2024 College Football Future Bets Worth an Early Investment | Deadspin.com

College football is in a state of chaos ahead of the 2024 season. 

Conferences span from coast-to-coast; if they survived realignment, the transfer portal completely flipped many rosters, and head coaches responsible for all but four national titles since 2006 are no longer head coaches.

The anarchy ruling the sport offers opportunity for bettors seeking high-value futures wagers. 

As Billy Napier said in his time as head coach at Louisiana, “Scared money don’t make money”—just as long as you don’t confuse that with a recommendation to take Napier’s current Florida Gators team to make the playoffs at +2000. That’s tied with USF for the Sunshine State’s fourth-longest odds to make the 12-team field. 

Alabama to Win the National Championship (+1500): BetMGM, BetESPN, FanDuel

The moment the clock went zero at the 2023 SEC Championship Game, it’s safe to assume Georgia became the favorite to win the 2024 season’s national title. And, indeed, the Bulldogs provide the safest futures bet to win the national championship, evident in their +300 odds across most mainstream books. Only Ohio State is in the same neighborhood, ranging from +300 (BetRivers, Bally) to +400.

But when it comes to maximizing potential payout, Georgia’s SEC counterpart, Alabama, at +1500, offers the best value. First-year head coach Kalen DeBoer is standing in maybe the longest shadow ever cast in the sport’s history, that of Nick Saban. But DeBoer’s proven himself to be a winner at all levels, with immediate success in previous stops.

Part of following Saban means inheriting a roster brimming with talent, not the least of whom is quarterback Jalen Milroe. Milroe’s solid output in his first season as Crimson Tide starter, coupled with DeBoer’s track record for maximizing a quarterback’s abilities, could make Milroe at +1500 to win the Heisman Trophy worth a look.

A Sept. 28 rematch of the SEC Championship against Georgia looms large. If Alabama defends its home turf, the Tide play what is on paper a more favorable schedule than Georgia’s (at Texas and at Ole Miss) the rest of the way.

Colorado Under 5.5 Wins (+120): BetMGM, DraftKings

Admit it: A year ago at this time, you were talking about Deion Sanders and Colorado. Maybe you found Sanders referring to players nudged toward the transfer portal as mismatched pieces of furniture—a refreshing stripping of disingenuous pretenses other coaches spout. Perhaps you found it an unprofessional, self-aggrandizement not befitting a leader.

Either way, Colorado football commanded national attention for a bit, and in a way, it hadn’t in about 20 years. But losing 8-of-9 to close out 2023, the on-field product resembled the same Buffs bag with faux Louis Vatton branding.

Colorado heads into 2024 with premier talent, namely generational offense and defense star Travis Hunter. Quarterback Sheduer Sanders shined at times and has garnered first-round NFL draft buzz. But CU’s biggest questions arise from the duo: How hard can the Buffs ride Hunter without wearing him down, and how effective will the offensive line be in keeping Sanders upright?

Play on both lines vexed CU down the stretch, evident in the Buffs defense surrendering 176.4 rushing yards per game (No. 110 nationally) and the offense allowing 56 sacks. Only Old Dominion gave up more. Depth on both lines remains an issue.

It’s also fair to ask how equipped Deion Sanders is to coach teams to marquee wins. All four CU victories in 2023 came against teams that finished sub-.500. His Jackson State squads went 0-2 in Celebration Bowls despite having significant talent advantages per recruiting rankings. Getting the Buffs to the program’s first .500-or-better finish since 2016 will take reversing plenty of negative trends.

We may know how realistic it is by the end of Week 3 after CU closes an opening stretch against perennial FCS national-title contender North Dakota State and rivals Nebraska and Colorado State on the road. 

Appalachian State to Make the Playoff (+1400): FanDuel

Feeling especially spicy? With the expanded Playoff guarantee a berth to a top-ranked Group of Five conference members, consider Appalachian State. The Mountaineers have a track record for playing ranked power-conference opponents tough in September (one-score losses to Miami and North Carolina in 2021 and 2023, a win at Texas A&M in 2022), and they face Clemson in Week 2 this season.

Liberty, which at +440 has the second-best Group of Five Playoffs odds behind Boise State’s +400, visits Boone on Sept. 28. Those non-conference dates send the Sun Belt Conference favorites into their league slate with a chance to build a Playoff. 

It’s a long shot, but with the electrifying pass-catch tandem of quarterback Joey Aguilar and wide receiver Kaedin Robinson, there may not be a more fun underdog’s bandwagon to climb aboard in 2024.