With some spring games already underway, it’s not too early to start thinking about the 2012 college football season and its bowl games, including the 2013 BCS National Championship.
Just days after the 2011-2012 season came to an end, Vegas odds makers where already scrambling and looking ahead to post this season’s odds.
With that being said, we here at BetVega are already taking the time to look at the 2013 college football national championship odds in an effort to find some big time winners with great value.
LSU
First up, is 2012 BCS runner-ups LSU, who is currently listed at 5/1 after initially being slated as the favorite to win it all next season..
The Tigers, who have won three national titles with the last coming in 2007, went undefeated in the 2011 regular season to reach the 2012 title game, but were properly thumped by the Crimson Tide, 21-0.
And things aren’t going to get any easier, as they not only have to face Auburn (60/1), Florida, new SEC contender Texas A&M (150/1), and Arkansas (20/1) on the road, but they will have to get by South Carolina (30/1) and eventually Alabama if they want to win the SEC. Something they will have to do to get back the title game. Don’t let the odds for some of those teams fool you, as they had a combined record of 37-15 in 2011.
The Tigers do however have less of a fearsome non-conference schedule in 2012, featuring cupcakes North Texas, Washington, Idaho, and Towson, with all four games being played at home.
But perhaps the biggest thing going for head coach Les Miles in 2012, is the fact that he will be returning a lot of players from last year’s team, and combined with the fact that their game against Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide is going to be at home, LSU’s chances of not only returning to the title game but winning it, are pretty strong.
ALABAMA
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean Alabama is going to just roll over, as it looks to notch its 15 national title and third under Saban.
The Tide has lost some key players, but they don’t seem to ever have a problem stacking the roster, and after bringing in the nation’s top recruiting class in February, there seems to be a stockpile of A-level talent on Alabama’s roster at nearly every position.
They are currently at 11/2 to win the 2013 BCS National Championship, and after making it to a BCS bowl in three of the last four seasons, we don’t see why this year should be any different.
USC
Going outside the SEC, another team to watch out for is the USC Trojans (7/2) who will be coming off the schools’ postseason ban, and will be eligible to win its 12th national title should senior quarterback Matt Barkley who decided that he was going to come back to school for his senior year, guide the Boys of Troy to their first championship since 2004.
With USC back in the mix, it could spell trouble for Oregon (10/1), who have played in a BCS bowl the last three seasons.
While the Trojans’ non-conference slate is difficult, we wouldn’t be completely shocked if USC dominates the PAC-12 in 2012, and in its first year back from its two-year bowl ban and led by possibly the best QB in all of college football–take it all.
OKLAHOMA
While finishing the 2011 season ranked 14 and a trip to the Insight Bowl may have been an accomplishment for most teams, it was a huge disappointment for an Oklahoma Sooner (10/1) team that started off the season by steamrolling opponents, outscoring them to the tune of 272-17 to get out to a 6-0 record. Then the wheels fell off the bus as the Sooners lived up to their reputation of losing games they shouldn’t during the season and damaging their chances to play for a title.
Something they haven’t done since 2000 under current coach Bob Stoops.
They will return quarterback Landry Jones, who will give them plenty of fuel to fire up their high-octane offense so we expect the Sooners to be in the thick of it all at the wire.
Long shot to win the 2013 BCS National Championship?
The Boise State Broncos (50/1) will play their final year in the Mountain West Conference, and that should give them one last really good opportunity at finally winning an elusive national title after positing undefeated or single-loss seasons over the past four years.
Although the Broncos will lose quarterback Kellen Moore, they do keep head coach Chris Petersen for another year, and with the TCU Horned Frogs out of the way and now playing in the Big 12, young freshman QB Nick Patti will punctuate another marvelous recruiting class.
Could the Broncos end their MWC era with a title? We think it’s highly possible.
Vegas Odds To Win 2013 BCS National Championship
USC
3/1
LSU
5/1
Alabama
11/2
Oregon
10/1
Georgia
12/1
Oklahoma
12/1
Florida State
14/1
Arkansas
20/1
Michigan
25/1
Notre Dame
25/1
Texas
28/1
Virginia Tech
28/1
Clemson
30/1
South Carolina
30/1
West Virginia
30/1
Nebraska
35/1
Wisconsin
40/1
Boise State
50/1
Florida
50/1
Kansas State
50/1
Michigan State
50/1
TCU
50/1
Auburn
60/1
Miami (Florida)
75/1
Mississippi State
75/1
Oklahoma State
75/1
Cincinnati
100/1
Iowa
100/1
Missouri
100/1
Penn State
100/1
Stanford
100/1
Washington
100/1
California
125/1
Pittsburgh
125/1
Arizona
150/1
BYU
150/1
Georgia Tech
150/1
Tennessee
150/1
Texas A&M
150/1
Boston College
200/1
Oregon State
200/1
South Florida
200/1
UCLA
200/1
