With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Sept. 1.
Auburn Tigers
National title odds: 15-1
Season win total: 8.5
Phil Steele
Strengths: New quarterback Jeremy Johnson is an upgrade in the passing game, and Duke Williams (if he stays eligible) is one of the top receivers for next year's draft. Plus, the Tigers have three talented running backs to fill the backfield void as well as three NFL-caliber O-linemen in Alex Kozan, Avery Young and Shon Coleman. They bring in new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and get back dynamic D-lineman Carl Lawson, who missed last season.
Weaknesses: Johnson is not the same dynamic runner that Nick Marshall was. While the defense figures to be improved, it has allowed 410 yards per game in Gus Malzahn's two years at the helm. And while the D could rank in the top 30, it won't be at the level of elite units Alabama and LSU.
Over/under: The Tigers are actually an underdog in three games as of now, including road trips to LSU and Arkansas and a home game versus Alabama. They also have to play Texas A&M on the road. I am thinking Auburn will go 9-3 this year, as seven of my nine sets of power ratings call for the over.
National title odds: I have Auburn coming in third in the SEC West, but it is one of my three prime-time contenders -- and that makes the Tigers a threat for the national title. Johnson is drawing Cam Newton comparisons because of his size (Cam won a national title in his first year as a starter). I would have expected the odds to be under 10-1, as Auburn was the media's pick to win the SEC.
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin
As I mentioned in the Ohio State Buckeyes write-up, I love the idea of a quarterback with experience and a head coach returning to a team when you look at expectations for their upcoming season.
Malzahn has proven he can score points with a converted safety at quarterback the past two years, which included an appearance in the final BCS title game two years ago. Johnson, who will be taking shotgun snaps for War Eagle, was really impressive to me last year, and when you figure in that the stud Williams is back at receiver, it doesn't matter who will be taking handoffs in this system; I expect Auburn to be lighting up the scoreboard this year. I mentioned before last season that I think over bets are easier in Auburn games now than Oregon games, and I see that trend continuing.
When you look at the schedule, it looks a lot like the schedule the Tigers played two years ago when they made the BCS title game. No one loves new defensive coordinator Muschamp more than I do, so I might be a little biased here, but I expect him to have a major impact on Auburn's season. Therefore, I like this team to win the SEC, and I do like the Tigers' chances to make the College Football Playoff.
O/U: Go with the over.
Chris Fallica
I'm not as high on Auburn as most people. The last time Auburn was ranked in the preseason top 10 and finished the season with the same or better ranking was 1989. But in a balanced, competitive SEC West, I can't argue with anyone who likes them. Amazingly, when Johnson starts the opener for Auburn, he will be the first Auburn quarterback to start the season opener in consecutive years since Brandon Cox in 2006-2007.
O/U: I think under is the way to go here. A majority of the offense is unproven, even with the return of Williams at wideout, but Malzahn has earned the benefit of the doubt on offense. Auburn will be a dog at LSU, Arkansas and probably Texas A&M; lose those three and the Tigers would need to go 9-0 the rest of the way to cash the over.
Title odds: Yes, the SEC champ will be in the playoff, but I don't think 15-1 odds on a team whose win total is 8.5 is worth it. And while Muschamp was brought in to help the defense, the Tigers have been mediocre on defense since 2009 -- 5.6 yards per play in that span, 50th among 65 Power 5 teams. And in the past 50 games against SEC opponents, the Tigers have allowed at least 31 points in more than half of them (26 times).