15 days until we’re gifted with the blessing that is college football once again and your SHB brain trust is biting at the bit to deliver our favorite preseason futures bets. 2023 marks the last year that college football will look remotely anything like what we’ve been accustomed to for the past two decades. What does that mean? Time to cash in on the trends we’ve exposed over the past two years. Trust SHB to set your foundational bets this season, enjoy the last remnants of true Power 5 conference play and always remember to bet smarter, not harder.

Q’s Futures Bets

SEC

Alabama to win SEC West (+105) (0.5 units)

LSU to win SEC West (+250) (0.5 units)

Georgia to win SEC Championship (-110) (1 unit)

LSU to win SEC Championship (+460) (0.25 units)

Given the fact that the SEC East is relatively abysmal this season (no offense Kentucky), I’m focusing most of my attention on purely SEC Champions and the SEC West.

Alabama is faced with the task of rebuilding after losing their Heisman QB, Bryce Young, to the NFL draft (keep pounding). That said, we’re talking about Nick Saban and one of the best recruiting institutions in recent memory here. Alabama’s defense lost some significant pieces from last year’s unit (including 1st round draft pick Will Anderson Jr) but they should still be stingy and the major question marks surround the QB position between Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner. Bama’s schedule is actually pretty tame by SEC standards this season, facing a potentially electric Texas team early and eventually facing what should be a very solid LSU squad (in Tuscaloosa). While I think LSU ultimately wins that matchup, its an easy hedge here to back the Tide to win their division just in case the juices are flowing in Tuscaloosa in November.

LSU has a ton of hype coming into this season, and for good reason. The Tigers return a considerable amount of talent from last year on both sides of the ball and Brian Kelly looks primed to make a Kirby Smart type breakthrough into the SEC winners’ circle this year. LSU should have one of the better defenses in the country this season, led by potential Heisman hopeful Harold Perkins and Mason Smith. Jayden Daniels looks primed for a major leap forward this season and if LSU can handle business against Florida State early this season (similar to when Joe Burrow handled Texas early on in their historic national championship campaign) then they should be in the driver seat to determine their own destiny for the majority of the year. Not only can LSU win their division this year, they could easily lift the SEC Championship trophy come December.

Listing Georgia here simply as a hedge given how awful the SEC East looks this year. Well, that and the fact that they are still absolutely loaded coming off of their second national championship victory in a row. The Bulldogs defense should once again be once of the best defensive units in the country and they return arguably the best TE in the country in Brock Bowers. Expect to see Georgia in the SEC Championship.

BIG 10

Wisconsin to win BIG 10 West (+140) (0.5 units)

Iowa to win BIG 10 West (+250) (0.5 units)

Ohio State to win BIG 10 Championship (+180) (0.5 units)

Michigan to win BIG 10 Championship (+180) (0.5 units)

Penn State to win BIG 10 Championship (+600) (0.25 units)

Taking my chances on the BIG 10 West this year given the disparity in talent. Wisconsin definitely should win this division given the arrival of Tanner Mordecai (SMU) and the retainment of their star running back Braelon Allen and star wide receiver Chimere Dike. They continue to field an elite defense and they will continue to benefit from playing in the weaker division of the conference.

Enter the Hawkeyes… Iowa should continue to field one of the best defensive units in the country this season (their standard for awhile now) and they picked up Cade McNamara in the transfer portal this offseason. The former Michigan QB was more than capable during his time at Ann Arbor and Iowa returns a significant number of its offensive line from last season. It feels like the Big 10 West should be a toss up between Wisconsin and Iowa this year so happy to split a unit across the two to be safe.

Now for the real Big 10 contenders… Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. If either one of these teams wins the BIG 10 East, they WILL win the conference.

Michigan’s resume is obvious… they return one of the best defensive units in the country, by far the best RB duo in the nation (Corum/Edwards), a wide receiver that absolutely shredded Ohio State at home last year (Cornelius Johnson) and JJ McCarthy has the opportunity to truly position himself as one of the best QBs in the country (simply by just doing his job on a great team). It feels like Michigan’s year, don’t expect another TCU type debacle in 2023.

Ohio State is faced with the challenge of replacing CJ Stroud but they still have one of the best defenses in the country and by far the best WR duo in college football. Marvin Harrison Jr is “Devonta Smith good” and Egbuka is no scrub. The general public seems to believe that the fate of this offense relies solely on Kyle McCord but the Buckeyes also have a highly touted freshman QB in their back pocket in needed (Devin Brown). Make no mistake, Ohio State does not view 2023 as a “rebuilding year”.

Penn State’s defense alone makes it a solid sleeper to steal the BIG 10 Championship this year. The Nittany Lions have the best secondary in college football and top 5 defensive line and line backer units in the country. They return a significant amount of talent on both sides of the ball and they should lean on their talented RB Nicholas Singleton to aid newcomer QB Drew Allar on offense. Don’t be surprised to see James Franklin make the breakthrough this year.

ACC

Clemson to win ACC Championship (+150) (0.5 units)

Clemson to make CFP (+340) (0.5 units)

Cade Klubnik, Will Shipley, Antonio Williams, Beaux Collins, Garrett Riley. This Clemson offense will come back to life under the guidance of the man that turned Max Duggan and the TCU offense last year into a national championship calibur unit. Cade Klubnik has Heisman level talent, Shipley should finally have a decent offensive line to run behind and we have no idea how good Williams and Collins even are yet (shout out DJ). The Tigers return significant talent on the defensive side of the ball including potential superstar Jeremiah Trotter, Andrew Mukuba and veterans Xavier Thomas/Tyler Davis. We’re talking about a team that has won 6 out of the last 7 ACC Championships… I’ll take positive odds on the Tigers to win what should be a wide open ACC all day long.

BIG 12

Texas to win BIG 12 Championship (+110) (1 unit)

Oklahoma to win BIG 12 Championship (+420) (0.25 units)

Texas might actually be back… The Longhorns have a loaded QB room in Quinn Ewers/Arch Manning, Xavier Worthy might be one of the best wide receivers in the country and people don’t realize that Texas had options outside of Bijan Robinson at running back all along. While defense continues to be an issue for virtually every BIG 12 team, there’s reason to believe this Texas offense will easily separate them from the rest of the BIG 12 pack. Don’t be surprised to see Texas avenge last year’s loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa this year.

Hedging with Oklahoma a bit here as I suspect a rebound year from Brent Venables’ Sooners on both sides of the ball. Dillon Gabriel should be a more serviceable QB now that he’s had more time to learn the offense and there’s no question that the defense will look more like a Venables constructed unit in year 2. BIG 12 teams tend to drop an easy game or two throughout the season so I definitely see value in sprinkling some fractional units on Oklahoma to win the conference just in case Texas drops the ball.

PAC 12

USC Under 10 Regular Season Wins (-110) (0.5 units)

Historically Heisman winners have struggled following their Heisman winning season. I don’t see Caleb Williams being any exception coming into 2023. Historical trends aside, USC faces Utah, Notre Dame, Washington and Oregon this season (in Oregon). It’s hard to think they’ll win 3 out of 4 of those matchups given some of the inconsistency they showed on the back end of last season. It’s also worth mentioning that they have a trap game at Colorado (Coach Prime Time) at the end of September and there’s always their rivalry game against UCLA at the end of the year. Expect to see some sizzle without the steak out of USC this year.

National Champion

Michigan (+850) (0.25 units)

I’ve already covered Michigan in my BIG 10 breakdown so I’ll keep this brief. They return one of the best offenses in the country, they continue to field one of the best defensive units in the country and they’re coming off an absolutely heartbreaking CFP loss to a TCU team that went on to get blown out by Georgia in the national championship. There’s a reason players like Blake Corum didn’t enter the draft this past year… UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

Heisman Winner

Drake Maye (+1800) (0.15 units)

Cade Klubnik (+1400) (0.15 units)

2023 feels like the year of the quarterback and Maye/Klubnik are the cream of the crop in my opinion. Heisman winning quarterbacks have posted the following averages since 2017:

Completion % AVG: 69.86%
Passing Yards AVG: 4,813.60
Passing TDs AVG: 46.80
INTs AVG: 6.20
Rating AVG: 187.22
Rushing Yards AVG: 412.40
Rushing TDs AVG: 7.00

Now take a look at the numbers that Drake Maye posted last year (his first year as a starter at UNC):

Completion %: 66.20%
Passing Yards: 4,321
Passing TDs: 38
INTs: 7
Rating: 157.9
Rushing Yards: 698
Rushing TDs: 7

Outside of Caleb Williams, no other QB in the field posted numbers as comparable as Drake Maye’s last season to a typical Heisman winner. UNC’s schedule isn’t terrible, Maye has numerous offensive weapons at his disposal and we’ve really only gotten a taste of what he’s potentially capable of at this point. We could very well see the Tarheel in NYC this December.

Total homer pick here but it’s impossible to neglect the potentially potent combination that is Cade Klubnik and Garrett Riley coming into this season. Clemson’s offense was an entirely different unit under Klubnik vs DJ and it’s hard not to wonder if the Tigers make the CFP last year if Klubnik earned the start from the jump. With Riley hopefully kicking the Tigers’ offense into gear coming into 2023, it’s definitely possible that Klubnik takes a meteoric step forward this season (similar to the much less touted Max Duggan last year under Riley’s tutelage). If Clemson wins an ACC Championship and earns another CFP appearance, Heisman is definitely within the reach of the second year gunslinger.

DPJ’s Futures Bets

SEC

Alabama to win SEC Championship (+600) (1 unit)

BIG 10

Iowa to win BIG 10 West (+250) (0.5 units)

Michigan to win BIG 10 Championship (+180) (1 unit)

ACC

Clemson to win ACC Championship (+150) (0.5 units)

BIG 12

Texas to win BIG 12 Championship (+110) (1 unit)

Texas to make CFP (+320) (0.5 units)

PAC 12

Utah to win PAC 12 Championship (+550) (0.5 units)

Arizona Over 4.5 Regular Season Wins (-175) (1 unit)

National Champion

Alabama (+600) (1 unit)

Heisman Winner

Quinn Ewers (+1200) (0.25 units)

Drake Maye (+1800) (0.25 units)

Top 2023 Games Of The Week

Week	Home	Away	Location
0	Navy	Notre Dame	Dublin, Ireland
1	LSU	Florida State	Orlando, FL
2	Alabama	Texas	Tuscaloosa, AL
3	Florida	Tennessee	Gainesville, FL
4	Clemson	Florida State	Clemson, SC
5	Ole Miss	LSU	Oxford, MS
6	Oklahoma	Texas	Red River Rivalry
7	Washington	Oregon	Seattle, WA
8	Ohio State	Penn State	Columbus, OH
9	Utah	Oregon	Salt Lake City, UT
10	Alabama	LSU	Tuscaloosa, AL
11	Penn State	Michigan	University Park, PA
12	Clemson	North Carolina	Clemson, SC
13	Michigan	Ohio State	Ann Arbor, MI

Disclaimer: SidehustlebetsMJQ.com is not an online gambling operator or a gambling site of any kind. Our insights about sports/sports betting are purely for entertainment purposes only