Sun Devils called ‘best bet’ for Pac-12 title
Jul 22, 2013, 10:59 PM | Updated: 10:59 pm
We’re a little more than one month away from the kickoff to college football season, which means predictions are being made by just about everyone who even remotely cares about the sport.
In an ESPN Insider piece, writer Will Harris examines the conference championship odds in the five power conferences, and has a good feeling about the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Harris uses odds from Heritage Sports, which have ASU as the fifth-most likely team to capture the Pac-12 title this season, behind Oregon, Stanford, USC and UCLA. But at +800 (8-to-1), Harris thinks the Sun Devils are the best pick for gamblers.
The Sun Devils aren’t stocked with obvious first-team all-conference types beyond All-American Will Sutton, but this team has sufficient talent on defense and at the skill positions to make a run at league honors. This outfit also has great chemistry and double-digit wins or a division crown shouldn’t be a surprise.
The Pac-12 race is fairly open this year. While none of the many contenders have really generous prices, the Sun Devils edge out Stanford and Washington as our choice from the current futures lineup.
Harris cites Chip Kelly leaving for the NFL and leaving the Oregon coaching reins to the unproven Mark Helfrich as the reason for looking somewhere other than Eugene for this year’s Pac-12 champ.
Harris also likes South Carolina in the SEC, Oklahoma in the Big 12, Michigan in the Big Ten and Clemson in the ACC.
