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College football conference odds, betting insights for 2024
With the 2024 season about to kick off, here is where the betting action is going in each of the Power Four conferences
The long summer drought is over; college football is back this weekend. While there are only four games — headlined by Florida State (-11.5) taking on Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland — there will be plenty of college football betting opportunities over the next several months. So if you don’t have a strong opinion, you’re fine to not have action on any game this weekend.
With the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams this year, winning a conference title isn’t vital to a team’s national championship hopes, but it will help with playoff seeding.
Here is a look at the four major conferences (RIP, Pac-12), the favorites to win each and the biggest liabilities at BetMGM Sportsbook.
Odds from BetMGM (teams with odds of +1000 or shorter)
ACC
Florida State +300
Clemson +350
Miami +450
NC State +650
Louisville +800
Virginia Tech +1000
Yes, there are a few new entrants into the ACC — welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford — but the Cardinal (+40000) and Golden Bears (+9000) aren’t expected to be contenders this season. Surprisingly, the biggest liability at BetMGM to win the conference resides with Virginia Tech, which has 29% of the total dollars wagered. Meanwhile Miami has the most bets (25%) and second-highest handle (24%) to win the conference. One oddsmaker says he believes the liability on NC State and Syracuse will continue to grow in the coming days.
Big Ten
Ohio State +155
Oregon +200
Penn State +500
Michigan +700
That’s not a typo: Oregon is now in the Big Ten, along with UCLA, USC and Washington. The Ducks are ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll, but Ohio State has received the most wagers (26%) to win the conference and more than half of the total dollars wagered (59%). Penn State (22%) and Michigan (15%) are second and third in ticket count, respectively, but Nebraska is a growing liability as the Cornhuskers have attracted the fifth-most bets (6%) at +5000 odds.
Big 12
Utah +275
Kansas State +375
Oklahoma State +700
UCF +900
Iowa State +900
Kansas +900
In what is likely the most wide open of the power conferences, the Big 12 has five teams that have drawn at least 10% of bets. Not surprisingly, Colorado (+2500) is the runaway leader in bets (22%) and handle (29%) to win the conference. The Buffaloes also are BetMGM’s biggest liability of any team in the country to win a conference. Coach Deion Sanders’ team was extremely popular with bettors last season despite fading down the stretch, although one oddsmaker said that this season’s betting interest on Colorado pales in comparison to last year’s. Utah (14%), Iowa State (10%), Kansas (10%), Kansas State (10%) and Oklahoma State (9%) are the other teams that bettors believe have a good chance to win the Big 12. Utah, in its first season in the conference, is the Big 12 favorite and a team that, according to several oddsmakers, has taken sharp action to win the conference and go Over its win total of 9.5.
SEC
Georgia +180
Texas +350
Ole Miss +650
Alabama +700
LSU +900
Perennial national championship contender and preseason No. 1 Georgia predictably is the favorite to win the SEC, but Alabama (+700) has its worst odds to win the conference since 2008 (+650), per Sports Odds History. Bettors have taken notice, as the Crimson Tide (26%) have the most bets and total dollars wagered (35%) and are BetMGM’s biggest liability in the SEC. This year will be Alabama’s first season without coach Nick Saban at the helm since 2006. Georgia has the second-most wagers to win the conference, but Texas has attracted the second-most money.
