BCS Title Odds: SEC vs. the Nation
The SEC has won the last seven BCS championships and is favored to do so again this season.
Six of the eight top favorites on the current odds to win the 2014 BCS Championship hail from the SEC. Two-time defending champion Alabama leads the pack as a commanding 3/1 favorite to win its third straight national championship. Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and LSU are also expected to contend.
The only two non-SEC schools in the top eight of the BCS favorites are Ohio State and Oregon. Both the Buckeyes and Ducks would likely be underdogs on a neutral field against the above SEC teams in a hypothetical national championship game.
But would you take the SEC vs. the Field to win the national championship this year?
Bovada posted odds on that very question Wednesday, and the sportsbook made the SEC an underdog to win its eighth straight title. Bovada opened "Any Other Conference" at -140, with the SEC sitting at even money to win this season's national championship game on January 6, 2014, at the Rose Bowl.
It's somewhat surprising, seeing as the winner of the SEC Championship Game seems destined for a spot in the BCS Championship Game, regardless of which team it is.
“Even though Alabama and Texas A&M are currently our frontrunners, there are still a lot of quality teams in the BCS and Oregon and Ohio State in particular are legitimate threats to win it all,” said Kevin Bradley, sportsbook manager at Bovada.lv. “So the line reflects the sheer volume of ‘other’ teams while respecting the SEC domination of the BCS title game.”
The SEC is an eye-catching 486-141 straight-up in non-conference play over the last 10 years. A lot of that gaudy record is built up against inferior non-BCS cupcakes, but it’s still an impressive number. And the amount of NFL talent coming out of the SEC is also overwhelming. The SEC produced a record 63 draft picks in April, more than double that of any other conference.
You would think, by now, the betting market would have caught up to just how wide of a gap the SEC has created between itself and the rest of the nation. The SEC is 288-269-6 against the spread in non-conference play over the last decade.
Alabama | 3/1 |
Ohio State | 13/2 |
Texas A&M | 13/2 |
Oregon | 7/1 |
Georgia | 14/1 |
Stanford | 16/1 |
LSU | 18/1 |
Florida State | 22/1 |
Louisville | 22/1 |
Clemson | 25/1 |
Florida | 25/1 |
Miami | 28/1 |
Michigan | 28/1 |
South Carolina | 28/1 |
Oklahoma State | 33/1 |
Texas | 33/1 |
Nebraska | 50/1 |
Notre Dame | 50/1 |
Oklahoma | 50/1 |
UCLA | 50/1 |
USC | 50/1 |
TCU | 66/1 |
Wisconsin | 66/1 |
Boise State | 100/1 |
Michigan State | 100/1 |
Oregon State | 100/1 |
Mississippi | 125/1 |
Auburn | 150/1 |
North Carolina | 150/1 |
Northwestern | 150/1 |
Virginia Tech | 150/1 |
Washington | 150/1 |
BYU | 200/1 |
California | 200/1 |
Cincinnati | 200/1 |
Georgia Tech | 200/1 |
Kansas State | 200/1 |
Mississippi State | 200/1 |
Pittsburgh | 200/1 |
Rutgers | 200/1 |
Arizona | 250/1 |
Arkansas | 250/1 |
Iowa | 250/1 |
Tennessee | 250/1 |
Missouri | 300/1 |
West Virginia | 300/1 |
Boston College | 500/1 |
South Florida | 500/1 |
