SEC newcomer Oklahoma is already the biggest liability to win the conference at one sportsbook
Oklahoma is preparing to play its first season as a member of the SEC and bettors are expecting greatness right from the start.
Despite the SEC being home to recent national title winners like Georgia, Alabama and LSU, and regularly hailed as the best conference in college football, it’s none other than the newcomer Sooners who are the biggest liability to win the conference at BetMGM.
Their +4000 odds do play a factor in that, as they rank right in the middle of the league as ninth best of 16 teams. But those odds apparently aren’t deterring fans, as the Sooners account for 16.3% of the money bet on a winner at BetMGM, which ranks fourth behind only Missouri (22.9%), Texas A&M (18.7%) and rival Texas (16.7%).
Oklahoma should be a tougher sell considering they were 10-3 a year ago with a schedule that figures to be much easier than the one they’ll play this season. Not to mention they’ll have a new quarterback under center with Dillon Gabriel out the picture.
After playing three AP top-25 ranked teams all last season, the Sooners have a 2024 schedule with at least five teams that finished the season ranked, including two national semifinalists in Alabama and Texas. They play six of the eight SEC teams with better odds than them. And though it’s reasonable to expect regression from Alabama after Nick Saban’s retirement, Georgia figures to remain a roadblock too.
Oklahoma bettors aren’t deterred, though. The Sooners are currently tied as the SEC’s fifth most-bet team by ticket percentage at 10.6%.