In the midst of the NBA’s and NHL’s conference finals, college football offered a little reminder that we’re less than four months away from the start of the season. So Bovada provided a little afternoon table (or Twitter) talk Wednesday with updates to its national championship and Heisman odds.
With a new quarterback to present to the desert soothsayers, Florida State is 12/1 to win the College Football Playoff. Reigning champion Ohio State is the favorite at 7/2, and its Sugar Bowl counterpart, Alabama, is right behind at 7/1. TCU is third at 10/1 and the Seminoles and Auburn are tied at 12/1.
It’s worth noting that the odds do not always denote odds makers’ true feelings about a team. The numbers are also a reaction to which teams are seeing the most betting action. There could have been a flood of money on the Seminoles to win after Everett Golson announced his transfer to FSU. That might explain why the rebuilding Seminoles, who lost 11 players to the NFL -- including the No. 1 pick last month -- are among the favorites.
Clemson at 22/1 is an interesting number as the Tigers, in this man’s opinion, have the best player in the conference in quarterback Deshaun Watson.
What seems absurd is that Georgia Tech, which was No. 1 in our post-spring power rankings, is at 100/1. The Yellow Jackets’ quarterback, Justin Thomas, has a case as the ACC’s best player, too. Miami, which went 6-7 a year ago, is 75/1. Other teams with better odds include Arkansas (40/1), Florida (66/1) and Texas (66/1).
Golson has the best odds among ACC players to win the Heisman at 14/1. Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher has had an unprecedented run of developing quarterbacks, but Florida State is trotting out four new offensive linemen and lost its record-breaking receiver and tight end.
Watson is next at 20/1 and Thomas follows him at 33/1. Thomas is a sleeper pick considering the Jackets' schedule sets him up with a number of showcase games. He could become an early front-runner with games at Notre Dame and at Clemson in the first half of the season, and he could close on the Heisman in the second half with home games against FSU and Georgia.
The ACC’s two best running backs, James Conner and Dalvin Cook register at 40/1, as does Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya (and Malik Zaire, who replaces Golson at Notre Dame). NC State quarterback Jacoby Brissett and North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams are 66/1 to win the Heisman.