A solid crop of wide receivers finished up their college careers last season and are now poised to apply their skills in the NFL in 2013. Waiting patiently in the wings is a brand new crop of players that are just itching to leave their mark on the college football stats page through their performance on the field. The following is a look at my top five game changers at wide receiver heading into the 2013 season.

USC wide receiver Marqise Lee has been opened by 5Dimes at +1200 to win this year’s Heisman Trophy and there is some solid value in those odds if he can live up to expectations this season. As a sophomore, he finished second in the nation in receiving yards with 1,721 on 118 receptions. He averaged 14.6 yards a catch and caught 14 passes for touchdowns. He will not have Matt Barkley throwing him the ball this season, but that should not prevent the 6-foot-1, 195 pounder from making his presence felt on the field with his ability to make the tough catches when needed the most.

Another wide receiver with big play capabilities is Arizona junior Austin Hill. He caught 81 passes in 2013 while racking-up 1,364 yards which works out to be 16.8 yards per catch. He also found the end zone 11 times last season. This is another big target at 6-foot-3, 211 lbs. that knows how to make a catch in traffic as well as break away from defenders to get open down field. Paired with running back Ka’Deem Carey running the ball, the Wildcat will have two of the most electrifying players in college football on the field at the same time.

The third player on my list is Davante Adams from Fresno State. He quickly burst onto the scene last season as a freshman with 102 catches for 1,312 yards and 14 touchdowns. Much like the first two receivers above, Adams is a big target at 6-foot-2, 200 lbs. that can go vertical to come down with the ball. He averaged 12.9 yards a reception in his first year with the Bulldogs and should play an even bigger role in 2013 with running back Robbie Rouse out of the picture. Rouse anchored Fresno State’s running game for the last four seasons, but look for this team to rely more and more on the pass to move the ball down field.

If you are looking for big play capabilities, then keep an eye on New Mexico State’s Austin Franklin. He finished his sophomore season with 1,245 receiving yards, which was ranked 13th most in the nation, but with 74 receptions he posted the third-highest yards-per-catch total at 16.8 for any wide receiver with at least 70 receptions on the year. He is another big target down field at 6-foot-2, 180 lbs. and has the solid speed to go along with great hands. On a team that averaged less than 100 yards rushing a game, he should have ample opportunities to increase all of his numbers from last season especially touchdowns after posting just nine catches for scores.

The final game changer at wide receiver for 2013 season is Cody Hoffman from BYU. He contemplated leaving school early for the NFL, but decided to return for his senior season. This guy may not be as flashy as some of the other players on the list, but as a pure possession receiver he remains one of the best. As a junior he pulled-down 100 receptions for 1,248 yards and 11 touchdowns. His total receptions have increased dramatically since catching 42 balls as a freshman and 61 his sophomore year. BYU is another team not necessarily known for a strong running game, which should shift the focus on Hoffman even more this season.

When looking for game changers in college football at the running back position the name that is at the top of my list is Arizona junior Ka’Deem Carey. Last season as a sophomore, he led the nation in total rushing yards with 1,929 yards. What makes this number even more impressive is the fact that there were six other running backs in Division IA last season with more rushing attempts. Carey carried the ball 303 times for an average of 6.4 yards a carry. That is well over first-down yardage for every two times he got his hands on the ball.

The 5-foot-10, 203 lb back was also no stranger to the end zone with 23 touchdowns on the ground. He was not the biggest threat catching the ball out of the backfield, but he did have 36 receptions for 303 yards and one score. That could change this season as the Wildcats continue to find more and more ways to get the ball into his hands. Carey is a +4500 longshot on BetOnline’s current odds to win the 2013 Heisman Trophy, but there could be some serious value in those odds if gets off to a fast start this season.

The second game changer at running back for the 2013 season is Western Kentucky’s Antonio Andrews. Last season, he gained 1,684 rushing yards on 304 carries for an average of 5.5 yards per attempt while being a bit more versatile in the passing game with 37 receptions for 432 yards and three touchdowns.

The Hilltoppers finished in the middle of the pack in the Sun Belt in 2012 with a conference record of 4-4 and an overall record of 7-6, but without Andrews in the lineup things probably would have been much worse considering how big a role he played in the team’s offense. The early scouting report for Western Kentucky does paint a picture for any kind of dramatic rebound next season, but Andrews is one of those players that can make the overall team that much better.

Another player that caught my eye last season was also from a Mid-Major program; the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference. Back for his senior year, Beau Blankenship has the potential to be a major force at running back for a team that is coming off a very respectable 9-4 campaign. The 5-foot-9, 202 lb fireplug rushed for 1,604 yards in 2012 on 312 carries. He pounded-out an average of 5.1 yards per carry and was instrumental in short yardage situations.

The Bobcats finished the season ranked 27th in the nation for rushing yards per game with an average of 203.3 yards. Blankenship was a big part of the reason for that accomplishment having run for close to four times more yards the next leading rusher on the team.

More fourth choice as a game changer running the ball is consensus All-American Dri Archer from the Kent State Golden Flashes. There were a number of runners with more total yards last season, but with 1,429 yards on just 159 attempts, he was clearly the most productive running back in Division IA with an average of 9.0 yards per carry. When you add in the fact that he gained another 561 yards on 39 receptions and scored a total of 20 touchdowns, Archer was one of the main reasons that Kent State rolled through the MAC last season with an 8-0 record in conference play.

The MAC is loaded with quality running backs heading into the 2013 season, with the third player from that conference in my top five. Zurlon Tipton burst onto the scene last season with the Central Michigan Chippewas with 1,492 rushing yards on 252 carries. While he turned heads with a 6-foot-1, 222 lb frame that grinded-out an average 5.9 yards a carry, it was his ability to get into the end zone that impressed me the most.

Tipton only had 24 receptions for 287 yards and one touchdown in 2012, but he ran the ball in for a score 19 times last season which ranked him in the top 10 among all running backs. The Chippawas finished 2012 with a 4-4 record in conference play and 7-6 overall, but look for them to be a sleeper team in the conference with him back for his final season.

A great place to start on this list was 2012’s biggest game changer of them all at any position; Johnny Manziel. Mr. Football led Texas A&M to an 11-2 record which included an impressive 5-1 record in the Aggies’ first season in the highly competitive SEC. Manziel’s thrilling performance in the team’s stunning 29-24 upset of Alabama on the road thrust him into the national spotlight and it went a long way towards securing the first ever Heisman Trophy for a freshman.

He has been opened by BetOnline as a +350 favorite to make it back-to-back Heisman’s but the pressure has been dialed-up to a whole other level for the entire Texas A&M program. Look for Manziel to once again use both his arm and legs to make plays, but it will be hard for him to reach that same game-changing level in 2013.

The next game changer on the list at quarterback is Ohio State’s Braxton Miller. With the Buckeyes serving a one-year suspension from postseason play due to NCAA imposed sanctions, his performance in a perfect 12-0 run in the 2012 regular season tended to stay ‘under’ the radar. That will not be the case this season with Ohio State opened as a +700 third-favorite to win a BCS title this season now that the ban has been lifted.

Miller was another huge duel-threat with 1,271 yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns complementing 2,039 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes. These numbers have an opportunity to explode against a Big Ten Conference that should remain fairly watered-down for the second-straight season.

My third game-changing quarterback for this upcoming season is Georgia’s Aaron Murray. Forget the fact that he threw for 3,893 yards and 36 touchdowns in 2012 while completing 64.5 percent of his passes. He is very likely to eclipse all three of those numbers behind one of the top offenses in the country. Last season this unit showed tremendous balance between running and passing the ball while racking-up an average of 37.8 points a game.

The Bulldogs are a serious threat to Alabama’s three-peat as a national champion and should get a chance to prove it as +100 favorites to win the SEC East this season. If that happens, look for a rematch of last season’s conference title game where Georgia lost a tough 32-28 decision to the Tide.

The SEC is loaded with quality quarterbacks this season, but if you are looking for another game changer from the South we have to go to Clemson in the ACC. Tajh Boyd threw for 3,896 yards and 36 touchdowns last season after throwing for 3,828 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2010, which was his first full year as a starter. You can only imagine what will happen to these numbers this year as the Tigers begin their quest for a BCS title as +175 favorites to win the ACC and +1800 to win it all.

Boyd also rushed for over 500 yards last season while scoring 10 touchdowns on the ground, but the most amazing stat for this Heisman hopeful was a 67.2 completion percentage which was a vast improvement from the previous year (59.7 percent).

My final game changer at quarterback for the 2013 season is Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater. He is the main reason that the Cardinals are a top-10 favorite at +2000 to win a national title this season. Playing in the Big East has kept him out of the national spotlight for most of his college career, but his secret is out after completing an impressive 68.5 percent of his passes for 3,718 yards and 27 touchdowns last season while getting picked-off just eight times.

Bridgewater is the kind of quarterback that can make things happen when his team needs a big play. The Cardinals stumbled down the stretch last season with two conference losses that cost them the outright Big East title. This season, Louisville comes in as the class of what is looking more and more like a Mid-Major conference, which should only result in bigger and better numbers in 2013.

Just about every major sportsbook out there has already posted its futures odds to win this year’s BCS title in college football, but 5Dimes has taken things one step further to really test your metal by allowing you to wager on a select group of teams against the field in a special prop bet. This type of wager can be extremely lucrative if you guess right on a particular team and ridiculously expensive if you guess wrong on the field.

It would be hard to find a book that has not opened Alabama as its odds-on-favorite to three-peat as national champions this upcoming season which would actually be the Crimson Tide’s fourth BCS title in the past five seasons. They have been opened by 5Dimes as +325 favorites but if you want wager on the field that they will not win it all, it would cost you $400 to make $100 if you are wrong.

Alabama is returning 16 starters from last year’s championship team and while running back Eddie Lacey and cornerback Dee Milliner may be off to play the NFL there is no program in the country better at filling holes than the Tide. Lacey followed in Trent Richardson’s footsteps and TJ Yeldon is ready to follow in his. Quarterback AJ McCarron is back and already on a short list of Heisman Trophy hopefuls and you know that the defense will be as strong as ever. The $100 wager to take Alabama in this prop is well worth the risk for a $325 return.

The next team on 5Dimes list is Ohio State at +650 to win a national title. The Buckeyes would have probably been in last year’s BCS title game with a perfect 12-0 record in the regular season if they were not serving a one-year postseason ban as part of some imposed NCAA sanctions. If you want to bet on the field that Ohio State will not win a national title this season now that it has served-out its ban it will cost you $1000 on a $100 bet if you are wrong.

This is another team that will return quite a bit of talent from last year’s squad and you better believe that every one of those players along with Buckeyes’ head coach Urban Meyer will be coming into this season with a huge chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Ohio State does have some holes to fill on defense in its front seven, but it will be competing in a watered-down Big Ten conference which should at the very least pave the way to an appearance in national title game. I am not convinced that this team is good enough to get past Alabama, but I would think long and hard about risking $1000 that they won’t.

The numbers start to escalate rather rapidly from there with Oregon third on the list at +750 to win it all verse a field bet it will not at -1165. There is no doubt that the Ducks will once again be the class of the Pac-12 with Stanford the only real obstacle in the way, but the big intangible for this prop bet is what kind of impact will the loss of Chip Kelly as head coach have on the overall program. It is probably best to walk away from this one altogether as I anticipate the impact will be greater than most people expect for at least the first season.

The prop bet odds for another high profile program as Texas A&M at +1400 to win the BCS title against a -2500 bet on the field. The bar has been raised extremely high on the Aggies with the emergence of Johnny ‘Mr. Football’ Manziel. In all honesty, after winning the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, he really has nowhere to go but down. Given the brutal nature of this game both on and off the field the fall could be fast and steep especially playing in the highly competitive SEC. The $2500 risk to win $100 is awful high, but if I had to bet the field against one of the top five teams on this list it would against Texas A&M.

The numbers for a few other top contenders have LSU at +1600 verse a field bet of -3200, Louisville at +2200 verse a field bet of -4400 and Florida State at +3000 verse a field bet of -7000. Last season’s national title runner-up Notre Dame has been opened at +3300 to win it this season verse a field bet of -7700.

The last time a Mid-Major football program won a national title was BYU in 1984, but that does not mean that there aren’t a few programs out there that are more than capable of making some serious noise in 2013. The following is a brief look at a few of these schools along with their current odds to win next season’s BSC title as provided by BetOnline.

The team at the top of my list is the Boise State Broncos out of the Mountain West Conference. This has been one of the winningest programs in Division IA over the past decade and a consistent threat to the big boys from the majors in the national rankings. They finished the 2012 season ranked 18th in the final AP poll after going 11-2.

The Broncos have been opened at +6600 to win a national title this season and with a good chunk of their offense back from last season there is some solid value in those odds. Quarterback Joe Southwick is back for his senior year after throwing for 2,730 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. More importantly is the return of wide receiver Matt Miller, who earned All-Conference honors for hauling-in 66 receptions for 769 yards. Two major concerns for the team are the loss of running back DJ Harper, who rushed for 1,137 yards, and seven starters from a defense that was ranked eighth in the nation in points allowed last year.

Another quality Mid-Major that has the ability to make a climb up the polls next season is another team from the MWC, the Fresno State Bulldogs. They have been opened as a +2000 field bet to win a BCS title, but with a very manageable non-conference schedule and an early season home game against Boise State, the Bulldogs are in good position to run off quite a few wins if they can get by the Broncos in mid-September.

Fresno State returns 16 starters from last year’s squad that went 9-4 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Leading the way is quarterback Derek Carr, who entertained thoughts of coming out early for this year’s NFL draft after throwing for 4,104 yards and 37 touchdowns as junior last season. He will have his top two targets back as well in wide receivers Davante Adams and Isaiah Burse. Adams earned All-Conference honors with a team-high 102 receptions for 1,312 yards and Burse was second on the team in receiving yards with 851 yards. These two combined to score 21 touchdowns in 2012.

Fresno State will have a good bulk of its defense back from last season especially up front with its entire defensive line intact. This unit was torched for 42 points in a loss to Oregon and gave up 43 points to SMU in the Hawaii Bowl, but it held Boise State to just 20 points in its only conference loss.

While you will not find the East Carolina Pirates in too many preseason polls or futures odds lists, they remain the ultimate ‘under the radar’ team for 2013. They are coming off an 8-5 campaign in 2012 that included an impressive 7-1 record in Conference USA. What makes them so attractive heading into next season is that they will have 18 of 22 starters back from that squad.

Head coach Ruffin McNeill has to be licking his chops to get this team on the field with quarterback Shane Carden as one of the best kept secrets in college football. He threw for 3,116 yards and 23 touchdowns as a freshman while completing 66.1 percent of his passes. The upside potential remains high for a much better performance this season with solid run support from running back Vintavious Cooper. He rushed for 1,049 yards last year to garner All-Conference honors.

Bovada’s futures odds to win next season’s college football BCS title have been out since Alabama rolled over Notre Dame in last season’s title game. While we are waiting for it to release its futures odds for each individual major conference for the upcoming college football season, we can still use the updated BCS odds as a guide to determining which teams should open as the favorite to win their respective conference. The following is a look at a few possible favorites, contenders and longshots to win the Big East title next season.

The Favorite

The Big East continues to evolve into a mid-major conference as opposed to the watered-down major conference it has always been with the loss of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC starting next season after West Virginia bolted for the Big 12 at the start of last season. Teams such as Central Florida, Houston, Memphis and SMU have been brought in to take their place giving it even more of a mid-major feel.

Through all the change there is still one Big East football program that is expected to make some serious noise on the national level next season after taking home the national title in men’s basketball this year. The Louisville Cardinals have been opened at 20/1 to win a BCS title, which are the eighth-best odds on the board. Much of the hype for the Cardinals’ chances to make a run to the title game revolve around the play of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is being touted as an early Heisman hopeful.

He will be joined by six other returning starters on offense including wide receiver Damian Copeland and tight end Ryan Hubbell. Copeland led the team in receptions last season with 50 and Hubbell averaged 17.1 yards a catch. Louisville is expected to return 10 of 11 starters on a defense that gave up an average of just 23.8 points a game. While this team may not go on to win a national title next season, you can probably bet the farm that it wins the Big East.

The Contender

The Big East team with the next best odds to win a national title is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 100/1. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a productive season in which they went 9-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play to claim a share of the Big East title. They ended the season with a three-game skid that included losses to Pittsburgh and Louisville in the conference and Virginia Tech in overtime of the Russell Athletic Bowl.

The major drawback to Rutgers’ chance to compete for next season’s Big East title is the number of starters that were lost on both sides of the ball. With seven starters back on offense and just four on defense, head coach Kyle Flood will have quite a few holes to fill. Fortunately, quarterback Gary Nova is one of those returning starters and looking to improve his all around numbers after throwing for 2,695 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Savon Huggins will have some big shoes to fill at running back for the departed Jawan Jamison and wide receiver Brandon Coleman should be Nova’s primary target in the passing game. The biggest losses were on a defense that ended the 2012 season ranked fourth in the nation in points allowed.

The Longshot

The Cincinnati Bearcats finished in a first-place tie for the Big East title at 5-2 last year and went 10-3 overall including a 48-34 victory over Duke in the Belk Bowl. They return a good portion of talent on both sides of the ball, but once again the primary strength of this team should lie in a defense that was ranked 14th in the country in points allowed; giving-up an average of 18.5 points a game.

While we are still waiting for Bovada to release its futures odds for each individual major conference for the upcoming college football season, its 2013 BCS Championship odds have been out for quite awhile and remain an excellent guide to predicting which teams should open as the favorite to win their respective conference The following is a look at a few possible favorites, contenders and longshots to win the SEC title next season.

The Favorite

The Alabama Crimson Tide were quickly opened as the odds-on-favorites to win their third-straight BCS title after disposing of Notre Dame 42-14 in the 2012 championship game. They are currently listed at 13/4 to keep the SEC’s string of seven-straight national champions alive; having already claiming three of those honors during this impressive run.

Alabama is expected to return 16 starters from last year’s team which also helps explain the lofty odds. Running back Eddie Lacy decided to leave early for the NFL but quarterback AJ McCarron is back for his senior year. The Tide will always be known for running the ball and playing shutdown defense, but McCarron does elevate the possibilities for the passing game after throwing for 2,933 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2012 while getting picked-off just three times. Look for TJ Yeldon to fill the void left by Lacy after piling-up 1,108 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns of his own last season.

The Contenders

One of the new kids on the block in the SEC comes in as the second-favorite to steal the Tide’s thunder next season as a 10/1 fourth-favorite to win a national title. The Texas A&M Aggies have already been a thorn in Alabama’s side since joining the conference in 2012 by knocking it from the ranks of the unbeaten last season and would love nothing more than doing it again this year.

Quarterback sensation Johnny ‘Mr. Football’ Manziel, whose game-winning performance in that incredible upset helped tip the scales for him winning last season’s Heisman Trophy as a freshman, is back but he will be missing six other starters from last season’s offense. The Aggies also took a hit on defense with just six starters back on that side of the ball as well. It will be a true challenge for head coach Kevin Sumlin to match last season’s 11-2 record now that the bar has been raised so high for his team.

One of the traditional contenders for this season’s SEC title will be the Georgia Bulldogs, who lost to Alabama 23-28 in last season’s conference title game. They went on to beat Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl to finish 12-2 on the year and ended the 2012 season ranked fifth in the final AP poll. Georgia has been opened at 14/1 to get past the Tide this time around and win the BCS title.

The Bulldogs should be loaded on offense with 10 starters expected back from a squad that showed tremendous balance between running and passing the ball to rack-up an average of 37.8 points a game. The key to their continued success could be quarterback Aaron Murray, who is poised for an even better season in 2013 after throwing for 3,893 yards and 36 touchdowns last year. It could be a bit of a rebuilding project on defense with just five starters back, but power teams in the SEC rarely have trouble recruiting talented replacements on that side of the ball.

The Longshot

A couple of other top contenders for SEC title include LSU, South Carolina and Florida which are all listed in the top 10 as far as odds to win it all, but if you are looking for a sleeper team in the conference keep your eyes on the Mississippi Rebels. They have been opened at 125/1 to win a national title which is a vast improvement over this time last year when they were not even listed on the board.

Ole Miss may have turned the corner last season with a 3-5 record in the conference and a 7-5 record overall that included a huge win over rival Mississippi State and Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl to close-out the season. What makes the Rebels so attractive is the fact that they remain virtually intact with nine starters back on offense and all 11 starters back on defense.

The BCS odds for a couple of other teams in the SEC include Mississippi State and Tennessee at 150/1 and Arkansas and Auburn at 200/1.

Bovada has yet to release its futures odds for each individual major conference for the upcoming 2013 college football season, but using its updated 2013 BCS title odds as a guide, we can still project which teams will most likely open as the possible favorites, contenders and longshots to win the Pac-12 title next season.

The Favorite

The Oregon Ducks have been one of the elite programs in the Pac-12 over the past few seasons making it all the way to the national title game in 2010 and ending last season’s 12-1 run as the No.2 ranked team in the country. While the architect of this transformation, Chip Kelly has moved on to greener pastures in the NFL, the basic plan should remain the same with former offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich taking his place. He will have nine starters back from an offense that racked-up 49.6 points a game so it is no surprise that the Ducks have been opened as 13/2 second-favorites to win a BCS title in 2013.

The only major loss is running back Kenjon Barner, but quarterback Marcus Mariota will still be at the helm. Last season he threw for 2,677 yards and 32 touchdowns while adding another 752 yards and five scores with his legs. The defense took more of a hit with only seven starters expected back from last year’s squad, but its secondary featuring All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu remains completely intact.

The Contender

The Stanford Cardinal are currently listed at 18/1 to win a national title next season and appear to be the legitimate threat to Oregon running away with the Pac-12 next season. This is a program that has endured its fair share of losses including its head coach Jim Harbaugh a few years back and All-American quarterback Andrew Luck after the 2011 season, but continually finds ways to reload. Stanford is coming off a 12-2 campaign in 2012 that included a stunning 17-14 overtime victory over the Ducks that catapulted it to the Pac-12 Championship.

The offense is a bit depleted with five starters lost from that team, but it returns a good portion of an offensive line that remains one of the best in the country. Both Josh Nunes and Kevin Hogan are back after splitting time at the quarterback position but look for a few new faces to try and make their mark at some of the other skill positions. The Cardinal defense remains basically intact with 10 starters back from last season. This unit finished the season ranked 11th in the country in points allowed (17.2).

The Longshots

The odds drop off pretty dramatically from there with the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans having the third-lowest odds to win a BCS title for a team from the Pac-12 at 50/1. The Bruins won the South Division title last season with a 6-3 record in conference play and gave Stanford all it could handle in the championship game in a 27-24 loss.

They return eight starters on offense including quarterback Brett Hundley. He caught everyone’s attention last season as a freshman with 3,745 yards passing and 29 touchdown throws. He also exhibited excellent mobility with another 355 yards on the ground. UCLA’s defense took a hit with just six starters back from last season so there will be a bit of rebuilding involved on that side of the ball.

Last season, many experts had USC as the team to beat not only in the Pac-12 but in the country as the preseason favorite to win the BCS title. The overall talent on this team including departed quarterback Matt Barkley never came close to meeting these lofty expectations with an overall record of 7-6.

With eight starters back on both offense and defense, the Trojans have a decent nucleus of talent to build from. Max Wittek filled in nicely for an injured Barkley at the end of last season but keep an eye on Cody Kessler to challenge for the starting role at quarterback. The good news for whichever player lines up behind center is the return of All-American wide-out Marquise Lee, who led the team with 1,721 yards receiving and 14 touchdown catches last year.

The BCS title futures odds for a few other teams in the Pac-12 include Oregon State and Washington at 100/1 and Arizona and California at 200/1.

We are still a couple of months away from Bovada’s release of the futures odds for a college football team’s chances to win their respective conference title, but using its updated BCS Championship odds as a guide, we can project which teams will most likely open as the possible favorites, contenders and longshots to win the Big 12 title next season.

The Favorites

The top two teams from the Big 12 in terms of its odds to win the BCS national title next season are the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Texas Longhorns at 30/1. There are 14 other schools with better odds on Bovada’s list which does say too much for the perceived overall strength of this conference in 2013.

The Cowboys finished fourth in the Big 12 last season with a record of 5-4 and they went 8-5 overall. The main reason for such high expectations going into next season is an offense that returns eight starters including quarterback Clint Chelf and All-Big 12 wide receiver Josh Stewart. The big loss off this squad was All-American running back Joseph Randle, who opted to make himself available for the NFL draft. Draining some of the value in these odds is a defense that was ranked 64th in the country in points allowed. Seven starters are expected back on that side of the ball.

Texas is another high-profile program coming off a less than stellar performance in 2012. It finished the season at 9-4 with a 31-27 victory over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl, but it was barely over .500 in Big 12 play at 5-4 including losses to TCU and Kansas State in its final two regular season games. The good news is that the Longhorns are expected to have 19 starters back from that team including 10 of 11 on an offense that averaged 35.7 points a game.

David Ash is expected to be the Texas’s starting quarterback on opening day after finishing last season with 2,699 passing yards and 19 touchdown throws. Also returning is the running back tandem of Johnathan Grey and Joe Bergeron, who helped the Longhorns average over 170 rushing yards a game. Defense was this team’s major weakness as well in 2013; allowing close to 30 points a game.

The Contender

The Oklahoma Sooners only lost one conference game last season against eight wins but it was enough to cost them a Big 12 title as a result of a tiebreaker with 8-1 Kansas State. Heading into this season they have been opened at 40/1 to win a national title making them the third-best team from the conference on the list. This could be due the mass exodus of talent from last year’s squad. There will be a myriad of holes to fill on both sides of the ball with seven starters back on offense and only five back on defense.

The biggest loss was Landry Jones at quarterback so it looks like it will Blake Bell lining up under center when the Sooners take the field against UL-Monroe on opening day. They will have All-Big 12 fullback Trey Millard back after the NFL prospect decided to return for his senior season.

The Longshot

The jump from the Mountain West to the Big 12 last season was a bit of a rough transition for the TCU Horned Frogs with a 4-5 record in conference play. The entire 2012 campaign appeared to be a struggle at times and was capped off with a tough 17-16 loss to Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. For 2013, TCU is currently a 66/1 longshot to make a run all the way to a BCS title so its main focus will be on improving its play in its second go round in the Big 12.

The Horned Frogs remain loaded on defense with 10 starters back from a unit that held its opponents to an average of 22.6 points a game. Another year of experience could help to drive that number down into the teens in 2013. There are seven starters back on offense including wide receivers Josh Boyce and LaDarius Brown, but the real question remains at quarterback. Trevone Boykin is penciled-in as the starter pending the playing status of Casey Pachall, who was suspended by the team last season as a result of a DUI charge.

The 2013 BCS odds for two other teams in the Big 12 have Kansas State at 150/1 and West Virginia at 300/1.

Bovada has yet to release its futures odds for winning an individual major conference title for the 2013 college football season, but using its updated BCS Championship odds as a guide, we can still get a good idea as to which teams will most likely open as the possible favorites, contenders and longshots to win the ACC title next season.

The Favorites

Right now it looks like the 2013 ACC title winner is once again going to come out of the Coastal Division with both the Florida State Seminoles and the Clemson Tigers opened at 25/1 to win next season’s BCS Championship. These two battled it out last season with the Seminoles getting the nod as a result of a 49-37 victory over the Tigers that proved to be the division tie-breaker since both teams finished with 7-1 records in conference play.

Florida State will first have to find a way to replace EJ Manual at quarterback on the offensive side of the ball and then replace the seven starters it lost on defense. Right now, Clint Trickett is penciled-in as the new starter, but lacks any real experience with a total of 34 passes last year for 22 completions and 272 yards. This situation could easily change as head coach Jimbo Fisher has remained quiet as to which of the four quarterbacks he currently has on his roster will get the nod on opening day.

Clemson is more than set at the quarterback position for 2013 with Tajh Boyd back for his senior year. Last season he passed for 3,896 yards and 36 touchdowns while adding another 514 yards and 10 scores with his legs. Running back has Andre Ellington moved on and All-ACC wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins declared himself eligible for the NFL draft so the Tigers will have a couple of big pairs of shoes to fill in their place. Look for wide receiver Sammy Watkins to try and fill the void for Hopkins and running back Roderick McDowell to try and fill Ellington’s shoes.

Defensively, Clemson is expected to return seven starters from last season’s squad. The front seven remains basically intact but there are some question marks in the secondary with the loss of one of two starting cornerbacks and both starting safeties.

The Contenders

The Miami Hurricanes self-imposed postseason ban is now over, so they will be back in the conference title picture in 2013. Bovada has opened the Hurricanes at 28/1 to win the BCS title so they appear to be the class of the ACC Coastal Division. They ended the 2012 regular season 7-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play with an encouraging 3-1 finish that followed a crushing three-game losing streak during the month of October.

The one thing that is for sure is that Miami’s starting lineup should remain very similar to last season’s with all 11 starters back on offense and nine starters back on the other side of the ball. Competition could be fierce this summer as a few new faces try and work their way into the mix. Look for All-ACC running back Duke Johnson to pick-up where he left off after racking-up close to a 1000 yards rushing as a freshman.

The Longshot

Another team that was on the sidelines when the postseason got underway last year due to NCAA sanctions was the North Carolina Tar Heels. They have been opened at 100/1 to stun the nation with a run to the BCS title, but with more than half their starters back from last year’s 8-4 campaign the Tar Heels are more than capable of making some noise in the ACC.

Bryn Renner will be back at quarterback after throwing for 3,356 yards and 28 touchdowns while completing a respectable 65.4 percent of his attempts. The Tar Heels will also have wide receiver Sean Tapley and All-ACC tight end Eric Ebron back as part of an offense that averaged 291.8 passing yards a game last season. The biggest loss will be felt in the running game with Giovani Bernard (1,228 yards rushing) hoping to continue his football career by playing on Sundays next season.

The 2013 BCS odds for a few other teams in the ACC include Virginia Tech at 150/1, Georgia Tech at 200/1, and Pittsburgh (which is new to the conference in 2013) at 200/1.