Odds to Win the 2008 Big 12 Conference
It's a tight one when it comes to odds to win the 2008 Big 12 Conference. There are literally two teams vying for the favorite position: The Oklahoma Sooners at +150 odds and the Texas Longhorns.
For the Sooners, it's all about impressive season wins only to come up short in the end. According to Athlon Sports, this team is built to win and win big in 2008.
All the sting from a second consecutive Fiesta Bowl defeat - and a fourth BCS bowl loss in as many tries - was salved by the realization that 14 starters would return for another run this fall, including record-setting quarterback Sam Bradford and every man up front on an offensive line that ranks as one of the nation's best.
The Sooners should be in the conversation if the offense picks up where it left off and the defense doesn't reveal too much of its youth and inexperience.
"In the end, you have to go at it again," says OU coach Bob Stoops. "I will say we have been pretty consistent in going after the Big 12 championship, and we look to do that again next year.
"Hopefully, we can finish the year a little bit better."
Meanwhile, the Longhorns promise a slightly better payout of $200 for every $100 at Diamond Sports International (a BetCRIS company and part of the oldest established bookmaking firm catering to North Americans).
There are some important considerations to be made if betting on the Longhorns, the least of which has to do with their "hellish schedule"
From the Statesman:
We'll be hearing a lot about October because the first three weeks will make or break the Longhorns' season. Texas gets a bye week before Big 12 play starts. Then it gets hellish.
UT travels to Colorado on Oct. 4, then takes on Oklahoma - ranked No. 4 in the preseason coaches' poll - in Dallas and Missouri (No. 7) in Austin on consecutive Saturdays.
It'll be mostly uncharted territory for Texas. The only other time in Mack Brown's tenure that the Longhorns have played top 10 teams in back-to-back weeks was September 1998, his first year. That's when Texas met No. 6 UCLA and No. 5 Kansas State. Both were losses.
Alas, not everyone is going to be betting on the Sooners or Longhorns to win the 2008 Big 12 Conference.
Missouri certainly has a shot. The Missouri Tigers odds to win the 2008 Big 12 Conference were set at +300, still a nominal payout (all things considered) but $300 for every $100 bet is nothing to cry about either.
Missouri is coming off a 12-2 season in which they lost both meetings to Oklahoma. The Big 12 title game loss to the Sooners ruined Missouri's chance to play in the national title game.
Make no mistake about it, the Missouri Tigers are contenders to win the 2008 Big 12 Conference and play in the BCS Championship game.
More odds to win the 2008 Big 12 Conference appear below and are courtesy of Diamond Sports International
BAYLOR +8000 - -
COLORADO +1600 - -
IOWA STATE +8000 - -
KANSAS +825 - -
KANSAS STATE +4000 - -
MISSOURI +300 - -
NEBRASKA +1000 - -
OKLAHOMA +150 - -
OKLAHOMA STATE +2500 - -
TEXAS +200 - -
TEXAS A&M +2000 - -
TEXAS TECH +650
