College Football Predictions
There is not one instance where a sports fan or bettor does not try to predict the outcome of any sporting event. The same can be applied when talking about college football. With the vast variety of different teams and matches, a bettor is sure to make a few predictions on what the outcomes will be. College football involves various different levels of competition, where the highest degree is Division I football. There are 11 conferences, with 129 different teams that participate in Division I football. We can start predicting the winner of each conference, based on their current and projected performance. I will also explain why that team has better odds of winning.
I will be using the odds found at the Bovada sportsbook.
The Conferences
Conference |
Nickname |
Members |
Atlantic Coast Conference |
ACC |
12 |
Big East Conference |
Big East |
15 |
Big Ten Conference |
Big Ten |
12 |
Big 12 Conference |
Big 12 |
10 |
Conference USA |
C-USA |
12 |
Mid-American Conference |
MAC |
12 |
Mountain West Conference |
MW (MWC) |
9 |
Pacific 12 Conference |
Pac-12 |
12 |
Southeastern Conference |
SEC |
14 |
Sun Belt Conference |
Sun Belt |
11 |
Western Athletic Conference |
WAC |
10 |
ACC Predicted Winner
The Florida State Seminoles are being predicted as the winner of the ACC with odds of 1/1. Their stats are broken down as follows:
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
35 |
Average Score Against |
4 |
Total Yards |
73 |
Total Yards |
6 |
Rushing Yards |
100 |
Rushing Yards |
2 |
Passing Yards |
34 |
Passing Yards |
18 |
Florida State has a very good defense, being ranked extremely well against rushing and passing. This will definitely help them get plenty of wins. The other factors that have to be considered are whether or not the same players will be participating during this upcoming season. It would seem that their excellent QB, EJ Manuel will be returning, as well as RB Devonta Freeman, WR Rashad Greene, and WR Rodney Smith. Their offense will definitely improve with these players at the line of scrimmage.
Big East Predicted Winner
The Big East predicted winner is the Louisville Cardinals with odds of 2/1. Their stats are,
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
100 |
Average Score Against |
14 |
Total Yards |
105 |
Total Yards |
23 |
Rushing Yards |
95 |
Rushing Yards |
10 |
Passing Yards |
80 |
Passing Yards |
63 |
Even though they are not ranked very well for offense, they do make up for it with a good defense. Their passing has been improving thanks to their QB Teddy Bridgewater, where he has a completion percentage of 64.5 %, which is pretty good for a sophomore.
Big Ten Predicted Winner
The Big Ten predicted winner is a pretty close matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolvernies; where they have 3/2 and 2/1 odds, respectively. In order to get a better feel for which team is more likely to win, we compare their stats side by side.
Wisconsin |
Michigan |
||
Rank |
Offensive |
Rank |
|
4 |
Average Score For |
23 | |
15 |
Total Yards |
35 | |
10 |
Rushing Yards |
12 | |
64 |
Passing Yards |
92 | |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
|
6 |
Average Score Against |
7 | |
8 |
Total Yards |
18 | |
47 |
Rushing Yards |
36 | |
3 |
Passing Yards |
16 | |
Once we take a good look at how they would match up against each other, we can clearly see that Wisconsin has the offensive and defensive advantage over Michigan. They are clearly out-matched, so I would have to give the Big Ten title to Wisconsin.
Big 12 Predicted Winner
The Oklahoma Sooners are being given odds of 1/1 to win the Big 12 title; these are excellent odds indeed. It is no surprise that their rivals, the Texas Longhorns are somewhat on their tails. Oklahoma is still by far the favorite to win, and with stats like these it is no wonder.
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
10 |
Average Score Against |
31 |
Total Yards |
4 |
Total Yards |
63 |
Rushing Yards |
50 |
Rushing Yards |
49 |
Passing Yards |
5 |
Passing Yards |
85 |
Oklahoma doesn’t have a very strong defense, but they are above average. They could end up suffering due to the loss of C Ben Habern out for injury and WR Kameel Jackson for disciplinary action. They do have one of the best QB’s, Landry Jones at their disposal for one more year, along with WR Kenny Stills. They may have to start focusing more attention into getting their defense in a better position.
C-USA Predicted Winner
With odds of 11/4, the Central Florida Knights are predicted to win the Conference USA title; beating the others in the conference.
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
59 |
Average Score Against |
11 |
Total Yards |
42 |
Total Yards |
11 |
Rushing Yards |
46 |
Rushing Yards |
18 |
Passing Yards |
52 |
Passing Yards |
22 |
Central Florida has a very solid defense, accompanied by an above average offense, making them good contenders for the C-USA title. Their performance during the previous season was impressive, where their offense performed above the League average, and their defense was right at the average.
MAC Predicted Winner
The Ohio Bobcats are said to be the next MAC winner, with odds of 3/1, but close behind are the Western Michigan Broncos with 4/1 odds. Let’s take a look at which team outperforms the other.
Ohio |
Western Michigan |
||
Rank |
Offensive |
Rank |
|
41 |
Average Score For |
18 | |
24 |
Total Yards |
22 | |
24 |
Rushing Yards |
88 | |
43 |
Passing Yards |
8 | |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
|
32 |
Average Score Against |
72 | |
43 |
Total Yards |
102 | |
30 |
Rushing Yards |
109 | |
70 |
Passing Yards |
55 | |
Western Michigan seems to be relying way too much on their offense, which in college football is not a guarantee for success if they play against a team with a good defense. This is where Ohio excels, having a pretty good offense and defense, making them an overall good team.
They will still have their adaptable QB Tyler Tettleton which has drastically improved since his first season; he is also a good rusher, being second with most yards carried. Ohio is much better at rushing, which is where RB Donte Harden, RB Beau Blankenship, and RB Ryan Boykin come into play.
MW Predicted Winner
The Boise State Broncos have excellent odds of winning the MW title, with ¼ odds.
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
5 |
Average Score Against |
12 |
Total Yards |
9 |
Total Yards |
16 |
Rushing Yards |
40 |
Rushing Yards |
22 |
Passing Yards |
11 |
Passing Yards |
25 |
With statistics like these, it is no wonder Boise State has such impressive odds of winning the MW title. They have an excellent combination between a great offense and a great defense. The one aspect that could hurt them this season is the fact that their star QB, Kellen Moore is no longer playing for Boise State. They do have QB Joe Southwick, but he has not seen very much playing time. Boise State has an impressive amount of WR, including Tyler Shoemaker, Matt Miller, and Mitch Burroughs.
Even though they are well ranked, they are given odds of 100/1 to win the BCS National Championship.
Pac-12 Predicted Winner
USC is the predicted winner of the Pac-12 title with odds of 5/9; they are such a great team that they also have 3/1 odds of winning the BCS National Championship.
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
16 |
Average Score Against |
45 |
Total Yards |
21 |
Total Yards |
54 |
Rushing Yards |
51 |
Rushing Yards |
19 |
Passing Yards |
15 |
Passing Yards |
103 |
USC will see their starting QB, Marr Barkley, returning for his last year; keeping their offensive performance consistent or better than the previous season. They have an impressive RB, Curtis McNeal that ran for over 1000 yards last season; we expect great things from him again. There are also two WR that have gotten over 1000 yards as well, Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. These are amazing individual stats, and the great thing is that they are all returning to the lineup this season.
SEC Predicted Winner
The SEC has some very big football colleges, and there are two teams that are extremely close in odds to win the SEC title; the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers. Alabama has odds of 2/1 and LSU has odds of 5/2.
Alabama |
LSU |
||
Rank |
Offensive |
Rank |
|
20 |
Average Score For |
17 | |
30 |
Total Yards |
75 | |
16 |
Rushing Yards |
22 | |
69 |
Passing Yards |
106 | |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
|
1 |
Average Score Against |
2 | |
1 |
Total Yards |
2 | |
1 |
Rushing Yards |
3 | |
1 |
Passing Yards |
9 | |
This matchup is one for the books. They both have very impressive defensive stats, making it a fair assumption that if both teams have a balanced defense, it falls on the offense to win the game. In this case, Alabama would win the title as they have better rushing and passing than LSU. It would still be a very close and competitive match. Their rankings and performance is why these two teams also have extremely good odds of winning the BCS National Championship; Alabama with 5/1 odds and LSU with 6/1 odds.
Sun Belt Predicted Winner
The Sun Belt Conference predicted winner is the Florida International Golden Panthers, with odds of 5/2.
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
67 |
Average Score Against |
16 |
Total Yards |
80 |
Total Yards |
34 |
Rushing Yards |
71 |
Rushing Yards |
23 |
Passing Yards |
70 |
Passing Yards |
66 |
Florida International doesn’t really have much of an offense, at most they are a little below average; based on the total amount of teams, 129. Where they do excel is in their defense. This is how they are going to get the Sun Belt title, with their defense. Even though this team has good odds of winning their conference title, they are not good enough to make it to the BCS National Championship, let alone win it.
WAC Predicted Winner
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs have very impressive odds to win the WAC title, with 4/7 odds.
Offensive |
Rank |
Defensive |
Rank |
Average Score For |
42 |
Average Score Against |
41 |
Total Yards |
49 |
Total Yards |
56 |
Rushing Yards |
70 |
Rushing Yards |
25 |
Passing Yards |
45 |
Passing Yards |
98 |
Louisiana Tech has a pretty good overall team, with an above average offense, and a superior defense. Their QB Colby Cameron is returning for his last year at Louisiana Tech and has improved. The team has some pretty good running backs, Lennon Carter and Hunter Lee. They also have WR Quinton Patton who received for more than 1000 yards last season, along with up and coming WR Taulib Ikharo.
Future Predictions
All of these predictions are based on future events, which is why a bettor should be careful as these odds will change throughout the season. When it comes to upcoming or present matchups, bettors should always take into account the updated stats for each team and player. Doing this will help them better predict the winners of each match, and can also get a better outlook of how those teams will do in the long run.
For more betting lines and future bets visit Bovava.lv