It’s less than a month now until the start of the 2024/25 NCAAF season. America’s Division I programs begin in earnest from August 24, with every college football team harboring aspirations to reach the College Football Playoff National Championship game and put themselves on the radar of the biggest NFL franchises.
With that in mind, we’ll look briefly at the likely contenders of the six major conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision for 2024/25.
Southeastern Conference
It looks like being a straight fight between Georgia and the Texas Longhorns for the SEC Championship if the latest outright odds are to be believed. DraftKings has Georgia priced as +200 favorites, followed closely by the Longhorns at +350. Those without a DraftKings account and considering wagering on the NCAAF 2024/25 can find offers listed here to get a useful $150 new user bonus when creating an account.
The Big 10
Ohio State Buckeyes are the team to be reckoned with in the Big 10 in 24/25, priced at +155 with DraftKings. They’ve been in good form in recent seasons, enjoying a playoff appearance in 2022. The Oregon Ducks are similarly strong in the outright market (+200) and will push the Buckeyes all the way in their first season as a Big 10 Conference member. Analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, believes the Ducks could go all the way and win the National Championship too.
The Big XII
It looks like a wide open Big 12 Conference in 2024/25. The Utah Utes (+320) and the Kansas State Wildcats (+380) head up the outright market but the Oklahoma State Cowboys (+750), Kansas (+950), and the UCF Knights (+950) will also have a say in the matter. Preseason projections suggest the Utes could come up against the Wildcats in the title game, but they’ll need to show character having been given some tricky road games in their 24/25 schedule.
Mid-American Conference
The Miami Ohio Redhawks are the team to beat in the Mid-American Conference at odds of +250, but the Toledo Rockets (+290) are not far behind. The Rockets last won the Mid-American Conference in 2022 with an 8-5 record. However, the Redhawks won the Conference in 2023 with an 11-2 record under long-serving coach, Chuck Martin. The Bowling Green Falcons (+700) could be the surprise package of the Mid-American Conference after finishing 2023/24 with a winning record for the first time since 2015. If the Falcons can maintain their recent momentum, they could be a force to be reckoned with.
The Atlantic Coast Conference
The ACC Championship also looks like it could be evenly contested in 24/25. There’s very little to separate Florida State Seminoles (+290), Clemson Tigers (+350), and Miami Florida Hurricanes (+400) in the outright betting. The Seminoles romped to the ACC Championship last season, losing only one game in 14 matches. The Tigers are hard to discount due to their recent history, reaching national finals in four out of five NCAAF seasons between 2015 and 2019.
Looking even longer term at the outright odds for next season’s National Championship, the Georgia Bulldogs (+300) lead the way, which is concerning news for any Longhorns fans in the SEC. The Michigan Wolverines won the 23/24 Championship in January, overcoming the Washington Huskies. The Wolverines are as long as +3000 in the outright market to go back-to-back.
It promises to be yet another fascinating college football campaign, with the eyes of the NFL on the NCAAF in their quest for the next all-star recruits.