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3 Top NCAAF Teams That Could Burn Bettors in 2025

Notre Dame Fighting Irish layers celebrate after a touchdown against the Navy Midshipmen.
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Whether you are just starting to dig into college football or, like some of us, you have spent a great deal of time going over the conferences and the individual teams, you have a general idea of who the national contenders are, especially if you’ve checked out the futures at the college football odds boards.

For many conferences, just your memory from last season would do for expected contenders for the upcoming season.

What you might not know is who some of the squads are that should do well, but might end up disappointing the alumni and bettors as backers this upcoming campaign. We are not saying these teams will be failures; they just have question marks that are more obvious than others.

Odds to Win NCAAF Championship

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

  • Odds to Win: +900
  • Win Total: Over/Under 10.5 at Bovada

After Notre Dame was upset and outplayed at home by Northern Illinois last season, Irish fans were wondering where the “fight” in the nickname was, with the thought they were staring at an 8-4 season.

The coaching staff and players knew they were better than they played and committed to a united effort. Notre Dame made it to the national championship, where they lost to a better Ohio State crew.

Defense Remains Strong Despite Key Losses

The Fighting Irish had one of the best defenses in the country a year ago, and while they lost some talented individuals, they have a slew of fast, athletic football players (as opposed to workout warriors) on the two-deep roster. One difference from last year, DC Al Golden’s success sent him to the Cincinnati Bengals, and former Rutgers coach Chris Ash takes his place.

Ash spent the last four years in the NFL, but will the players immediately buy into his methods? Sometimes a new coordinator has great first-year results at a big-time program. However, that is usually with underachievers, not Top 10 defenses.

Tough Early Schedule Could Define Notre Dame’s Season

After taking the transfer route for a quarterback off and on recently, coach Marcus Freeman is going homegrown with freshman CJ Carr and sophomore Kenny Minchey.

Carr is the expected starter, and his first college game will be in the sweltering heat and humidity at Miami against the Hurricanes.

Miami has the #12 odds to win a title. They have an experienced QB in Carson Beck (Georgia). If the Irish survive that, they return home 13 days later to face revenge-minded Texas A&M, who has the #13 odds at Bovada.

A 1-1 start wouldn’t be great, but 0-2 is a deep crater to climb out of.

Oregon Ducks

  • Odds to Win: +1000
  • Win Total: Over/Under 10.5 at Bovada

It is easy to forget that last December, Oregon was the #1 seed in the playoff tournament. The Ducks were demolished by Ohio State in a rematch, 41-21 in the playoff quarterfinals.

Lanning’s Next Challenge: Winning the Big One

Dan Lanning has proven to be a very good head coach, but his next step is winning THE big game, which has eluded him in two years at Eugene.

Lanning’s coaching and organizational skills will be tested. Job 1 is rebuilding the lines on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Four offensive line starters and four of last season’s five primary defensive tackles are gone. Lanning worked the portal well and brought in his usual highly ranked recruits. Still, replacing that much talent is not simple.

Job 2 is the new QB taking snaps. Dante Moore was the #2 prospect out of high school, and he had an uneven first year at UCLA, showcasing unique skills and a head-scratching lack of football fundamentals. Moore will have far more talent around in whatever uniforms Oregon wears. Plus, the pass catchers are mostly transfers. He’s not worked with them other than in the off-season.

Schedule Gives Time, But Not Much

The early schedule is not daunting until the end of September, with a trip to Penn State. The rest is doable until they take on USC and Washington.

Lanning has time to find answers, as long as each question mark is not multiplied.

Michigan Wolverines

  • Odds to Win: +3500
  • Win Total: Over/Under 8.5 at Bovada

If you beat Ohio State and Alabama in the same season and neither was a home game, you would expect that club to do better than 8-5. That’s not the case for Michigan.

The Wolverines enter their second season under coach Sherrone Moore, who quickly learned that elite teams require quality quarterback play. He did not have that in 2024.

Moore brought in freshman 5-star recruit Bryce Underwood and Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene. The junior transfer took a step backward with unproven receivers last year, and questions surround a 5’11 (?) QB being a stud in the Big Ten. Moore must have one of these two to emerge as an excellent quarterback.

Offensive Line Concerns After Years of Stability

In Jim Harbaugh’s tenure, the offensive line was never a question. It is now. After the championship season, Michigan lost its top six players (in terms of snap counts), followed by seeing five of its top eight hogs in the trenches move on. With the QB situation iffy to start the year, having a stellar running game is imperative at Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines are also unsettled at skill positions. Moore and his staff feel they addressed those sufficiently, but with a new QB and O-Line, Michigan, with a win total of 8.5, was done so for a reason. In the first half of the season, there are roadies at Oklahoma, Nebraska, and USC. That will determine the Wolverines’ fate.

*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.