker Legends Division to face PennState, 3/1, OhioState, 6/1, or Wisconsin, 7/1, from the Leaders Division. You can get at least 10/1 on any of the other eight teams winning the conference this year.
Pac-12: As you can tell by its new name, the Pac-10 now is the Pac-12, geography be damned, adding Utah and Colorado to the league to form two, six-team divisions. USC, which is on probation, is ineligible for the Pac-12 title. Oregon, which made it to the BCS title game in January, opened as the 2/1 favorite with Stanford and Utah each quoted at odds of 3/1. The Ducks and Cardinals, each members of the Pac-12's North Division, could settle things Nov. 12 in Palo Alto. ArizonaState, 7/1, should challenge Utah for the South Division crown with those teams scheduled to meet in Salt Lake City, Oct. 8.
Big East: Four teams, West Virginia, 7/4, South Florida, 5/2, Pittsburgh, 11/2, and Cincinnati, 6/1, are legitimate contenders in the weakest of the power conferences. Among the quartet, Pittsburgh and South Florida face two of their three rivals at home while Cincinnati and West Virginia are on the road for two of those three match-ups.
Mid-America: It's an acknowledgement of sorts that, beyond the six BCS power conferences, the 13-team MAC has the type of balance that encourages betting. Northern Illinois, which was undefeated (8-0) in the conference last season, opened as a 5/2 favorite to get past Toledo, 9/2, in the MAC's West Division and tangle with either Temple, 11/4, or Miami, 7/2, from the East Division, in the conference's championship game.
With hedging later in the year a possibility, gamblers can give themselves more options and increase their chances of success when their college football betting choices include conference future books.
This article was written by Luken Karel for http://www.thegreek.com. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering college football betting and sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
