Bets to make on college football’s biggest questions before new season

College football betting season is here, with future wagers posted across town ahead of opening kickoffs August 29.

Four markets loom above the rest in the sport’s new landscape.

The national championship and Heisman Trophy are annual staples, but with the Big Ten and SEC having taken over as the two power leagues above all others, their conference races are just as heavily discussed. Here’s the best bet on the board in Las Vegas for each of the four markets to start a portfolio going into the season, with a longer-shot option to also consider.

National championship

Notre Dame at +675 (i.e. risking $100 to win $675) (Circa Sports)

• Long shot consideration: Texas Tech at 22-to-1 (South Point)

With the way money flowed in on them weekly late last season, the Fighting Irish arguably wouldn’t have closed as an underdog to any team in last year’s College Football Playoff, despite getting left out of the field. Now they rank first in the nation in returning production, and it makes them look like the team to beat. Notre Dame’s roster may technically grade out neck-in-neck with two other programs in terms of overall quality—Ohio State and Texas—but it faces a much easier schedule. Notre Dame is unlikely to be favored by less than a touchdown in any single game. Act now because the market is already signaling that it will be as bullish on Notre Dame as it was last year.

Similar to Notre Dame, Texas Tech brings back a stacked roster (No. 12 in returning production with the 10th highest-paid roster per College Football Front Office) to go against a weak schedule. The Red Raiders should romp the Big 12 once again and receive prime College Football Playoff position.

Big Ten championship

Oregon at +280 (BetMGM)

• Long shot consideration: Penn State at 20-to-1 (South Point)

Ducks quarterback Dante Moore shocked many by returning to college when he quite possibly would have become the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. One look at the weapons around him can partially explain the decision. He has an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver with Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah McClellan and Evan Stewart. Oregon has to play at Ohio State but otherwise has a manageable schedule. The program’s only losses in the past three years have come against teams that reached the national championship game.

Meanwhile, Penn State drew the easiest schedule in the Big Ten and could emerge as Oregon’s conference championship game opponent. The Nittany Lions also have a sneaky experienced roster with new coach Matt Campbell bringing over the bulk of his starters from last year at Iowa State.

Heisman Trophy

Keelon Russell 30-to-1 (STN Sports)

• Long shot consideration: Byrum Brown at 70-to-1 (Circa Sports)

This season features one of the top quarterback classes ever in college football, so it’s difficult to foresee the award going elsewhere. The passers for each of the primary teams bet on here (Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr at 7-to-1, Texas’ Arch Manning at +825 and Oregon’s Moore at 12-to-1) all make a lot of sense. But it’s hard to differentiate between them, and historically the preseason favorites haven’t fared well in the Heisman pool. So maybe the right move is going down the board and making an upside play on Russell, a sophomore blue-chip recruit expected to debut as a starter this season at Alabama.

Russell may have competition in his own state. Former South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown followed coach Alex Golesh to Auburn and has the same statistic-padding, dual threat ability as Russell. His current price is too high.

SEC championship

Texas at +330 (Boyd Sports)

• Long shot consideration: South Carolina at 55-to-1 (STN Sports)

Time to flip the schedule paradigm. Teams like Notre Dame and Penn State are attractive because of the ease of their opponents, but Texas is the opposite. The Longhorns are set to face the toughest schedule in the nation but, because of that, their odds are inflated. Led by Manning and a strong transfer portal class, they should have enough to navigate it. Georgia is favored to win its third straight SEC championship, but Texas is much superior if it reaches its potential.

One team in the middle of the conference should rise, so why not take a shot with a buy-low side like South Carolina with a superstar quarterback in LaNorris Sellers? The Gamecocks were as low as 15-to-1 to win the SEC at this time a year ago and, though they had a disappointing season, most of the starters return to give it another chance.

This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.