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ODDS OF A BIG EAST NCAA CHAMPION

–Guest Column

It’s certainly no secret that the BCS standards in NCAA Football have all but shunned the vast majority of college programs out there. It becomes increasingly hard to “earn” your respect on the field. Essentially, you must bust mouths and take it.

The Big East is no stranger to the snubbing. Rutgers and South Florida have to practically go undefeated in a season to even land on the BCS radar. West Virginia is treated a little more fairly, but one loss to a SEC team and they’re on a two-year timeout in the dunce corner.

With the upcoming NCAA Football season upon us, odds makers are scrambling to figure out who has the best shot at winning. And at this point in the preseason, it’s all about setting a standard for the gamblers.

Even though the athletes don’t get paid, we all know the NCAA is about the money. From the BCS and the bowl-going schools, to the average Joe placing a few bucks on the game, it’s all about the dough.

Of course, NCAA Football isn’t on line casinos; there’s more art than science to picking a winner. So let’s take a gander at who the so-called experts think are the teams to watch this season.

Alabama

It’s really no surprise here. Last year’s NCAA Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide have their entire offense returning. And in the SEC, their only legitimate competition is going to be a Florida Gators team minus Tim Tebow.

Depending on where you look, Alabama’s coming in at 4:1 or 9:2 – about the same across the board. They’re way out in front of most other teams, and you really can’t fault anyone for putting their eggs in ‘Bama’s basket. Saban has turned this program around, Heisman Trophy-winning Mark Ingram’s returning, and Greg McElroy is playing with house money and has a lot less weight on his shoulders.

Ohio State

To realists of the game, this one seems a little bit of a shocker. To those of us aware of the BCS favorites, the only shock here is that the Buckeyes aren’t rated higher than the Tide.

Coming in at 5:1, Ohio State has the same odds you’d have per hitting at least one pair on an internet video poker hand. Not bad considering we’re looking at a team that donkeyed the place us last year, and lost back-to-back National Championship games before that. But the Buckeyes are deep, and they’ve made the most out of their Midwestern recruiting dominance.

Their offense is like a who’s who of Sports Center highlight reel action. Pryor is a Michael Vick-like running QB with an even broader set of intangibles. The RB position goes 5 players deep, with athletes like Boom Herron, Jamaal Berry, Carlos Hyde, Jordan Hall and Brandon Saine.

Their defense has taken a slight hit with the loss of Kurt Coleman and Thad Gibson, but the “experts” are looking for a one-sided offensive explosion that beats teams 48-21 instead of a tough-nosed, well-rounded team inching out 28-24 victories.

Florida

Again, this one is a bit of a shock. Okay, so Florida’s probably going to be good this year. But they’ll be lucky to win the SEC with Alabama there, much less a National Championship. The odds of losing the SEC and finishing up with a #1 slot are truly astronomical, even for a BCS favorite like the Gators.

With Tebow gone, the Gators will be looking to rely heavily on Jeff Demps to run the football. And their new QB is already supposedly an NFL scout favorite – John Brantley.

Like Ohio State and the Midwest, Florida has much of the south on lockdown, and certainly all of Florida. Miami, Florida State and South Florida can attest to that.

So that means the defense is in prime position with younger players and they won’t feel the sting of losing Brandon Spikes and Joe Haden. The Gators are said to have the strongest defense in the SEC, and that’s going to transform them into a different ball club. 8:1 is no snubbing at all now that Tebow’s in the NFL.

These are the top-three favorites for the upcoming season. As far as the Big East goes, Pittsburgh is closest with odds of 50:1. West Virginia, a solid team that will undoubtedly contend with Pittsburgh for the Big East title, comes in at 80:1.

Looking from a fan’s angle, these numbers might not add up. But looking at it from a straight numbers angle, you should definitely play online blackjack instead of betting on a long shot here. The odds are much better.

Although, you can never really tell about the college football season, so risking $20 to win $1600 isn’t such a bad proposition. Realistically, however, just be prepared to lose that $20. There’s just too much talent elsewhere, and the SEC is like the BCS’s adopted child.