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 Aug. 22.
Oklahoma Sooners
National title odds: 10-1 (opened 7-1)
Season win total: 10
FPI win total projection: 10.5
Phil Steele
Strengths: The Sooners have two Heisman candidates in quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Samaje Perine. They have my No. 22 offensive line, No. 19 defensive line, No. 4 set of defensive backs and their special teams remain a strength (No. 5). They are a complete football team.
Weaknesses: All eight units rank
Over/under (10): I have the Sooners favored in all 12 games this year and they have the clearest path to the College Football Playoff of any team in the country. The preseason top-five note I mentioned above does worry me, but I like them to finish with over 10 wins.
Title odds (10-1): I like that the Sooners have the clearest path to the playoff, but their odds are a little short for me, especially with Oklahoma's poor history of being ranked in the preseason top five.
'Stanford Steve' Coughlin
O/U: A year ago, I picked the Sooners to win the Big 12; this year, not so much. I think the road is simply too tough with games vs. Houston, vs. Ohio State, at TCU and vs. Texas all in a row and then road trips to Lubbock and Morgantown later in the year. Don't get me wrong, the Sooners have a lot of things to like, including their QB Mayfield and head coach Stoops, and those are my main factors for a team when I try and project how successful their season will be.
On the other hand, the last four times the Sooners have been ranked in the preseason top five, they haven't needed the season ranked higher than No. 15. I'm also stubborn when I watch OU play, because I don't think their best player, RB Samaje Perine, gets enough touches -- I want more than 226 rush attempts and 15 catches for him this season. I just don't see Boomer Sooner winning 10 or more games this year.
Title odds: Not only do I not see the Sooners winning 10 games, I don't see them winning their conference. Therefore, they are not worth a bet for the national title.
Chris Fallica
O/U (10): Oklahoma won 11 games last year, which included a game it could have -- some may even say should have -- lost in Knoxville and three games vs Big 12 opponents in which the Sooners faced a backup QB. So it's fair to say they got some breaks last year. And by now, we all know the recent history when Oklahoma is ranked in the preseason top five.
The offense should score a bunch of points with Mayfield and Perine, but don't underestimate the loss of WR Sterling Shepard or key pass-rushers and linebackers on defense. While I think OU will handle Houston in the season opener, the third, fourth and fifth games -- vs. Ohio State, at TCU and vs. Texas -- will be interesting. Texas has beaten OU two of the last three years as big underdogs and easily covered in 2014 in a five-point loss. While 11-1 is possible, I would play under, thinking 10-2 is the most probable outcome.
Title odds (10-1): It seems like a short price, but as was the case with LSU, if the Sooners make it through Houston, Ohio State and TCU in September, this price will probably be halved. So, at 8-1, it is worth a hedge against the under-10 play.