Early College Football Longshots

ASA's EARLY CFB LONGSHOTS TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

USC (+1600)

Caleb Williams is the major reason for value on the Trojans in 2023. He is the frontrunner for the Heisman trophy (+500) and likely the number 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. A player like Williams has the ability to carry his team to a national title similar to the likes of Cam Newton and Tim Tebow. The Pac 12 is one of the weaker power 5 conferences allowing USC to possibly go unbeaten during the regular season. A glaring issue that faces almost every school in the nation that isn't Bama, Georgia, Ohio St or Michigan, is the trenches. Competing with the Oline and Dline of those power schools is the main difference between making it to the playoff vs actually winning it. Head Coach Lincoln Riley is 0-3 in bowl games with a Hiesamn QB but hopefully he can learn from that history. 

Texas (+2500)

The Longhorns are in a similar situation as USC. An elite, potential Hiesman caliber QB (Quinn Ewers) leading the way for a team who is picked to win their conference. Texas always seems to stumble on a mid tier Big 12 team that ruins their playoff hopes, but if they can remain focused, they have a great chance to at least make it to The Playoff this season. In 2022 they had a top 5 recruiting class which shows they can bring in the talent to compete at the highest level. A September 9th visit to Tuscaloosa could be a season and program defying win for Texas in a huge early season matchup vs Alabama.

Texas A&M (+6000)

In 2022, the Aggies brought in the number one ranked recruiting class, yet they finished just 5-7 and had some awful losses mixed into the year. They return 16 starters so the extreme talent is still on the A&M roster. Coaching must improve, but talent is what's needed to win big games in an always loaded SEC. They have big games against Alabama and Tennessee in mid October which may very well decide the fate of the SEC West. It seems that 2 teams from the SEC have a good chance to make The Playoff and the Aggies may be poised to dethrone the Tide. 

Wisconsin (+7000)

Nothing but good things have come from the hiring of Luke Fickell as the Badgers have landed multiple commits as well as some top talent from the transfer portal. Wisconsin was in need of a fresh offensive game plan, now moving to a heavy air raid offense behind former UNC OC Phil Longo. It being hard to make such a drastic transition, we expect a more balanced approach which benefits the Badgers the most. The Badgers defense has not been the problem in recent years. Fickell led Cincinnati to a near Playoff semifinal victory over Georgia in 2021, and with more resources for him at Wisconsin, the program may make a quicker turnaround than expected.