•Take Florida State to make the College Football Playoff (+320): A stacked roster, particularly on offense, should have the Seminoles vying for wins in January.
• Bet Michigan to go undefeated once more in the regular season: Running the table is a tall task for any team, but the Wolverines have the talent to do so — especially with Ohio State coming to Ann Arbor this year.
• A long-shot RB to win the Heisman: Ole Miss' Quinshon Judkins is +5000 to take home college football's most prestigious honor.
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
The end of summer may bring sadness for some, but at least college football is back. PFF's NCAA Greenline has you covered when betting this year, from spreads to point totals to moneylines.
Before the 2023 season kicks off, here are five futures bets to consider.
Editor's Note: All odds and bets below are sourced from DraftKings Sportsbook
FLORIDA STATE TO MAKE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF (+320)
It pains me to admit this as a Florida alumnus, but the Seminoles are primed to earn a College Football Playoff spot in 2023. They have an elite quarterback in Jordan Travis, who earned a 91.7 overall grade last season. He’ll be throwing the ball to the massive 6-foot-7 Johnny Wilson once again, but he’ll also have new targets in Keon Coleman and Jaheim Bell.
Travis can also hand the ball off to Trey Benson, who earned an elite 91.4 rushing grade and finished 2022 with the highest missed tackles forced average we’ve seen in the past 10 years (0.51). Throw in the fact that the Seminoles have the best edge rusher in the country, Jared Verse, and that the ACC is down in potential opposition against them, and it feels like this team has a decent chance of playing football in January.
LSU QB JAYDEN DANIELS TO WIN HEISMAN (+1200)
As the incumbent Heisman Trophy winner, USC’s Caleb Williams has the best odds to repeat in 2023, at +550. But tied for the second-best odds is LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels at more than double the value. To me, that feels like the bet to make.
Prior to his first season at LSU in 2022, Daniels was the starting quarterback at Arizona State. There, he earned a rushing grade above 80.0 in each of his two seasons, but his passing grade left much to be desired. After he arrived at LSU, he put rounded out his game, earning a career-high passing grade (79.1) and posting another 80.0-plus rushing grade (81.4). He also had one of the lowest turnover-worthy play rates of any starting quarterback in the FBS, at 0.6%.
Perhaps 2023 is the year he ups the explosive plays as a runner and passer and, in doing so, fills up the stat sheet and the win column to get him high on Heisman voters’ lists.
MICHIGAN TO GO UNDEFEATED IN REGULAR SEASON (+380)
Outside of the normal college football bets, one outside-the-box number is Michigan’s odds to have an undefeated regular season (+380). The Wolverines are bringing back quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who should take another step forward as a true junior this season. They also return the FBS' best running back duo in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, who will once again produce behind one of the top offensive lines in the country. As for their schedule, Ohio State plays in Ann Arbor this season and there really isn’t another team that should challenge Michigan talent-wise.
Running the table is a tall task for any team, let alone doing it two years in a row. But it is plausible.
VANDERBILT TO WIN MORE THAN 3.5 GAMES (-170)
Vanderbilt? You’re telling me to bet on Vanderbilt? You bet I am.
The Commodores have won four or more games only once since 2018. They went 5-7 that year, including winning two out of their final three games — with the two wins coming against Florida and Kentucky. This upcoming season, they have a relatively easy start, hosting Hawaii and Alabama State before facing Wake Forest (without Sam Hartman) and UNLV. They also are in the SEC East, which doesn’t look as strong as it has in previous seasons. Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina all have over/under win totals of seven or fewer.
I’m not saying the Commodores are about to take a run at the SEC East, but more than 3.5 wins is a good bet, even if it’s minus money.
OLE MISS RB QUINSHON JUDKINS TO WIN HEISMAN (+5000)
All right, we had to throw a Hail Mary in here for fun.
As just a true freshman last season, Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins rushed for 1,567 yards, with 929 coming after contact. He earned a 90.8 rushing grade and racked up 42 rushes of 10 yards or more. Each of those stats led all SEC running backs and ranked in the top five among Power Five backs. All that to say, this kid is a stud.
The Rebels still have to perform well for voters to consider Judkins, and if they do, it will be on his shoulders. This is a long shot, but the payoff could be sweet.
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