Odds To Win 2012 BCS Championship

Future Betting Odds

The 2011 college football season kick-offs the first week in September, so it is a perfect time to start your handicapping efforts to uncover which two teams are most likely to wind-up in this year’s BCS Championship Game in early January. According to some of the coaches’ reports from the six major conferences it would appear that there are quite a few teams that have a chance to make it to the big game, but in reality there are probably just a handful of legitimate contenders out there.

The SEC has accounted for the last five national champions, and given the fact that USC had to vacate its 2005 and 2004 BCS Championships, you have to go all the way back to 2002, when Ohio State won it all, to find a national champion that was not from this powerhouse conference.

Heading into the 2011 season, Bodog Sportsbook has opened Oklahoma as the favorite to win it all at 9/2. The Sooners last won a BCS title in 2000 and have made it back to the championship game three times since. Head Coach Bob Stoops has probably one of his most talented teams in recent memory with 18 starters back from a 2011squad that went 12-2 and ended the season ranked sixth in the final AP poll. The offense will once again feature QB Landry Jones and WR Brain Broyles, who accounted for 118 receptions for 1,452 yards and 13 TD’s in the regular season.

Oklahoma will face a stiff test right off the bat with a trip to Florida State on September 17. It faces Texas A&M at home on November 5 and Oklahoma State on the road on December 3 in two other potential pitfalls on the road to the title game.

Alabama is this season’s favorite out of the SEC at 11/2. The Crimson Tide are another team that is stacked with talent from last year’s team including RB Trent Richardson and WR Darius Hanks. The Tide’s new starter at quarterback will most likely be A.J. McCarron, but Phillip Sims is another possible candidate. Defense will still be the primary strength of this team with 10 starters returning from last season, including four that were named to the All-Conference team.

The Crimson Tide’s visit to Happy Valley on Sept. 10 to face Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions could be an interesting test. Just two weeks later they face Arkansas at home followed by Florida on the road. The final test of the regular season is a Nov.5 home game against LSU.

Florida State is listed as the third-favorite to win the title at 10/1. The ‘Jimbo Fisher Era’ enters its second season with a highly talented squad of both upper and underclassmen that form the most talented Seminole team in the last 10 years. E.J. Manual will take over at quarterback for the departed Christian Ponder, which will bring a bit more mobility to the position. Florida State returns eight starters on defense from last year, including DE Brandon Jenkins and CB Xavier Rhodes.

The Seminoles should benefit from a very manageable ACC schedule and could be in line to enter the conference title game undefeated if they find a way to upend Oklahoma in Week 2. Miami could be an interesting matchup on November 12, but it appears that a potential showdown with Virginia Tech in the ACC title game could ultimately decide their BCS title hopes.

The current odds for some of the other teams worth watching this season include Oregon at 12/1 and Stanford at 16/1 coming out of the newly expanded PAC-12, Nebraska at 25/1 in its new home with the Big Ten and West Virginia at 25/1 leading the way in the Big East. Turning to the Mid-Majors, Boise State remains the biggest threat at 14/1 with TCU next at 30/1.

For those of you not familiar with betting on BCS futures, the number listed beside each team represents the payout per $100 wagered. For example the top favoured Oklahoma Sooners are 9/2 to win the BCS Championship. If you bet $100 to win on the Sooners and they did win the title, you’d get back $550 from the sportsbook, your initial $100 stake plus $450 for your winning selection.

Note: The BCS future lines listed above were current odds at the time the article was written. Please click here!! to get the up to the minute odds to win the 2011/2012 BCS Championship.