College Football Futures – The Second Tier

In this day and age, college football has turned into a 365 day a year passion nationwide.

So why wait until September to make your first wager of the season?

Instead, let’s look at the odds for some teams to win the BCS National Championship in the college football betting action.

Previously we looked at the favorites. Today we’ll look at some of the longer shots.

Boise State (+1200):

A lot of people are asking if this is the year that the Boise State Broncos “break through.” Only here’s my question, they’ve lost one game in the last two calendar years, haven’t they already done that?

Either way, this is a squad that returns 21 of 22 starters off last year’s 14-0 Fiesta Bowl winner, including the ENTIRE offense. Spearheading the attack with be redshirt sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore, who put up numbers that were so absurd, they felt like they were straight out of a video game.

In 2009, Moore had one of the statistically best seasons in recent college football memory, as he threw for a staggering 39 touchdowns to just three interceptions, completing 64 percent of his passes for 3536 yards.

With Moore returning, that means plenty of opportunities for Titus Young and Austin Pettis, who combined for over 140 catches and almost 2000 yards receiving. Jeremy Avery is back after rushing for 1150 yards last year, but remember too that D.J. Harper (who also returns to Boise) was having a great year at running back before going down early in the season with an injury.

What it all comes down to for the Broncos is their opener on Labor Day against Virginia Tech, a team that will be ranked in the top 10. Win that, and they’re right in the mix from Week 1. Lose, and their season is over.

Is this the year that the Boise State Broncos break through…to win a BCS Title? Make your college football bet now.

Virginia Tech (+1400): Well, what do you know? Speaking of Virginia Tech, they’re the second team to watch out for, and if you’re not feeling Boise State may be the futures bet for you.

Tech welcomes back third year starter Tyrod Taylor under center, who emerged as a freakish duel threat quarterback in 2009, throwing for 13 touchdowns and rushing for four as well. The Hokies also welcome back two premiere running backs, Ryan Williams who rushed for a staggering 1655 yards, and was named first team All-ACC at running back.

Not to be outdone will be the return of Darren Evans who missed all of 2009 with an ACL injury but rushed for over 1200 yards two years ago. Talk about a dynamic duo!

The Hokies schedule is manageable if they can get by Boise, as the only real threat until November would be when Georgia Tech comes to town. However, they’ll travel to North Carolina and Miami in back-to-back weeks in November, which will truly prove if they’re championship worthy or not.

If they can survive that, you could be walking away with a lot of cash, with a college football futures winner.

Texas (+1400): Despite losing Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley and Sergio Kindle, the Texas Longhorns are still loaded, and the favorites in the Big XII.

We all know what it will come down to for this team: Can quarterback Garrett Gilbert step into McCoy’s massive shoes? He did well in last year’s BCS National Championship Game when McCoy went down, almost leading a fourth quarter comeback against Alabama, before falling 37-21.

Can Gilbert lead Texas back to the BCS National Championship Game? If he does, you could be the biggest winner of all, with your college football futures bet.

Source: ESPN.com.