College football has arrived, so let's check in on who the betting public likes entering the season.
Colorado, a 500-1 longshot that's projected to win just a handful of games, is the biggest liability facing multiple sportsbooks in their odds to win the national championship. Coach Deion Sanders' Buffaloes have attracted more national championship bets at BetMGM sportsbooks than four teams ranked in the Top 10 and Texas, the favorite in the Big 12. At PointsBet, more money has been bet on the Buffaloes to win the national championship than Ohio State and more money has been staked on the over for Colorado's win total of 3.5 than any other team.
College Football Insights on Colorado at Bet MGM
• $1,000 to win $250,000 on Colorado to win the National Championship (+25000)
• $4,500 to win $450,000 on Colorado to win the Pac-12 (+10000)
•$1,000 to win $125,000 on Shedeur Sanders to win the Heisman Trophy (+12500)
Other notable positions taken by the betting public this offseason
• On May 17, a bettor in New York with Caesars Sportsbook placed a $1,000 bet on Florida Atlantic to win the national championship at 1,000-1 odds. The bet would pay a net $1 million.
• On June 16, in Mississippi placed a $75,000 money-line bet on Alabama to beat Middle Tennessee in its season-opener with Caesars Sportsbook. The bettor would win a net $300 if the Crimson Tide survive Middle Tennessee.
We'll have to wait and see how those strategies play out. In the meantime, here's an odds-and-ends look at the college football betting market, including coaches' records against the spreads, over-under stats, bookmakers' insights, as the season kicks into high gear this week.
Notable Bets: College football odds & ends
Odds to win the national championship
All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook
Conference title favorites
Odds to win the Heisman Trophy
College football betting storylines
• The NCAA is implementing a rule change this season in attempt to cut back on the number of plays per game. The clock will no longer stop after first downs, except for the final two minutes of the second and fourth quarters. The NCAA estimates the change will reduce the number of plays per game by seven to eight. Exactly how many fewer plays there will be and if that will trim the amount of points scored is up for debate between bettors and oddsmakers.
"I'm taking the simplest of approaches," Kenny White, veteran Las Vegas oddsmaker, told ESPN. "In 2022, the average plays per game was 137 with 56 points per game (0.4 pts per play). At 130 plays per game, I expect 53 points per game in 2023."
Joey Feazel, head college football trader for Caesars, said he's not expecting the new clock rules to have as big of impact on scoring as the rule changes in baseball did this season.
"The impacts we anticipate will vary by team," Feazel said. "We do not expect a high-tempo team like Western Kentucky or USC to be as affected by the rule changes as the run-heavy Service Academies teams will."
Ed Salmons, veteran Las Vegas oddsmaker, who oversees football odds for the SuperBook says he's following the market at first but does expect to see the rule change to have an impact. "I think as the games are played, there will be adjustments to not only the totals but the sides as well based on how many plays there are compared to last year," Salmons said.
College football regular-season games have averaged 57.4 points, including 56.8 points per game in 2022. The average closing over/under total at sportsbooks over the past five seasons was 55.83. However, there's been more unders than overs in four of the past five seasons.
"As far as bookmaking goes, if someone is going to play the [under] angle, I'm going to let them play it and see what happens," Chris Andrews, sportsbook director at the South Point Hotel & Casino, said. "There might be a little trend betting unders out there, a little bit of play towards the under from the sharp guys."
• College football underdogs are coming off one of their most successful seasons against the spread over the past 10 years. Underdogs covered the spread in 53.0% of college football games last season, the best rate since 2017 and second best over past 10 years, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
• More money has been staked on Michigan to win the national championship than any other team at multiple sportsbooks.
• More money has been bet on Michigan to win the national championship than any other team, and Wolverines QB J.J. McCarthy has attracted the most money in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy at PointsBet.
Florida State and its Heisman-candidate quarterback, Jordan Travis, are also attracting plenty of betting interest at PointsBet. The Seminoles are third in money wagered to win the national title-behind Michigan and Penn State -- and Travis is third in money wagered in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
• LSU has been a popular national title pick with bettors at multiple sportsbooks. At PointsBet, the Tigers have attracted more money wagered to win than the national title than Alabama and Georgia combined.
• USC has gone from 16-1 to 10-1 and attracted more national title bets than any other team across the states in which the SuperBook operates. "USC is just getting hammered," John Murray, executive director of the SuperBook, told ESPN.