College Football Movers & Shakers: Week 7
Mississippi State continues to rise to the top of the college football crop.
Online sportsbook Bovada released its latest round of college football futures on Monday, serving up an insight into how Las Vegas currently sees the footballing landscape.
Once again movement within the Southeastern Conference played a huge role in the futures list, a trend that looks set to continue as we press on towards the first ever College Football Playoff.
In the wake of the updated futures list, Betting Spots brings you a rundown of those teams moving on up as well as those quickly sliding down the ladder of success.
Moving On Up
Mississippi State
For the second straight weekend Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0 SEC) ensured its name would be headlining back pages across the nation.
A 38-23 victory over then-No. 2 ranked Auburn saw the Bulldogs gatecrash the party at the top of the AP Top 25 standings, prizing first place from unbeaten Florida State.
Bookmakers haven’t been completely sold on Dan Mullen’s side, but the Bulldogs have climbed to second place on the college football futures list. Last week’s 18/1 odds have been slashed to 7/1 this week.
Mississippi State enjoys a weekend off this weekend but, depending on how the Seminoles fair against fellow unbeaten side Notre Dame, could move to the top of the futures list next Monday.
Current Odds: 7/1
Mississippi
Life in the Magnolia State is pretty sweet right now. Like the Bulldogs, Mississippi (6-0, 3-0 SEC) also scored a big victory over the weekend, getting the better of Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2 SEC) in a heavyweight SEC clash.
The Rebels led the Aggies 35-7 with 14:48 left to play before allowing three garbage time scores, but the net result was a move on up the college football futures list.
A week ago the Rebels were considered 16/1 to win the national championship. That number has dropped to 9/1 in the wake of Saturday’s big time victory.
Hugh Freeze will now look to guide his side through a potentially tricky home game against Tennessee this weekend, a matchup the Rebels can’t afford to look past.
Current Odds: 9/1
Oregon
Outside of the SEC, Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) did its championship hopes a world of good with a dominant performance on the road against UCLA.
A week after being upset by Arizona, the Ducks rolled to a 42-10 fourth quarter lead over the Bruins before yielding 20 points in garbage time. The final score though ensured the side from Eugene would move back into the AP Top 10.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ loss to Southern California also helped Oregon’s cause at the top of the Pac-12, not to mention that of the Trojans and Stanford.
The Cardinal reemerged onto the futures list, while USC cuts its odds by a quarter. Meanwhile, Oregon watches as 22/1 odds were slashed to 14/1.
Current Odds: 14/1
The Downward Spiral
Auburn
Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC) rode into Week 7 with a lot of confidence and a lot of expectations. The Tigers left knowing that there’s a lot of work to be done if the team is to advance to that all important final four.
Losing 38-23 to Mississippi State not only erased Auburn’s unbeaten record but also sent the side tumbling down the futures list. 13/2 odds a week ago now read 12/1.
That certainly isn’t a huge drop off but with four of its last six games against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25, life could be about to get very difficult for Gus Malzahn’s side. But then again, a six-game winning streak would go a long way to securing a playoff berth.
Current Odds: 12/1
Georgia
Georgia (5-1, 3-1 SEC) made a statement against Missouri (4-2, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday, reeling off 34 points while shutting the Tigers out. And all of this on Mizzou’s home field.
Despite a dominant performance, bookmakers don’t like the Bulldogs’ chances without Todd Gurley, who was suspended indefinitely last weekend. Odds of Georgia winning a national championship lengthened from 8/1 to 14/1 this week.
Still, Mark Richt’s side has the inside track to the SEC East title and a shot at the conference title. That should be enough to keep Georgia relevant for weeks to come.
Current Odds: 14/1
UCLA
With this weekend’s loss to Oregon, UCLA (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) now sits at 1-2 in conference play and needs some kind of footballing miracle if it’s to be considered for a College Football Playoff berth. That footballing miracle looks to be a long way off though.
With Southern California and Arizona still on the schedule, there Bruins can still have a say in how the Pac-12 South turns out, but it’s hard to like the side’s chances against either of those sides. Then thrown in a showdown with Stanford on the last weekend of the season and you have a team that will be lucky to finish the season with a .500 record in conference play. Even winning out and earning a Pac-12 title might not be enough to get selected, especially if the SEC is able to produce a slew of one-loss teams.
All of this has translated to a downward slide on the college football futures list. Rated 25/1 heading into this past weekend, the Bruins are now considered 100/1.
Current Odds: 100/1
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