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NCAA Football Odds: Mid-Season Rundown

By BetOnline | View all Posts
Posted Wednesday, October 22, 2008 02:49 PM   0 comments
NCAA football lines looked a little different in the beginning of the season due to the preseason rankings, as there has been a shakeup in the national rankings for college football. Here is a look at which teams’ NCAA football odds you should be paying attention to during the second half of the season.

Top 5 Best Surprises

Alabama (6-0)

The Crimson Tide are still the only unbeaten team in the ultra-competitive SEC, which is a far cry from their 7-6 record from last year. Alabama still faces a tough visit to LSU, but the rest of the schedule is beatable, and the Crimson Tide have solid NCAA football odds of +350 to win their first national title since sharing with Washington in 1991.

Penn State (7-0)

The Nittany Lions picked up the spread offense very quickly, which has pushed them to the top of the Big Ten pecking order. Penn State hosts Michigan before heading to Penn State for a game that should make the conference picture clearer, and they wrap up the season at home against another surprise, Michigan State. Penn State has solid NCAA football odds of +300 for the national championship.

Oklahoma State (6-0)

The Cowboys are one of three unbeatens in the Big 12 South, but their schedule the rest of the way is brutal. They visit Texas, then Texas Tech two weeks later, followed by a tricky game at Colorado before wrapping up the season against Oklahoma. The Cowboys still are not on the radar of most sportsbook odds, but if they get past the first two, watch their NCAA football futures soar.

North Carolina (5-1)

The Tar Heels are another team that are not being given much credit in terms of sportsbook odds, and losing star receiver Brandon Tate to a knee injury will not help. The ACC is very balanced this year, meaning any games can be lost. Late-season games at Maryland and Duke could decide the Tar Heels’ fate.

Vanderbilt (5-1)

The Commodores have to bounce back from a tough loss at Mississippi State, just in time for a trip to Georgia. Two weeks after that, they host Florida before wrapping up the season against Tennessee and at Wake Forest. Vandy could be a great value pick with NCAA football odds of +5000 to win the SEC, and this week’s game against Georgia will say a lot about this football program.

Top 5 Worst Surprises

Clemson (3-3)

Many thought the Tigers were ranked a bit high when they came in ninth in the preseason polls, and they proved their critics right when they got smoked by Alabama at home in their opener. Since then, coach Tommy Bowden has been fired, and the Tigers still have games at Boston College and Florida State. The Tigers had great sportsbook odds to win the ACC, now you should not go near them with a ten-foot pole.

West Virginia (4-2)

The Mountaineers were another preseason NCAA odds darling heading into this season, entering the polls at eighth. However, back-to-back losses at East Carolina and Colorado killed their BCS hopes, and they close out the campaign with tough games at Pittsburgh and against South Florida.

Auburn (4-3)

An inability to win close games is the real reason Auburn dropped out of the preseason top ten, as they have lost to LSU, Vanderbilt and Arkansas by a combined nine points. It gets no easier for the Tigers, who go to West Virginia in a battle of the disappointments, before hosting Georgia and visiting Alabama in the final two weeks. NCAA football odds of +10,000 to win the SEC should persuade sportsbook bettors away from the Tigers.

Michigan (2-4)

Everyone knew the Wolverines would be going through some tough times as they switched their offensive system to the spread, but losing to Toledo at home is not what Michigan fans had in mind. Michigan has a tough three weeks ahead with trips to Penn State and Purdue sandwiched around a home game with Michigan State, and there is always the annual clash with Ohio State to close the season. Winning that game would make everyone forget about this awful season in which NCAA futures never gave them a chance.

Ohio State (6-1)

All the Buckeyes had to do was win at USC, and they would validate their NCAA football odds as one of the top favorites to win the national title that has eluded them the past two years. The Buckeyes could not even keep it close, and are now officially out of the hunt. They can probably still salvage a trip to the Rose Bowl, but a lot hinges on their battle with Penn State in a couple of weeks.
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