The start of the college football season is less than a week away, but there's still time to lock in some futures bets.
The latest: After a surprise season last year, the Missouri Tigers are among my favourite under-the-radar teams to bet on in 2024. I'm also backing a pair of teams to make the College Football Playoff at plus money and calling out my Heisman Trophy pick.
Check out these five college football futures bets to make for the 2024 season.
College football futures bets
Click linked odds to add selection to your betslip. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| Futures bet | Odds | Bet now ⬇️ |
| Missouri over 9.5 wins | +115 | Add to betslip |
| Winning conference - Big Ten | +150 | Add to betslip |
| Florida State to make the playoff | +150 | Add to betslip |
| Utah to make the playoff | +210 | Add to betslip |
| Jalen Milroe to win the Heisman | +1,400 | Add to betslip |
Go to full NCAAF betting markets.
Missouri over 9.5 wins (+115): Was last year a fluke for Missouri, or a glimpse of future success? We'll find out soon enough.
The Tigers went 10-2 (6-2 SEC) before beating a shorthanded Ohio State squad in the Cotton Bowl. That marked Mizzou's first season with double-digit wins since 2014, which was also the last time it'd won a bowl game.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has been building this program since 2020, and his roster continuity this fall is envious.
Quarterback Brady Cook is back for his fifth year, as are each of his top five receiving targets from 2023.
There are plenty of moving parts on defence, but it's nice to know the offence can roll with the same stars. Last year, the Tigers ranked 29th in FBS in points per game (32.5).
Mizzou has a soft landing to start. Its first four games are at home against subpar squads: Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College and Vanderbilt.
The No. 11 Tigers only play three of the eight SEC schools ranked in the preseason AP poll. A win against at least one of those three would put them in an excellent position to cash.
Title-winning conference - Big Ten (+150): Yes, the SEC has a whopping eight schools ranked in the preseason poll. But the Big Ten is close behind with six, led by Ohio State and Oregon at Nos. 2 and 3.
Backing the SEC to be the title-winning conference carries -175 juice. There are some juggernauts in that cohort, but I prefer the plus-money side with the Big Ten.
Ohio State is set up for success this year with an upgrade at quarterback (Kansas State transfer Will Howard), a tandem of veteran running backs and arguably the deepest receiver room in the country (even after Marvin Harrison Jr. departed for the NFL).
As for Oregon, the addition of quarterback Dillon Gabriel means that Dan Lanning's No. 2-ranked scoring offence from last year should hardly miss a beat in the post-Bo Nix era.
Can No. 8 Penn State take a long-awaited step forward? Can No. 9 Michigan avoid a national championship hangover? If either pans out, you're suddenly looking at an even more attractive cluster to put your money behind.
College Football Playoff picks
Florida State to make the playoff (+150): Last year, Florida State was the biggest playoff snub in CFP history.
Despite a 13-0 record, the Seminoles were held out by voters due to injuries to their top two quarterbacks. Life just isn't fair sometimes, is it?
I'm not banking on a perfect record for FSU this year, but I do think it has the horses to land in the expanded playoff field. The Seminoles have a veteran offensive line that should make life a bit easier on transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
Though a few defensive playmakers departed for the NFL, there are still some ballers in Tallahassee. And head coach Mike Norvell supplemented his roster with the No. 7 transfer portal class, per 247 Sports.
No. 10 FSU is the favourite to win the ACC and only has one conference road game against a ranked school (at No. 19 Miami on Oct. 26).
Utah to make the playoff (+210): Like Florida State, Utah is favoured to win its conference. That's a nice place to start.
What really excites me about the Utes is the return of seventh-year QB Cam Rising. He led Utah to back-to-back conference titles in 2021-22 before a knee injury wiped out his '23 campaign.
Utah's 19th-ranked scoring defence returns all three of its starting linebackers, too.
Kyle Whittingham, once the understudy for Urban Meyer, has guided Utah to a winning record in 17 of 19 seasons. Entering a very winnable Big 12 that lost Oklahoma and Texas, I think he and Rising can lead the Utes to a CFP berth.
College football futures bets: Heisman pick
Jalen Milroe to win the Heisman Trophy (+1,400): Milroe has the tools to win college football's highest individual honour.
Last year, his rocket arm and swift legs led to some really impressive numbers:
- 10.0 pass yards per attempt (third in FBS)
- 172.2 passer rating (fifth in FBS)
- 12 rush TDs (most among SEC quarterbacks)
Milroe did also take 44 sacks, though, which was the third-most in the nation. So he's not a finished product yet.
Working with a new head coach in Kalen DeBoer could have its challenges, but DeBoer was at the helm of Michael Penix Jr.'s Heisman finalist campaign last year. Before that, he helped make Jake Haener a star at Fresno State.
Milroe is less of a pure passer than Penix or Haener, but he's also a far more explosive runner. Alabama's offence will decidedly be on Milroe's shoulders, and I expect him to put up huge numbers.
Picks made as of 2:00 p.m. on 08/18/2024.
