Eleven bets to make ahead of the 2023 CFB season
While college football’s conference commissioners rush to entice prominent programs to their already-overstuffed coffers, sharp bettors here in Las Vegas and beyond continue to scour the outermost regions of the futures market in an attempt to pick off rogue numbers. Win totals, Heisman Prize chances, Week 1 point spreads … you call it. The game is on, and it has been for quite some time.Rather than deliver a grand speech about bets I made at costs that no longer exist, let’s instead focus on a few of my preferred 2023 wagers that you can still get down on.Resources: Set up|Lines |
Standings|Rankings|Football Power Index Why Texas is back Texas to win the Big 12 (+100)Over 9.5 wins( -145
)Texas to make the College Football
Playoff (+300 )
Compose it down, take a photo. I’m all the method in
on Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns this season … but stopping just except endorsing a national championship win. That evasive accomplishment may be still a few years away.I’ve got Texas favored in 11 of 12 games this season with the only dissenter coming Sept. 9 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, against the Crimson Tide. This lineup is definitely stacked, with 15 starters returning from last year’s 8-5 team that suffered all 5 losses by a single rating. Quarterback Quinn Ewers is back under center for a 2nd season, currently discovers himself listed second on the Heisman chances board at 10-1, and will be pressed by a stacked quarterback space that consists of Maalik Murphy and extremely treasured hire Arch Manning. It doesn’t hurt that Texas returns its whole starting offensive line from a year earlier, not to discuss receivers Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington.For what it deserves, my optimism isn’t just rooted in Texas’advantage. Have a look at the remainder of the Huge 12. Oklahoma will be much better than last year’s 6-7 campaign, but the Sooners won’t be elite. TCU is headed for an action back after last year’s 13-2 run, Oklahoma State is on the decline and safeguarding conference champion Kansas State needs to change half its starters from a season ago. When you search the landscape, which programs really have what it takes to make a serious perform at the Longhorns?What occurs if this group shocks the world on Sept. 9? I shudder to think.More win-total action
Notre Dame Combating Irish under 9 wins (-160)The losses of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and tight end Michael Mayer will
be felt, even if the Irish did upgrade the quarterback position with inbound transfer Sam Hartman (Wake Forest ). The defensive line is a concern, and there are enigma in the secondary for a system that struggled strongly at a loss zone last season. House dates versus Ohio State and the USC Trojans, not to mention a road trip to Clemson, loom large on the schedule. And don’t sleep on the Louisville and Pittsburgh games, either.
Alabama Crimson Tide under 10.5 wins (-150 )
I ‘d think of no one reading this will be interested in tailing me here. That’s fine, only wolf it is. I have a difficult time seeing Alabama enhancing from in 2015’s 10-win regular season to 11 or more wins this year after losing Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. At the time of this writing, Alabama’s quarterback fight is still unsettled. Keep something in mind: While the Crimson Tide went 10-2 during the routine season last year, they beat Texas by 1 point, Texas A&M by 4 points and Ole Miss by six points. What do you believe this win total would be if Bama had dropped two of those 3 contests and concluded its regular-season campaign 8-4?
Stanford Cardinal under 3 wins(
-160)With a new coaching staff, a new system, little talent and an unwillingness to welcome the transfer portal and NIL era, there’s great reason a massive exodus of talent went into the website after longtime head coach David Shaw stepped down. Find me 4 wins on Stanford’s schedule … I’ll wait. I like this bet not even if I believe it cashes, however because I get to troll my person Stanford Steve in the process.One conference long shot to think about Oregon State Beavers to win the Pac-12(+1100 )Do not sleep on what head coach Jonathan Smith is building
in Corvallis. The Beavers are coming off their 3rd 10-win campaign in program history with two of their 3 losses coming over a total of 3 points. Oregon State led the Pac-12 in overall defense last season, returns four of five starters on the offensive line and must boast among the conference’s most ferocious hurrying attacks led by sophomore Damien Martinez and senior Deshaun Fenwick. Oh, did I forget to mention that former Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei moved in to take over the signal-caller duties? My bad. When examining the Beavers’schedule, they prevent USC and get to host their marquee face-offs with Utah and Washington.A Week 1 line to consider Florida(+8.5, 48)at Utah 8 p.m. ET, Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah quarterback Cameron Increasing tore his ACL in the Utes
‘ 35-21 Rose Bowl loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions last January.
While he hasn’t been dismissed for Week 1 yet, he hasn’t been ruled in, either. Must Rising be not able to go, this line is going to drop, as it currently has from its opener of -10. Keep in mind the truth that the total has actually currently dipped from its opening position of 49.5 to as low as 47 at some sportsbooks. Taking Florida at +8.5 will provide you a good head start in a matchup with a low predicted total.Looking at the Heisman Prize market More than anything else, the Heisman Prize is granted to a winner. After reading that previous sentence you might be inclined to think,”No, Fortenbaugh, more than anything else, the Heisman Trophy is granted to a quarterback.” Not precisely, as current history will demonstrate.Over the previous ten years we have actually seen college football’s most prominent reward awarded to 8 quarterbacks, one running back and one broad receiver.Editor’s Picks Compare that with the following: Over the past ten years, nine Heisman Prize winners went into
the discussion event having actually won a minimum of 11 games throughout the season. Just Lamar Jackson got here in New York with less than 11 wins on his season résumé, as his Louisville Cardinals were 9-3 in mid-December. That likewise consists of the 2020 season when Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith accepted the award
with an undefeated 11-0 mark.With all that in mind, here are three bets I’ve produced the 2023 Heisman Prize: Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson Tigers(+1400)The Clemson schedule is custom-made for double-digit success thanks to a weak nonconference slate paired
with house dates versus Florida State and Notre Dame. I
‘ll offer you the satisfaction of choosing the most overwhelming road test: off a bye week Oct. 21 at Miami, or Nov. 25 at South Carolina.Clemson’s offense stalled a bit last season, however in comes former TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who engineered the nation’s ninth-ranked scoring offense a season earlier in Fort Worth, Texas, while directing quarterback Max Duggan to New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist. There’s a great deal of upside here.
Carson Beck, QB, Georgia Bulldogs
(+1600 )In a day and age when elite
potential customers transfer at the simple sniff of competitors, Beck sat patiently at the University of Georgia for three seasons awaiting his chance … which has finally gotten here. The 6-4, 215-pound signal-caller has a packed arsenal at his disposal, not to discuss an incredibly favorable schedule that features just 4 true roadway games(at Auburn, at Vanderbilt, at Tennessee, at Georgia Tech ), no Alabama or LSU and a very soft nonconference slate. 16-to-1 ought to be long pursued Beck finishes dissecting South Carolina on Sept. 16. D.J. Uiagalelei, QB, Oregon State Beavers(+6000)There’s a factor to