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.
Oregon Ducks
National title odds: 20-1
Season win total: 9.5
Phil Steele
Strengths: This team is loaded at the skill positions with fast, dangerous and experienced players. They lose three starters on the offensive line but add in Notre Dame transfer C Matt Hegarty and get back LT Tyler Johnstone, whom my buddy Gil Brandt is high on (Johnstone missed last year because of injury). All three defensive units rank in my top units in the front of the magazine. The defense has six starters back and All-American candidate DeForest Buckner. Vernon Adams Jr. is an accomplished passer who did well against Pac-12 competition when at Eastern Washington.
Weaknesses: Adams arrived at fall practice late and has only two weeks to win the starting job. The defense -- while good -- figures to be more of a top-40 D than an elite unit. They also have three brutal road games at Michigan State (Week 2), at Arizona State and at Stanford.
Over/under: Marcus Mariota was special, and while Helfrich is 24-4 as a head coach, all of those were with Mariota at the controls. At first glance you look and see that Oregon has double-digit wins every year since 2007, but I am actually going to lean (very slightly) with the under here as Stanford is my pick to win the Pac-12 North.
National title: The 20-1 odds are interesting, and Oregon has been a title contender for years and returns a lot of talent. I have Stanford winning the North and USC winning the Pac-12, so I have no interest here. If you believe in the Ducks, there is definitely value here, although there was a lot more at 30-1.
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin
The Ducks' life without Mariota started the day after their loss in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The biggest question surrounding the "Eugene Green" is if there will be a huge drop-off at the quarterback position without Mariota. In the past, we have seen guys like Darron Thomas and Brian Bennett come in and run the Ducks' system without a hiccup. Now, everyone expects the Eastern Washington transfer Adams to take the shotgun snaps Week 1 this year, but the question is how well will he perform?
I am in the camp that the Ducks' system helps bring out the best in the starting QB's talents, but I think the idea of Adams stepping in to replace Mariota and saying everything will be OK is a huge overstatement. People have to give Mariota more credit for what he did when he was in control. I always feared for teams going against Mariota because he was so smart and always seemed to get the Ducks in the perfect play in every situation.
Maybe Helfrich can simplify some plays and reads for his new QB, but I don't see their offense being as lethal as it was with Mariota. Week 2 provides a huge opportunity for the Ducks as they will play in prime time in East Lansing against Michigan State. If the Ducks win that, look out, as the Pac-12 could go through Eugene again. I would think they might be an underdog in only one other game on their schedule... (at Stanford on Nov. 14, currently a pick-'em).
O/U: I'll say the Ducks take a step back this season and don't make it to 10 wins. Take the under.
Chris Fallica
The Ducks are long past being the team with the cute uniforms -- they are a national power. Oregon has been ranked in the AP top three 33 of the last 47 weeks. And the Ducks have spent 79 of the last 86 weeks ranked in the top 10. But this is a big year for Helfrich, as Mariota has moved on. Can the QB Adams do enough to keep the Ducks' offense rolling? And there are questions about the defense. In 2010, when Oregon played for the national title, it led all Power 5 teams in defensive efficiency. Last year, Oregon fell to 28th among the 65 Power 5 teams. Where art thou Nick Aliotti?
O/U: Even without Mariota, I have a mental block thinking Oregon will go 9-3. Even if the Ducks lose in East Lansing to Michigan State, Oregon will have to lose at Arizona State and Stanford -- or one of those games and at home to USC -- to go under. Looks like another double-digit win total for the Ducks. Take the over.
Title odds: This is decent value for a team that returns quite a bit from last year. Sure the QB is new, but the Ducks were riddled with injuries at the wide-receiver position last year and now those players return, as does Royce Freeman. You could do worse than backing a team that hasn't won fewer than 11 games in a season since 2009.