College Football Movers & Shakers: Week 6
Michigan State’s win over Nebraska at the weekend has propelled the side up the futures list.
Online sportsbook Bovada released its latest round of college football futures on Tuesday, serving up an insight into how Las Vegas currently sees the footballing landscape.
It should come as no surprise to learn that the Vegas standings endured an emphatic shakeup following this past weekend’s action, not least the field being whittled down to less than 30 schools for the first time this campaign.
Betting Sports has taken a snapshot of the futures list, picking out three teams on the rise, and three heading in the wrong direction.
Moving On Up
Ole Miss
On a weekend that saw a record-tying number of ranked teams fall, one upset went someway to overshadowing every other upset on the schedule. Ole Miss (5-0, 2-0 SEC) scored a (very) rare victory over conference favorite Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC), sending the Las Vegas betting market into a spin.
The 23-17 victory – Mississippi’s first win over the Crimson Tide in a decade – saw odds of the Rebels winning the national championship slashed from 33/1 to 16/1. Alabama meanwhile saw its own odds stretch from 6/1 to 10/1.
Combined with other results in the SEC this weekend, Ole Miss winning on Saturday was a real game changer, the impact of which could be felt into December
Current Odds: 16/1
Michigan State
Michigan State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) fended off a late rally from Nebraska (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) to begin the conference portion of the schedule with a victory. The result went a long way to shoring up the Spartans’ title credentials, especially with some of the SEC’s big-hitters falling by the wayside.
The Spartans went into the weekend with 14/1 odds of winning a national championship. Those odds now sit at 8/1, good enough for joint-third place on the list – the highest a Big Ten side has sat all year.
The Cornhuskers saw their odds fall to 66/1 in the process, but remain a championship candidate thanks to a weak West Division. A win in the Big Ten Championship Game still holds the key for Bo Pelini’s side.
Current Odds: 8/1
Notre Dame
Notre Dame (5-0) is quietly compiling a solid résumé to impress the College Football Playoff committee, and still has plenty of opportunity to impress even further.
The Fighting Irish picked up a third rivalry victory of the season on Saturday, defeating Stanford (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) 17-10 and virtually ending the Cardinal’s hopes of a championship. That was enough to see championship odds drop from 25/1 to 10/1.
The Irish will look to navigate a potential upset against North Carolina this weekend before meeting Florida State on October 18. Imagine what a win in that matchup would do to the futures list.
Current Odds: 10/1
The Downward Spiral
Oregon
Thursday night’s 23-17 loss to Arizona (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) proved costly for Oregon (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12). The team from Eugene, Ore., saw its title odds crash from 8/1 to 22/1, and will now have to fight hard to climb the list again.
The Ducks’ usually-prolific offence mustered just a pair of touchdowns as the Wildcats pulled off the first big upset of this weekend. Fortunately for Mark Helfrich’s side, Stanford was also on the losing end of things this weekend, which means Oregon’s Oct. 24 matchup with California (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12) is still on course to decide the division champion.
On the flip side, odds of the Wildcats winning a national championship dropped from 200/1 to 50/1 in one fell swoop.
Current Odds: 22/1
Texas A&M
Texas A&M (5-1, 2-1 SEC) was another of the SEC’s big losers this weekend, suffering an upset defeat at the hands of Mississippi State (5-0, 2-0 SEC).
The defeat saw the Aggies’ odds stretch from 14/1 to 40/1, a figure that is equal to that of the Bulldogs. With games remaining against four sides currently ranked in the AP Top 25, A&M is looking like it’s in for a rocky run in, a run in that would almost assuredly secure a playoff berth were the Aggies to run the rack. That’s a tall order though.
Current Odds: 40/1
Oklahoma
Until this past weekend, everything had quietly gone according to plan for Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) but a 37-33 loss to TCU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) couldn’t fail to make a bang.
The Sooners witnessed their championship odds go from 15/2 to 12/1 as a result of the loss. That’s not a huge drop off, and bettors are understandably hesitant to write the team off, but with a fairly tough schedule ahead – the Sooners still face Kansas State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12), Baylor (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) and Oklahoma State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) – it’ll be a tough road to the College Football Playoff.
It’s worth noting that all three of the Big 12 sides mentioned are currently listed on Bovada’s college football futures list, and all have to make the trip to Norman, Okla. That certainly plays into Oklahoma’s favor.
Current Odds: 12/1
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