The 2024-25 college football season officially kicks off in two days, which means it's time to get those futures in.
Betting on futures is a beautiful thing. When we're in the middle of the waiting game — the long 7.5-month stretch without college football — we can turn to our futures portfolios to get our fix.
But with games kicking off on Saturday, that won't be necessary for long. In fact, our season-long betting opportunities are winding down, so it's time to make the most of them.
Our staff of college football experts came through with six futures for the upcoming season. So, whether you're looking for national title futures or conference futures for the Power Four or Group of Five, we have you covered.
Continue reading for our staff's favorite college football futures for the 2024 season.
College Football Futures for 2024
| Bettor | Future |
|---|---|
| Mike McNamara | |
| Thomas Schlarp | |
| Patrick Strollo | |
| Brett Pund | |
| Mike Ianniello | |
| Greg Waddell | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
To Win National Championship (+2500)
Notre Dame hasn’t quite had the athletes to compete with the cream of the crop in college football over the last couple of decades. The Irish have had plenty of good seasons, but they’ve consistently come up short against the game’s elite.
I believe this year can actually be different.
Take a look at last year’s Michigan team, which gave a blueprint on how to still win at the highest level without having top-end talent on the perimeter. The Wolverines were dominant in the trenches on both sides of the ball, had steady quarterback play and an elite defense.
Notre Dame has a lot of those ingredients in 2024.
Riley Leonard comes over from Duke and gives Marcus Freeman a veteran quarterback who can take care of the football and also use his legs to create when things break down.
I expect the Notre Dame defense to be as good as any unit in America, returning key pieces at every level, including Rylie Mills, Jack Kiser, Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison.
The Irish should be able to play with anybody with that type of defense, and if some of the portal hauls at wide receiver pan out, there are plenty of weapons on offense with an already loaded running back room.
The schedule is very manageable — Notre Dame should be a favorite of at least a touchdown in nine games, with three difficult tests: at Texas A&M to open the year, home against FSU off a bye and at USC to close the regular season.
A 10-2 record likely puts ND in the playoff as a top-eight seed, and an 11-1 or 12-0 resume certainly would.
That means a home playoff game in South Bend in December, where you’d have to like the Irish's chances.
From there, you’re in the quarterfinals, and anything can happen at that point.
At a number north of 20-1 with plenty of hedge opportunities, we should be licking out chops at this number. Notre Dame's physicality and elite defense should give it a chance to beat any team in America on any given night.
I’ll take a piece of the Irish at this number to end a 36-year national title drought.
Pick: Notre Dame to Win National Championship (+2500 · Play to +2100)
Oregon Ducks
To Win Big Ten (+220)
No Bo, no problem.
The Ducks shouldn’t skip a beat in a new conference and are poised for their best season to date under Dan Lanning, even sans the ageless Bo Nix, who put together one of the best statistical careers of any Oregon quarterback.
Oregon was busy in the transfer portal, adding veteran Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Texas A&M receiver Evan Stewart to bolster an already talent-laden offense that returns Tez Johnson and Jordan James.
Even with the departure of center Jackson Powers-Johnson to the NFL, Oregon still has one of the best offensive lines in the nation, giving Gabriel plenty of time to pick from his treasure trove of options.
The defense, in large part thanks to some big portal additions, is near the top of college football’s TARP rankings and stands to be even better than it was just a season ago.
The Ducks draw the unfavorable straw of having to face both Ohio State (in Eugene) and Michigan (in Ann Arbor), but they can afford to drop one of those games and still make the Big Ten Championship.
Assuming Oregon’s front seven can hold up with the physicality of the Wolverines in a potential rematch, the only other team that can measure up to the Ducks’ talent in a title game would be the Buckeyes.
In what's likely a wash at the other 21 positions, I’ll take the better quarterback in Gabriel over Will Howard to give the Ducks a picture-perfect Big Ten debut.
Pick: Oregon to Win Big Ten (+220 Play to +200)
Iowa Hawkeyes
To Win Big Ten (+3500)
Even though the Big Ten will feature a new look this season with the addition of a handful of West Coast counterparts, some of the most important tenets of American society will hold steady. Those are, in reverse order, death, taxes and the Iowa defense being an impenetrable force for opposing offenses.
Now, I won’t spend too much time belaboring the point, but the Hawkeye defense is something special. Iowa returns the second-most production (86%) in the nation and enters the season as the top-ranked defensive unit, per SP+.
The Hawkeyes haven’t finished outside the top 20 in total defense in the last five years, and all signs are pointing toward another excellent defensive season.
However, things once again get a bit murky on offense. Simply put, the Hawkeyes have struggled. Even through the struggles and finishing in last place in total offense in FBS, Iowa won the Big Ten West and 10 regular-season games last year.
What this team has been able to accomplish over the years without a vibrant offense is truly amazing. Fortunately for Iowa, things are looking up for the offense.
At the conclusion of the season, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz — the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz — was replaced by Tim Lester.
After spending last season as an offensive analyst with the Green Bay Packers and six seasons as the Western Michigan head coach before that, Lester will look to put his mark on Big Ten play-calling.
Lester has significant experience coaching quarterbacks and calling plays. During his time at Western Michigan, he was the primary play-caller for three seasons in which the Broncos finished inside the top 35 in total offense (2018-20).
Lester will be working with plenty of talent in Iowa City with quarterback Cade McNamara returning from an ACL injury and veterans lining up at every position on the line.
Production at the receiver position should only go up this year given the new scheme and players returning from injury.
Iowa sits at +3500 to win the Big Ten right now. This number is seriously mispriced. The Hawkeyes return nearly the same defense as last year — a unit that got them to the Big Ten Championship with the worst offense in the country.
With a nepotism-free offensive coordinator and perhaps the best defense in all of college football, don’t be surprised if you see Iowa finish the season as conference champs.
Pick: Iowa to Win Big Ten (+3500 · Play to +3100)
Oklahoma State Cowboys
To Win Big 12 (+800)
At the beginning of last season, Oklahoma State decided to go another direction in the run game. Veteran coach Mike Gundy knew it would take some time for the team to grasp the new concept, and it showed with the Cowboys losing to South Alabama and Iowa State.
However, they responded by winning seven of their final eight games to earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship. With so many returners back from last year’s squad, I’m expecting more of the same from the Pokes here.
Gundy brings back one of the more experienced squads in the country with 19 starters returning. This includes Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon II at running back, quarterback Alan Bowman, all five offensive linemen and the top four tacklers.
The next key to any run to a conference title is how the team’s schedule sets up. Yes, the Pokes have a stretch of playing Utah, Kansas State and West Virginia in consecutive weeks.
However, with two of those in Stillwater, I like the Cowboys’ chances of getting a pair of wins. This run of games also means Oklahoma State’s end-of-season schedule is favorable.
Over the last six contests, the Pokes play five opponents that finished with a losing record in 2023. That sets up Gundy and his veteran roster to build some momentum late in the season, which I think has a great shot at ending with a conference championship.
Pick: Oklahoma State to Win Big 12 (+800 · Play to +650)
James Madison Dukes
To Win Sun Belt (+750)
Curt Cignetti left James Madison for Indiana, and he took nearly the entire All-Sun Belt defense with him. The Dukes also lost quarterback Jordan McCloud to Texas State and Reggie Brown, Jalen Green and Jamree Kromah to the NFL.
But the long list of losses has created value on James Madison.
Bob Chesney comes in from Holy Cross and brings a pedigree of winning everywhere he has gone.
Dylan Morris transfers in at quarterback from Washington after four seasons with the Huskies. He was the starter at Washington for a bit before losing his job to Michael Penix Jr. He finished with 20 touchdown passes in his Pac-12 career and now gets another shot at being QB1.
James Madison also brings in running back George Pettaway from North Carolina and Ayo Adeyi from North Texas for a strong running back room, but the wide receiver group will be pretty inexperienced.
This defense was absolutely gutted and loses everybody except cornerback Chauncey Logan and safety Jacob Thomas.
Luckily for JMU, Chesney brought FCS All-American linebacker Jacob Dobbs with him from Holy Cross. The two-time Patriot Defensive Player of the Year should be a huge help to run this defense.
Not only do I think the talent on the field will be better than people expect, but this schedule sets up very easy for them. James Madison will play at North Carolina early and at Appalachian State late, but it plays the seven worst teams in the Sun Belt.
If Chesney can stabilize the ship, James Madison could be 9-1 heading into the App State game. So, you're essentially getting the Dukes +750 to beat App State and reach the title game.
If everything clicks, James Madison can finally win the Sun Belt after being ineligible for the last two seasons.
Pick: James Madison to Win Sun Belt (+750 · Play to +700)
Big Ten Conference
To Win National Championship (+145)
OK, let’s talk about some contenders here.
With the debut of the 12-team playoff looming, it's incredibly likely that either the SEC or Big Ten will claim ownership of this year’s eventual national champion.
Both superconferences have added potential winners, with Texas (and Oklahoma) joining the SEC and Oregon (and USC, UCLA and Washington) joining the Big Ten.
Combined, both conferences represent eight of the top nine teams in the preseason AP Poll — four from each conference. But the value lies in the Big Ten when we dive deeper into who those contenders are.
Only three schools received a vote for first place in the preseason poll, and two of them belong to the Big Ten in Ohio State and Oregon.
There isn’t as much that separates Georgia from these two as there may seem on the surface. As far as “championship favorites” go, it's fair to classify this season as a three-team race, and two of those favorites are Big Ten programs.
In the second tier, where you would find Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss, we have Penn State and Michigan. At least one of these two is likely to make the playoff, and if the Wolverines can find answers at quarterback, the defending national champions have a contender-level defense ready to compete.
At +145 odds, there's value that makes this prop worth betting. It wouldn’t be a surprise whatsoever if the consensus top two teams at the end of the season are Oregon and Ohio State. If that plays out, there will be hedge opportunities galore if you’re sitting on this prop.
Pick: A Big Ten Team to Win National Championship (+145 · Play to +130)
