College Football Betting: Crimson Tide, Tigers Will Lead SEC Back in to National Title

When the Alabama Crimson Tide was selected to play the LSU Tigers in the 2012 BCS Championship game, two things happened. First of all, the two best college football teams in the country were slated against one another there is no doubt about that. Second, it guaranteed that the national title would be won by an SEC school for the sixth consecutive year, dating back to Florida’s win over Ohio State in 2006. The Southeastern conference has easily been the most dominant in college football over the last five sportsbook seasons, and while the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M change the landscape a little bit, don’t expect anything less than a strong group of national title contenders from the SEC once again this 2012-13 season.

Leading the way is Nick Saban and the defending national champion Crimson Tide, which avenged a tough regular season loss to LSU that included four missed field goals in the BCS Championship game. Alabama dominated the Tigers in to submission, shutting them out 21-0 in front of a packed house in New Orleans, which of course is LSU territory.

With two national titles in the past three years, the Crimson Tide is on the verge of becoming a college football betting dynasty. Alabama lost five players to the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL draft, including running back Trent Richardson, who went third overall. However, Saban scored the best recruiting class in the nation once again, and with several veterans still on the team he should have no problem filling the holes with capable talent.

Right behind the Crimson Tide once again is LSU, which went undefeated last season until coming up short in the BCS Championship game. The Tigers return 13 starters from last year’s team including the Honey Badger Tyann Matieu, who was an All-American cornerback last season. LSU will be in the national title race until the very end, even with a very tough schedule. While the defending SEC West champions won’t fly under the radar by any standard, the same cannot be said about Georgia after it won the SEC East division last season. The Bulldogs return 15 starters including quarterback Aaron Murray, who should be a legitimate Heisman trophy candidate according to most bookies, yet it is Alabama and LSU that are getting all of the attention.

As for the rest of the SEC, it’s hard to imagine that the conference schedule won’t take its toll. Even though some of the best teams in the country reside in the SEC, including Arkansas, Tennessee, and Auburn as potential sleepers within the conference, a brutal schedule will limit the potential for these teams to compete in the national title picture. The 5Dimes odds say that the national champion will emerge from the SEC once again this season, and the odds that can be found on the best NCAA football betting sites reflect exactly that as we get closer to the 2012-13 season.