BetMGM has college football betting odds on which teams have the best shot to make the College Football Playoff. While you may yawn and say, “What else is new?” with the usual suspects at the top (Clemson -1000, Alabama -350, Ohio State -275, Oklahoma -225), it is fascinating to see how Group of Five schools are viewed.
Now, the chance of a G5 team making the four-team playoff is low. BetMGM (understandably) offers odds to make the CFP for only 49 of the 130 FBS teams. Of those 49 teams, six come from Group of Five conferences. And of those six, three come from the Sun Belt.
Odds To Make The CFP For G5 Teams
Cincinnati +1100
Boise State +5000
UCF +5000
Louisiana +6600
Coastal Carolina +8000
Appalachian State +10000
The Sun Belt has made strides recently to become a much stronger G5 conference. Louisiana went from 7-7 in 2018 to 11-3 in 2019 and 10-1 last year, highlighted by a 31-14 win at No. 23 Iowa State. Coastal Carolina was 5-7 in 2019, then went 11-1 in 2020. The Chanticleers beat No. 8 BYU 22-17, a matchup that saw ESPN’s College GameDay come to town.
App State has consistently been solid, hitting double-digit wins in four of the last six seasons. For the other two, the Mountaineers went 9-4 in 2017 and 9-3 last year.
Cincinnati is the darling of the Group of Five right now, helping the AAC become the best non-Power Five conference. The Mountain West would have a say in that argument with quality teams like Boise State, Nevada, and San Jose State.
But don’t sleep on the Sun Belt.
Cincinnati is ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll. The other two ranked G5 teams come from the Sun Belt: No. 22 Coastal Carolina and No. 23 Louisiana.
The top three teams in the Sun Belt are arguably stronger than any other Group of Five conference’s top three teams. However, the depth of the conference needs work.
When it comes to the preseason odds to win the Sun Belt at the BetMGM online sportsbook, Louisiana (+100), Coastal Carolina (+220), and App State (+400) have a wide gap in front of teams 4-10. Troy is +2000, Arkansas State is +4000, Georgia State is +4000, Georgia Southern is +5000, and then the odds drop even more for the remaining programs.
Here are the full odds to win the conference championship.
Sun Belt Champion Odds
*As of Aug. 24.
Louisiana +100
Coastal Carolina +220
Appalachian State +400
Troy +2000
Arkansas State +4000
Georgia State +4000
Georgia Southern +5000
Texas State +10000
South Alabama +15000
Louisiana Monroe +15000
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