With the 2016 College Football Season ready to kick off, the Pac-12 Conference is a wide-open race with many contestants fighting for position. Here is our take on the top Pac-12 favorites to win, along with our best dark horse play. The betting odds to win the Pac-12 this season have been provided by BetOnline.
STANFORD +325
Stanford is our dark horse play for the College Football Championship, so we have to stick with them in the Pac-12 as our play for the outright championship. We may be beating a dead horse here when we sing the praises of Christian McCaffery, but he is really that good. David Shaw is running an elite program under the radar, as most of the limelight in the Pac-12 is often cast upon Oregon and USC historically. Nevertheless, Stanford has dominated this conference in recent history and they are a perennial contender for the Rose Bowl, we will stick with our top dark horse play for the College Football Championship and say Stanford is a great play.
WASHINGTON +375
A team that has no tangible results to really boast this price. Washington has been consistently overvalued and overhyped and until they prove differently, they are always a no play. Much of the Huskies’ hype is likely predicated on the presence of Coach Chris Petersen who many have claimed has recruited well for the Huskies. Many analysts suggest that the Huskies are in a renaissance and this season is primed to be their breakout on to the national landscape. However, the Huskies have not won more than eight games since Petersen took command and at this price, there is actually minimal reward compared to the risk here.
UCLA +425
Similar to Washington, the Bruins are often forecasted full of promise but fail to deliver. UCLA has been prognosticated as high as a National Champion when they had quarterback Brett Hundley running the offense, a couple years ago. How did UCLA follow this up? They laid an egg and did not even qualify for a New Year’s Day bowl game. The Bruins are a recognizable name and are a continuous culprit of being pretenders when forecasted as contenders. UCLA lost some key players in the NFL Draft and that impact has also yet to be seen. A dicey play to say the least.
OREGON +600
We still are unsure how Oregon could ever been in a position to be a dark horse, but that situation has materialized. Oregon is always worth a play if the price dictates and given the fact this team returns a potential Heisman contender in Royce Freeman matched by their signature offense, the Ducks may recover from what was considered a down year in 2015. Oregon has been the gold-standard football team in the Pac-12 and generally has dominated their conference with ease in recent years. Oregon’s price may have been far less accommodating had they not blown a thirty-one point lead in the Alamo Bowl against TCU to wrap off their disappointing campaign in 2015. Nevertheless, Oregon is an institution and the expectations of victory are often very high. At this price, there is no risk and a lot of upside in taking the Pac 12’s best team in recent years.