With live sports on the shelf right now, bettors are turning to online sportsbooks for various futures and props odds to help fill the void. As far as the 2020 college football season, online books are starting to post futures for winning each of the 10 conference titles in Division IA for the upcoming season.
With so many unknowns across every D-IA team right now, there is some solid betting value to be found in many of the posted odds. Here is a quick look at some early picks in the five major conferences.
ACC
The conference title race in the ACC is basically Clemson vs. the Field.
The Tigers have dominated this conference over the past few seasons while also making the four-team playoff the past five years. They also have two national titles on the resume during that same span.
Clemson has been opened as a -600 favorite to win the ACC in 2020. That would be a high-risk play given those odds, but there is no reason to bet against the Tigers right now.
The Miami Hurricanes are +750 second favorites followed by North Carolina (+1000) and Virginia Tech (+1200).
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Big 12
The Oklahoma Sooners have been the team to beat in the Big 12 in recent years. They have been listed as -125 favorites to repeat as conference champions in 2020 followed by the Texas Longhorns at +150 odds.
This points to a two-team race with Oklahoma State third on the list at +600 followed by Iowa State (+1200).
Oklahoma will play Texas in the regular season and probably meet again in the title game like they did two years ago. The gap between these teams is not as wide as last season, so an early lean could be towards the Longhorns with the better value in the odds.
Big Ten
Another heavy favorite to win their conference is the Ohio State Buckeyes at -225. The Big Ten is much more competitive than the ACC, but betting against the Buckeyes does not make any sense right now.
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With Heisman hopeful Justin Fields at quarterback and a roster that is the deepest in talent across the Big Ten, betting the Buckeyes now is worth the added risk in the odds.
Michigan is next on the list at +350 followed by Wisconsin (+900) and Penn State (+1000).
Pac-12
As the most wide-open major conference race on the board, you can go deeper down the list in search of value. While the reigning champion Oregon Ducks are penciled-in as +250 favorites, the USC Trojans are looking for a return to prominence as +275-second favorites.
You can also add the Washington Huskies to the list of teams looking to bounce back in 2020 at +300 odds.Must Read > Canceled Spring Games and NCAAF Betting Futures
It has been quite awhile since the UCLA Bruins were a factor in the title race but they are fourth on the list at +400. The Utah Utes round out the Top 5 with +450 odds after losing to Oregon in last year’s conference championship.
Washington stands out as the value pick given its past history of success in the Pac-12.
SEC
The road to the 2020 SEC title still goes through Tuscaloosa with the Alabama Crimson Tide listed as -120 favorites. This is still the most competitive power conference in football but Alabama will be highly motivated to reclaim the top spot coming of a rare two-loss campaign.
West Division rival LSU is a +275 second-favorite as the reigning SEC and national champion. Yet, duplicating last year’s 15-0 run to a title will be tough to do with Joe Burrow playing in the NFL.
The Georgia Bulldogs offer some value at +300 playing in the East Division but they face Alabama on the road early in the regular season this year. The Bulldogs also have to get past the much-improved Florida Gators in the East as +600 fourth-favorites on the list.
