4 Deep NCAA Football Sleepers

Betting on Alabama and Clemson is getting boring

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Alabama and Clemson are the major favorites to win this year’s NCAA football championship, but Stanford (+15000), Boise State (+25000), Cincinnati (+100000) and Colorado (+100000) are all deep sleepers to consider betting on. 

The NCAA football season kicks off on August 24th. Every team has Alabama and Clemson in their sights. There are a number of deep sleeper storylines to pay attention to (like these four below). All odds are featured on DraftKings.    

The Cinderella 

Cincinnati, +100000

This team has all the makings of a Cinderella. First, they play in one of the weaker conferences in football, the AAC. 

Second, the team finished 11-2 last season. The two loses came to UCF, who has lost one game in two years, and Temple, who finished 7-1 in conference play. The Bearcats return leading offensive playmaker Michael Warren II, who amassed over 1,500 total offensive yards last season. All the pieces all in place for a miracle run under coach Luke Fickell, who spent 14 years as an Ohio State assistant before taking over the Cincinnati job a few years ago. The three major tests on their schedule will be Ohio State, UCF, and Memphis. If they run the table and knock off OSU, it’ll be hard to keep them out of the Playoff. 

Check out BetQL’s Value Bets for Week 1 of the upcoming NCAA football season.

The Tough Schedule

Stanford, +15000

Stanford owns the luxury of a great head coach, David Shaw, and a starting quarterback that will be drafted in 2020, KJ Castello. A big plus for the Cardinal is that both Pac-12 frontrunners, Washington and Oregon, travel to Stanford when they square off. The committee will look at an impressive out of conference schedule when making its decision. Stanford plays Northwestern, UCF, and Notre Dame in non-conference play. If the Cardinal can run the gauntlet, they will be guaranteed a spot with the impressive schedule and might even warrant consideration with one loss. 

The Original Power Five Slayer

Boise State, +25000

Before UCF there was Boise State, the small Mountain West team that was a danger to all who dared to play them. The Broncos have not had a losing record since 1997 and have only had five seasons under ten wins in that stretch. While the team lost last year’s starting quarterback and running back to the NFL, this hasn’t seemed to hurt the program in the past. 

The schedule is favorable for the Broncos as they will avoid Fresno State (until the Mountain West Championship game). They will start the season against an uncertain Florida State program and travel to play a scrappy Utah State. If Boise can get past these two important games, an undefeated season isn’t out of the question. 

Wondering where the money is going? Click here to access public betting data for Week 1 of the college football season.

The QB-WR Connection

Colorado, +100000

Colorado has what you need to succeed in the Pac-12: a first-round receiver and an NFL quarterback. The team started off 5-0 last season before losing seven-straight. New offensive coordinator Jay Johnson will fix that. Johnson had success at UL Lafayette from 2011 to 2015 and at Georgia from 2017 to 2018. Each year he was on an offensive staff, the team has thrived. The Buffalos get USC and Washington at home. With an elite offensive coordinator calling the plays for quarterback Steven Montez and receiver Laviska Shenault, expect this team to be dangerous in 2019. 

Note: The advice above represents the writer's personal view and does not reflect or represent BetQL's stance or interest in any way.

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