College Football Sleepers for the 2021 Season

2021 College Football Sleeper Teams To Bet

Each year, we see the College Football world be dominated by the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame. It’s gotten to the point where we can almost guarantee a playoff final between two of these teams each year, with the most likely scenario being Alabama vs. Clemson. However, that won’t stop most people from rooting for the underdogs, or literally any team that isn’t one of these. We want to see something different, something new and exciting. There are plenty of different programs in CFB that look to be on the verge of taking that next step towards contention, whether that be because of a new coach, a new quarterback, or maybe just a really good recruiting class. These teams will be some that maybe you wouldn’t expect to see make the college football playoff, but have a realistic shot to make a run at it and challenge these historically dominant teams. Let’s take a look at some and evaluate their odds to win the championship and their conference.

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Tennessee Volunteers
Championship Odds: +10000
To Win SEC Odds: +10000

Now that Josh Heupel is calling the shots for the Tennessee Volunteers, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be playing QB for the team this upcoming season. Harrison Bailey is the prime candidate, but whoever Heupel decides is the worthiest candidate will undoubtably improve in 2021. Heupel has been very successful in finding and developing young QB talent, with guys like Jordan Love and Drew Lock being some of his protégé’s. He made those two early-round picks in the NFL Draft, which just goes to show you how talented this man really is. The Vols do have holes elsewhere on their roster, but they have a very strong QB room with a very good coach, and that should immediately make them a team to watch out for in 2021.

Hendon Hooker transferred from Virginia Tech to join the QB room in Tennessee, while elite freshman Kaidon Salter will be looking to get his chance to win the starting job. Brian Maurer is also there and has some starting experience to build on, but the favorite to win the job right now out of all of these guys is Bailey. Last season, you saw some real talent shine through with Bailey on occasion, but the offense mainly was awful under coach Jeremy Pruitt and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. Bailey is a pure drop-back passer that stands at 6’5” and weighs in at 225 lbs. He’s the definition of a pocket-passer, completing 70% of his passes as a true freshman for 578 yards, while tossing four TD’s and two picks.

While Bailey has a ton of potential and should improve greatly under Heupel, he is still going to have to get through all the other guys I listed above if he wants to win the starting job. That’s not a sure thing either, as all of the players above are talented in their own right and bring something different to the table. New OC Alex Golesh said earlier this year that it doesn’t matter who is under center, they will adapt their system to fit the strengths of the starter.

Tennessee has a really good group of receivers that will be around whoever wins the job, and while the Vols will have some problems elsewhere potentially, they will be able to make up for it with their QB production under Heupel. This is the perfect time for a breakout year for the Vols.

LSU Tigers
Championship Odds: +5000
To Win SEC Odds: +3000

It feels really odd to be putting the LSU Tigers as sleepers, but after a 5-5 finish last year, that’s exactly where we find ourselves putting them. We’ll also have no problem taking them at these longer odds for this upcoming season. LSU is expected to return all but two of its starters from last year, which is a major advantage in CFB. The team also seemed to be getting things together during the later stretches of last season, after getting off to an absolutely horrid start in their defense of the 2019 Championship they won with QB Joe Burrow. Speaking of defense, LSU didn’t have any to start the season, giving up an insane number of points practically every game, which doomed the team early and was surprising to many fans.

When it comes to the overall talent on this team, good luck finding one with more than LSU outside of the Top 15 nationally ranked teams. They have weapons everywhere on both sides of the ball that will only get better after last year and improve during the season. Of course, head coach Ed Orgeron returns at the helm of this LSU team, but he’ll bring in two new coordinators with him this year. One of the biggest factors that will go into this upcoming season for LSU will be how these new coordinators use the immense talent they have in front of them, and if they will be able to get the very most out of them.

Don’t be too shocked if you see the Tigers once again competing for a championship when all is said and done, and I’ve learned that you never should underestimate LSU or coach Orgeron. They will make you pay.

Kansas State Wildcats
Championship Odds: +20000
To Win Big 12 Odds: +5000

From a Tiger to a Wildcat, so are the days of our lives. Ok, that was lame, but the Wildcats are poised to not be this upcoming season. If QB Skylar Thompson could just stay healthy, that is. Unfortunately for him and his school, that just has not been the case. Just last season, he was absolutely crushing stat sheets and racking up points as one of the best QB’s in the Big 12 before going out for the season with a shoulder injury against Texas Tech. He was completing 63% of his passes for 626 yards, while adding in four TDs through the air and three on the ground. He had already helped Kansas State upset the highly-favored Oklahoma Sooners earlier in the season, and was on pace to lead the Wildcats to a season unlike any they had experienced in recent years. Thanks to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 virus, Thompson will get one more crack at a special season for the Wildcats.

Thompson coming back will be a shot in the arm for this program, and for coach Chris Klieman, who has been tasked with bringing the school back to relevancy in a very tough CFB environment to do so. Thompson and Klieman has defeated the big-boy Sooners twice in a row now, showing how much this team has grown over their tenure together. Perhaps these wins will be the catalyst to more that is to come, and if Thompson can stay healthy in his “Super Senior” season with Kansas State, this is a team that could shock many in 2021.

Miami Hurricanes
Championship Odds: +5000
To Win ACC Odds: +1000

A storm is brewing in South Florida, but it’s not one that people will be taking shelter from. In fact, they will be going out to see it in droves, as their Hurricanes take the field in 2021. There are many reasons for this, starting with the return of QB D’Eriq King, who has been impressive to say the least in his time with Miami. In addition to having a Top-15 signing class in the nation, the ‘Canes will welcome RB Cam’Ron Harris, WR Mike Harley, and OT Jarrid Williams to an already potent offense. When you pair all of that with the fact that they will play against the Alabama Crimson Tide in their opener, they could get an early confidence boost if they put up a fight or even win.

One of the main keys for Miami will be if they can simply put all of the crazy expectations behind them and just play their brand of football. People keep wanting to see them become the early 2000’s teams that dominated and had multiple hall-of-fame caliber players on the team. This is not that team, but they are good nonetheless, and they need to just come out and show it. King should build upon his great season last year, and with all the talent coming into the team, it will be intriguing to see what he can do with such a great supporting cast.

Don’t sleep on Miami as a team that could seriously contend in 2021, even if they aren’t the same squad from two decades ago. Weird, I know.

California Bears
Championship Odds: +25000
To Win Pac 12 Odds: +5000

Just last year, California was picked as a sleeper team entering the 2020 season. There were a ton of people looking to go place their bets on the Bears to come out of the PAC-12 Conference and compete for a National Title with Chase Garbers under center. Things certainly didn’t work out that way for Garbers or his team. The 6’5” junior QB completed 63% of his passes for 771 yards, while passing for six TDs and three picks. Now, to their credit, it was a really messed up season last year for California. They went 1-3, but in an absolutely bizarre and ugly COVID-19 shortened season, which saw multiple of their games get cancelled due to health and safety protocols.

It was still a step backwards for the Bears in 2021, considering how much they and Garbers had progressed in 2019. The young QB racked up 28 TDs and was dominating the field before getting injured and missing out on the rest of his sophomore year. In 2020, he averaged just 5.7 yards per attempt and never threw for over 183 yards besides one performance against Oregon State. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrove couldn’t really do much for his QB last season, mostly because he really never got a chance to thanks to the cancelled games. This will be a critical season for them both, but Musgrove expressed his confidence in Garbers recently.

Look for Garbers to take a big step forward in 2021. There is a ton of potential in this young QB, and while his head coach is mostly defensive-minded, the play at QB will be what makes or breaks this team. If they can get great, difference making play out of Garbers again like they did in 2019, watch for the Bears to be back in contention in the PAC-12.

Boston College Eagles
Championship Odds: +25000
To Win ACC Odds: +3000

The Eagles will be the sleeper team for many this year after surprising a lot of people last year in Jeff Hafley’s first season as head coach with the team. Outside of their road contest against the Clemson Tigers, the rest of their schedule looks to be quite winnable. Under Hefley, Boston College has done a remarkable job recruiting players that probably wouldn’t usually be at a school like this. His persuasion skills must be great in order to get who they have, and they will need every one of them if they want to shock the nation. The 1-2 punch of QB Phil Jurkovec and WR Zay Flowers returns to the program, while they also land some impact transfers that will probably be immediate starters on the team.

I guess you really can’t consider them a sleeper after I just said that many people will be betting on them this season, but for the program that they are, I still think they classify as a team that we would love to see competing for something meaningful in 2021. The school has to be very encouraged as to where this program is heading under Hafley’s leadership, and they will look to take the next step towards becoming a serious contender next season.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Championship Odds: +25000
To Win ACC Odds: +10000

When head coach Geoff Collins was hired before the 2019 CFB season, it got many excited about the prospect of him rebuilding a program that had lost its way. After a very poor 2020 performance, there are many questions that need to be answered for him and the school. We all knew that switching from an option offense would be a huge challenge, as the differences are many and it takes a lot for players to adjust from playing a completely different brand of football. A 3-7 record while losing five out of six games to end the year, including some seriously embarrassing losses like a 73-7 thrashing by the Clemson Tigers, is not the way Collins was planning to rebuild this team.

One bright spot for the Yellow Jackets was freshman QB Jeff Sims, who while he had his ups and downs, mostly showed potential to be a star with his great play. He threw for 1,881 yards and ran for 492 more, solidifying his status as a great dual-threat out of the backfield. He had 19 total TDs, but threw 13 costly interceptions. You expect that though out of a very young rushing QB, and it doesn’t help that he didn’t have much around him to work with last season on a rebuilding team. He was not going to come in and change the entire program on his own.

With a full season under his belt and now more time to study the playbook, look for Sims to breakthrough in 2021. If he does, the Yellow Jackets will be a tough out, unlike last season.

Arizona State Sun Devils
Championship Odds: +10000
To Win PAC 12 Odds: +400

Another PAC-12 team that will not get the respect they deserve after a very complicated and odd 2020 season that saw many COVID-19 problems and cancellations. QB Jayden Daniels will look to put himself in the forefront of fans minds again after a weird 2020 season that really hurt the stock of the Sun Devils. They only played four games, not nearly enough to judge a team on, losing to UCLA and USC before scoring an incredible 116 points over their final two games. Something clicked in those last two games for offensive coordinator Zak Hill, and Daniels took a big step forward counting for six TDs during those two games.

Most will be looking towards the usual suspects of USC and Oregon to take the crown in the PAC-12, but Arizona State will be worth a look at their odds. They really aren’t that far behind the top teams, showing that oddsmakers really believe in them as well. They return many players this year, and with an offseason under their belt and the prospect of a full-season to keep building on, there is no reason to think they can’t keep up with some of the big boys out west, and prove that they belong as serious contenders in the west.

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