A couple of days ago, several casinos released their odds for the 2013-14 BCS National Championship. While PhilSteele.com does not affiliate itself with gambling, I do think it is interesting to see how Vegas is examining the upcoming season.

Here are the Top 10 Favorites to win the title this upcoming year courtesy of Bovada.

1. Alabama                  Odds: 4/1

Tough to go against a program that has won three out of the last four national championships including winning one this year with a team that many thought were a year away including its head coach Nick Saban. Next year’s team will return quarterback AJ McCarron, linebacker CJ Mosely and a boatload of other talented players. The schedule is manageable with two weeks to prepare for an early road trip to Texas A&M and they also have a home date against LSU. Also noteworthy is the fact that for a second straight year, the Crimson Tide avoid Florida, Georgia and South Carolina from the SEC East.

2. Ohio State               Odds: 8.5/1

At Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, Urban Meyer’s 2nd season was better than his first and the only thing that can top a 12-0 season, which the Buckeyes achieved in 2012 is to take home the crystal ball in 2013. Offensively, it starts with the return of quarterback Braxton Miller who figures to be one of the Heisman favorites and while they do lose their entire defensive line from last year, keep in mind Meyer’s top recruits last year were all on the DL. The schedule sets up nicely as the non-conference schedule is rather weak and in Big 10 play they get Wisconsin and Penn State at home while avoiding Nebraska and Michigan St. The biggest landmines are road trips to Northwestern and Michigan.

2. Oregon                    Odds: 8.5/1

The Ducks are off back-to-back BCS bowl wins and will return as many as 15 starters from last year’s 12-1 team that basically came one play away from playing in the national title game. The biggest return is head coach Chip Kelly who after yet another flirtation with the NFL looks to be here for the time being.  On offense quarterback Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas return and while the defense loses Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has proven to be one of the more underrated coordinators in the country. The schedule features a road test against Stanford which will probably not only decide the Pac-12 North but possibly who goes to Pasadena to play an SEC team for the national title.

4. Texas A&M              Odds: 10/1

The Aggies had arguably one of their best seasons in school history on and off the field in 2012 with a move to the SEC, a Heisman trophy winner, an upset of #1 Alabama on the road and won 11 games capped off by a dominating Cotton Bowl performance over Oklahoma. Next year’s team naturally will see the return of quarterback Johnny Manziel but they will lose several key players including wide receiver Ryan Swope and defensive end Damontre Moore. The schedule is manageable as the two games are a September 14th home game vs Alabama and a November 23rd road game at LSU, which the Aggies have two weeks to prepare for.

5. LSU                         Odds: 12:1

The Las Vegas odds for the Tigers here at least for now have to be based on their recent success of being a consistent top 5 program as they certainly have had a tough couple of weeks starting with the bowl loss to Clemson then followed by a max exodus of key players declaring early for the NFL Draft. Next year will see the return of quarterback Zach Mettenberger who figures to be improved in his second year and he will have several talented running backs to hand off too and a great wide receiver in Odell Beckham. Defense could be the bigger issue with the loss of arguably their six best players and the schedule is no walk in the park as they start with basically a road trip to TCU in the opener and they also have SEC road games at Alabama and at Georgia.

Early Odds To Win
2013-14 BCS National Championship