College Football Odds: Alabama Crimson Tide Favored to Win BCS Championship

The first release of the BCS standings doesn't happen until Week 8 of the season, but there's already been a shift in the betting market in terms of which team is likely to win it all.

This year's BCS National Championship Game will be played on Jan. 9, 2012, inside the Louisiana Superdome.

Let's take a look at the favorite and eight other teams that are vying to replace the Auburn Tigers as college football's national champion.

Virginia Tech Hokies (+1500)

The Virginia Tech Hokies have played a pretty soft schedule to start the season and will likely come away with another win in traveling to face Marshall this weekend.

Starting in Week 5, the level of competition rises, with back-to-back home games against Clemson and Miami (FL).

It's quite possible that head coach Frank Beamer runs the table and doesn't even get a spot in the national title game.

The ACC is perceived as one of the weaker BCS conferences around, which didn't receive any help with Florida State's loss to Oklahoma.

Looking elsewhere.

West Virginia Mountaineers (+1500)

If you like the West Virginia Mountaineers to upset the LSU Tigers—than there's no better time to buy.  From a betting perspective, I definitely think the Big East team has a chance of at least covering the prime-time contest this weekend.

First-year head coach Dana Holgorsen has done a nice job in getting the team out to a 3-0 start, but it's hard to imagine that he wins it all after just being hired in June.

Quarterback Geno Smith is doing a great job in leading the Big East in total offense this year, but I wish the program brought more players back on defense, as the unit was the only one to finish the 2010 season without allowing 24 or more points.

Just can't do it.

Florida Gators (+1200)

Defense wins championships, but playing better ones will likely cause this program to fall short in its first year under Will Muschamp.

The schedule is incredible daunting, hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide on Oct. 1, followed by a trip to the Bayou to face the LSU Tigers.

I have a feeling that those two teams will show up in this slideshow with shorter odds to win it all.

Pass.

Stanford Cardinal (+1200)

The departure of former head coach Jim Harbaugh was obviously overstated, as offensive coordinator David Shaw has stepped in and led the team to a 3-0 straight-up and against-the-spread record.

Of course, it's always nice to have a future No. 1 pick in the NFL draft at quarterback.

Stanford will likely roll into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a perfect 7-0 record, which will have the USC Trojans fired up under second-year head coach Lane Kiffin.

The last three games of the campaign are to be played inside Stanford Stadium, but all three opponents are capable of knocking off the Cardinal.

Oregon, California and Notre Dame are certainly capable of sending shock waves to the BCS standings in the final weeks of the season.

I'm still not buying at the current price.

Boise State Broncos (+800)

Boise State's biggest obstacle is its strength of schedule that has weakened over the first three weeks of the season.

TCU's season-opening loss to Baylor did the team no favors, while Georgia picked up its second loss of the season against South Carolina in Athens.

It just doesn't seem to work out for head coach Chris Petersen, who will likely have to settle for a trip to the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar Bowl.

The bookmaker has marked this team with sharp betting odds at this point.

Wisconsin Badgers (+800)

I'm not sold on this team due to its schedule or the perceived weakness of the Big Ten thus far in 2011.

With that being said, if you're a buyer, now is the time.

If the Wisconsin Badgers get past the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Week 5, the price will dramatically drop.

A Big Ten school gets into the national title game over a Mountain West participant if both happen to finish the season unscathed. 

LSU Tigers (+800)

The LSU Tigers have survived the suspensions of quarterback Jordan Jefferson and wide receiver Russell Shepard, but one of them is likely never to return.

Jarrett Lee has done enough under center to lead the team to a 3-0 record at this point, completing 67.8 percent of his passes for 444 yards, while throwing just three touchdown passes and an interception.

The current betting odds are basically stating that it's likely all-or-nothing for the Tigers when heading into Tuscaloosa on Nov. 5.

Wait and see approach, as the odds are likely to remain high due to upcoming games against Florida, Tennessee and Auburn before the big one.

Oklahoma Sooners (+350)

Bettors were not impressed by the Oklahoma Sooners win over the Florida State Seminoles over the weekend.

A fickle crowd, that's for sure.

I'm more concerned with the season finale in Stillwater, as the Oklahoma State Cowboys will give the team all it can handle inside Boone Pickens Stadium.

Landry Jones under center in big games outside of Norman also scares the daylights out of me.

Not worth the risk—even if the odds have climbed a bit.

Also important to note, no longer the favorite.

Alabama Crimson Tide (+300)

The Southeastern Conference's third member in this slideshow and the current betting favorite to win it all.

An overwhelming favorite in the betting market, as the oddsmakers certainly factor in upcoming schedules when sending out the numbers each week.

Sharp bettors love a team that can get after it on defense and control the clock with a power running game in tight situations.

Amongst all teams nationally, this team is arguably the best at doing both.

It's also the top candidate to reach the national title game if it happens to slip up during SEC play.