The Oklahoma Sooners have always been considered a top football program in the Big 12, but they have been able to elevate their status to a national power over the past several seasons. They lead the way again heading into the new season as the team to beat in this conference.
When it comes to finding the best value in 5Dimes Online Sportsbook NCAAF futures to win this conference, you could add one more top competitor to the list before the odds take a rather steep drop.
Big 12 Championship Top-Valued Favorite
The Sooners won the Big 12 last season to earn a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff facing Alabama in one semifinal matchup. They held their own in a wild 45-34 loss to easily cover as 14.5-point underdogs. This season, the -135 betting odds favor the OVER on a projected win total of 10.5 games, which should be enough to play for this year’s conference title and a possible return trip the CFP semifinals.
The biggest question for Oklahoma’s offense is former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts’ ability to fill Kyler Murray's shoes. He is surrounded by enough weapons to get the job done, and he is more than motivated to lead this team back to the playoff for a possible rematch against his old team. The Sooners have a very manageable schedule with the exception of facing the Texas Longhorns on Oct. 12, but I love the value in their -117 odds as favorites to win the Big 12.
Big 12 Championship Top-Valued Contender
It has been a long road back to respectability for the Texas Longhorns as +300 second-favorites to get past Oklahoma and win the Big 12 this year. After eight-straight seasons of winning nine games or less, Texas broke through last season at 10-4 in Tom Herman’s second season at the helm as head coach.
With a decent chunk of talent returning from that roster along with a strong recruiting class, the Longhorns are in a position to play the role of spoiler this year. Texas faced Oklahoma twice last season, winning the first meeting 48-45 as a seven-point underdog in a signature win. Unfortunately, it lost the Big 12 title game 38-27 as 9.5-point underdogs. With two possible meetings this season as well, the Longhorns will get their chance to prove this program is back to an elite level. However, that status will be tested early in the season with a matchup against LSU at home in Week 2.
Big 12 Championship Best of the Rest
The next two teams on the list to win the Big 12 at 5Dimes is the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Iowa State Hawkeyes at +1250 betting odds.
The expectation level for West Virginia is always high, but this team consistently finds ways to lose one or two games it was expected to win. The Mountaineers slipped to 6-3 in conference play last season as part of an 8-4 record overall in the regular season. Two of those losses were to Iowa State as 4.5-point road favorites and to Oklahoma State on the road as six-point favorites. They did give Oklahoma a run for its money at home late in the year as three-point underdogs in a wild 59-56 loss. Playing the Sooners on the road this season is another roadblock to the conference title game.
The Hawkeyes also posted a 6-3 record in the Big 12 last year while going 8-5 overall. Their title hopes ended with losses to Oklahoma, TCU and Texas. This season, Iowa State will have to get past the Sooners and the Mountaineers on the road while facing Texas at home on Nov. 16.
Odds to Win the Big 12 Conference Championship As Posted By MyBookie Sportsbook
- Texas Tech +140
- Kansas +325
- Kansas State +340
- Iowa State +460
- Texas +1300
- Baylor +1400
- Oklahoma +1500
- TCU +2700
- Oklahoma State +7000
- West Virginia +8900