Let’s face it, future bets aren’t the most agreeable wager for a gambler to make. Bettors enjoy getting an immediate return on their investment if at all possible. And you have to wait for several months before you can cash the ticket on a futures play.
Despite the waiting game that you play for those props, there is no doubt that there is some value in these bets to get us to plunk down the cash. Yet you have those plays wisely that tie up your cash for a few months.
Some folks like to back teams just to win the national championship, but that’s like funneling the ocean through a 12-inch strainer. Why not improve your chances and look at wagers on which program will win a conference title?
Betting on conference winners will no doubt yield you some heavier favorites (Florida and Southern California are listed at -300 to win their respective leagues), but you can make a nice chunk of change on a few sleepers.
Here are a couple of teams that have a nice payday attached to them if they win their BCS conferences. You can find these odds on BetUS.
Rude A-wake-ning
The ACC has been Virginia Tech’s play land ever since they joined the league. The Hokies have won two of the three league title games they’ve played in. They’ve been able to make it into the contest thanks to playing in a division that hasn’t been all that competitive.
2009 will be a marked difference than what Frank Beamer has been accustomed to with teams like the Yellow Jackets (+700), Hurricanes (+600) and Tar Heels (+600) getting a lot of attention after solid 2008 campaigns. Problem is with those clubs is they’ll be public bets and we know that the public is wrong a lot of the time.
Wake Forest is sitting quietly in the background after an 8-5 record last season. That record is misleading when you consider that four of Wake's five losses were by seven points or less. There is no reason to think that the Demon Deacons can't improve since they're returning nine starters on offense, including the ACC’s most accurate passer in senior Riley Skinner.
The Deacs are rebuilding their defense with just four players coming back from last season. The plus side is that three of those four starters reside on the front line, which will help in applying pressure...especially when you consider that they were third in the ACC in allowing 116.1 rushing yards per game.
You can get Wake for a return of plus-1200 (risk $100 to win $1200) to win the ACC right now. That’s a risk worth your while when you look at the Demon Deacons’ schedule starts off with some winnable games against Baylor and Stanford. Also, their toughest tests of league play (Oct. 31 vs. Miami & Nov. 14 vs. Florida State) are on home turf.
They’re not 40, but they’re men!
It looked like the Cowboys were going to have a breakout season in2008 after opening with seven straight wins. But a heartbreaker against the Longhorns on Oct. 25 led to Oklahoma State closing out the campaign on a sour 2-4 note. During that stretch the Cowpokes lost by 36 to Texas Tech, gave up 61 points to Oklahoma and let Oregon drop 42 on them in the Holiday Bowl with its fourth quarterback of the year.
Despite that flameout, Mike Gundy is positive about his club’s chance this fall. And who can blame him when you have eight starters coming back from one of the most prolific offenses in school history. Zac Robinson is back under center for his senior season and he’ll have sophomore Dez Bryant to throw the ball to again this season. This duo combined for 1,480 yards through the air and 19 touchdowns. There’s no reason to think this pair won’t eclipse those numbers this fall.
The tough call is on defense, where they gave up a lot of points down the stretch…that’s where Bill Young comes in. Young is an OSU alum and has a lot of knowledge of the Big XII after running Kansas’ defense for six years before drawing up plays for the ‘Canes last season.
On the outside, you would think that Young is in for the biggest challenge of his career. After all this is a unit that ranked 52nd in the country against the run (137.9 yards per game), 109th against the pass (267.7 YPG) and averaged just over one sack per game in 2008.
While those numbers are high, you have to take into consideration what Oklahoma State faced last year. The Big XII in 2008 was an offensive smorgasbord with Texas Tech, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Roster turnover for all parties will no doubt help bring down those stats. Plus, Young has a defense that is returning all of its starting linebackers, and NFL prospect in Perrish Cox anchoring the secondary and three starters coming back on the defensive line. You can bet that even a minor improvement in any of those statistics will help in shaving at least one loss off the books.
You’re currently able to back the Cowboys at plus-700, which is a great value thanks to sharing the Big XII South with the likes of Oklahoma and Texas. The ‘Pokes are getting a gift of a schedule against the North with Mizzou and Colorado coming into Stillwater, while they travel to Iowa State.
OSU gets a chance to exact some revenge against the Longhorns at home this season. The only thing that really stands in the Cowboys’ way a Nov. 28 showdown at Oklahoma and they certainly have the firepower to compete in Norman.
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
