Even after a 1-11 record, Colorado continues to attract a surprising amount of action in the betting market as it begins the Deion Sanders era.
Conference championship odds for the 2023 college football season have been available for some time, and Colorado has become the most popular bet to win the Pac-12 crown.
Colorado has +10,000 odds of winning the Pac-12 at BetMGM, but has received 61.1% of the conference title bets and 42.5% of the money. Washington received slightly more money – 42.7% of the handful – but the Huskies only received 14.2% of the bets. It is the second behind Colorado.
The Buffs, of course, have been one of the biggest storylines of the offseason as they enter their first season with Sanders as head coach. Sanders and his team completed a massive roster overhaul to increase the talent level of what was arguably the worst Power Five team in the country in 2022.
Even with so many changes on the depth roster, the Buffs are rightly seen as a long shot to compete for the conference championship. Colorado, which has a total win count of just 3.5, is tied with Arizona State for second-worst odds in the league. Only Stanford is worse at +25000.
USC is Pac-12 favorite over Oregon, Washington
USC, in its final year as a member of the Pac-12 before leaving for the Big Ten alongside UCLA, is the betting favorite to win the league at +200. The Trojans enter their second season under head coach Lincoln Riley and return Heisman Trojan quarterback Caleb Williams, who both landed with the Oklahoma Trojans.
With Williams leading, USC had one of the best offenses in the nation last fall, but the defense was a major weakness. Nonetheless, USC was close to securing a Pac-12 title and a potential berth in the College Football Playoffs, but the Trojans lost to Utah in the conference title game.
Utah has won the last two conference titles but has the fourth-best odds to win it in 2023, bettors say. Utah is listed at +500, behind USC, Oregon (+300) and Washington (+375).
USC received 8.4% of the bets and 3.4% of the money, while Utah received 4.6% of the bets and 1.7% of the money. Oregon, meanwhile, received 3.4% of the bets and 1.6% of the money.
Below are the full odds for the Pac-12 title at BetMGM:
USC: +200
Oregon: +300
Washington: +375
Utah: +500
Oregon State: +1000
UCLA: +1400
Washington State: +3000
Cal: +6600
Arizona: +8000
State of Arizona: +10000
Colorado: +10000
Stanford: +25,000