College Football Betting Will Change With Conference Realignment

College football is one of the most bet on sports in the US behind only the NFL in terms of annual wagers placed on their games. With realignment talks in full swing, it is time to start examining how the betting strategies of gamblers could change in the future.

Currently, Texas and Oklahoma play in the Big Twelve. Rumors over the past couple of days have both schools weighing offers to move to the Pac-10, along with several other Big Twelve schools. If that happens, a sixteen team super-conference would be created.

Gamblers currently have the luxury of getting at least a few easy selections through the course of a college football season. Texas, while playing some tough competition, would be much more pressed in games against teams like USC, Oregon, and California. The same goes for Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten would be forced to steal some teams from the Big East and Big Twelve, possibly even Notre Dame. If that domino falls, it would make for a much weaker Big East, if the conference even survives at all.

Advanced bettors are used to studying trends on how teams fare against other opponents within their conferences. Those stats would be deemed inconsequential should teams be meeting that have a short history against each other. Other factors such as weather would also have to be weighed by odds makers.

The SEC has been the power conference over the past decade, but that would likely also change if realignment occurred. Oklahoma and Texas have been two of the best teams in the country, playing in the past two national championship games. If they join the Pac-10, it would give the conference three of the top five programs in recent memory.

The rumors may be a little premature, but what is not premature is how sports books will follow the story closely. New conference configurations could mean a lot more work behind the scenes for odds makers in the future.

June 4, 2010
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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