Alabama Crimson Tide top NCAAF betting markets, but are they best bet as the NCAAF odds would suggest?
The Alabama Crimson Tide top the NCAAF betting markets, but they’re closely followed by the Clemson Tigers who nip at their heels as the second-best bet in the coming 2021-22 College Football season.
After this top tandem, Ohio State Buckeyes, Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners round out the Top 5 College football programs projected to challenge for national glory in the betting. And this outlook with respected to this quintet is echoed unanimously across multiple sports betting platforms, though the actual odds will vary from shop to shop.
Fundamentally, college football betting odds are reactionary. Bookies take cues from the previous season in the initial set up of betting markets, assessing and evaluating team projections accordingly. Simplistic though this may be, it’s the way markets roll as they go to press immediately at the conclusion of any given season. How the playoffs unfold and which team ultimately triumphs nationally therefore plays a role in how markets for the ensuing season open.
Similarly, the same could be said of NCAAF odds and predictions that take a page from the comings and goings of the previous season. Short of a crystal ball, it’s impossible to look into the future and predict exactly how proceedings will unfold. That’s why looking to the previous season is one of the best ways to get a sense of what might be – not for nothing is hindsight 20/20.
Thus, Alabama Crimson Tide’s National Championship triumph last season unequivocally underscores their favourable college football betting odds. The Crimson Tide crushed the Buckeyes to win the title, soundly beating their Ohio State rivals 52-24 on the way to their second national title in three years and seventh since 2009 when head coach Nick Saban took over the team’s reins.
Bookies went to press promptly with the reigning champions sat lotus atop the field of contenders for the 2021-22 NCAA football season, and they’ve held their top standing in the markets ever since. Even after undergoing significant personnel moves over the offseason, during which time a number of players announced their NFL intentions as well, their odds barely budged.
The 2021 NFL draft saw a record 8 players from Alabama go in the first two rounds – which is one more than it notched in the first two rounds of the 2020 NFL draft, setting a new record for the prestigious college program. Overall, 10 players were drafted from the Crimson Tide in the 2021 NFL draft – a number matched only by the Ohio State Buckeyes when all was said and done in Cleveland. On a side note, Saban has personally produced 104 NFL draft picks since 2009, including this year’s 10 picks.
For a second straight season, the Crimson Tide bid adieu to their starting quarterback. Last year, Tua Tagovailoa went No.5 overall in the draft, selected by the Miami Dolphins who’d had their eyes on the prodigal talent for some time. This year, Mac Jones went No.15 overall to the New England Patriots, falling neatly into Bill Belichick’s lap.
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was the top Tide prospect that went No.6 overall in the draft to the Miami Dolphins, where his reunion with former Tide teammate Tagovailoa is expected to pay dividends. Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles at No,10 but not before the Denver Broncos took Patrick Surtain II.
Other draftees included Alex Leatherwood at No.17 to Las Vegas Raiders, Najee Harris at No. 24 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Landon Dickerson at No.37 at Philadelphia Eagles, Christian Barmore at No. 38 to New England Patriots.
How Suban handle’s this diaspora remains to be seen but it’s a big deal. By all accounts, last year’s instalment of the Tide might have been one of the best in the history of the college program, if not Suban’s tenure. Last year, the Crimson Tide navigated a season impacted by COVID-19 and during which Saban was forced to miss the Iron Bowl after testing positive for coronavirus. Alabama finished 13-0 SU, averaged 48.5 points per game with arguably its most-individually decorated team of all time.
Continuing this level of excellence and tradition of success after losing 10 players from the 2020 national championship winning Crimson Tide roster will be Suban’s next challenge. It will test his coaching nous, perhaps more so than ever before as he .
However, if there’s one thing that he and his coaching staff can hang their hats on, it’s culture. The culture that he laid the foundations for and built up over a decade in Tuscaloosa. It’s one of the reasons why Alabama is widely considered to be the most prestigious college football program in the country. It’s why Alabama has enjoyed multiple national championship successes, and it’s why oddsmakers are high on the Crimson Tide in the betting. It’s also why Alabama can still expect reasonably expect to be a championship worthy challenger in the 2021-22 college football season.
Story by Oscar Salazar
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