Bet the Bears: Cal 150-to-1 to Win It All; Its Over/Under Is 4 1/2 Wins

Want to make a bunch of money? Bet on Cal to win the national championship this season, and let the money roll in when the Bears win the College Football Playoff title game in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Jan. 11.

OK, the Bears are long shot to win the national title -- 150-to-1, according odds established this week by betonline.ag. So a $10 net on the Bears to take it all would yield a net return of $1,500 if Cal pulls it off.

But every Pac-12 team still has a chance considering none of the conference's 12 teams will play a game until Nov. 7.

Oregon is the biggest favorite among Pac-12 teams at 33-to-1, and only six teams in the country are bigger favorites than the Ducks. USC is next at 50-to-1, and only 10 teams are bigger favorites than the Trojans. The betting public must have more respect for the Pac-12 that the general viewing audience., manu of whom are dismissing the conference's chances of getting a team into the College Football Playoff.

Cal is tied with Arizona State as the fifth-highest Pac-12 favorite. In fact, Cal and Arizona State seem to be tied at the hip in terms of odds. (Maybe you can spot a winner among the other teams. Air Force has the longest odds in the country at 5,000-to-1, and the Falcons demolished Navy over the weekend.)

In the Pac-12 race, Cal is tied with both ASU and Utah at 9-to-1 as the fourth-biggest favorite to win the conference title.

Oregon is the favorite at 3-to-2, but USC is close behind at 2-to-1 followed by Washington at 6-to-1.

Bettors seem to have a pretty high opinion of the Golden Bears in conference play. The over/under established by betonline.ag is 4 1/2. That means an over bet wins if the Bears go 5-2 or 6-1 or 7-0. An under bet wins if the Bears finish no better than 4-3 in the seven-game schedule, including the yet-to-be-scheduled final game the weekend of Dec. 18-19.

So at least this suggests the Bears are expected to challenge for a conference title.

Maybe it's because oddsmakers have little respect for the talent in the conference. None of the top 20 favorites for the Heisman Trophy is from the Pac-12.

Check out the betonline.ag lists below to see how Cal's odds compare with other teams in the country and in the Pac-12.

The top 15 favorites to win a national title:

Clemson 2/1

Ohio State 11/4

Alabama 13/4

Georgia 12/1

Florida 14/1

Penn State 28/1

Oregon 33/1

Michigan 40/1

Notre Dame 40/1

Wisconsin 40/1

USC 50/1

Miami (FL) 66/1

Oklahoma 66/1

Texas 66/1

Washington 80/1

Odds of each Pac-12 team winning the national championship:

Oregon 33/1

USC 50/1

Washington 80/1

Utah 125/1

Arizona State 150/1

California 150/1

Stanford 250/1

UCLA 250/1

Washington State 250/1

Arizona 500/1

Colorado 500/1

Oregon State 500/1

Odds of each Pac-12 team winning the conference championship

Oregon 3/2

USC 2/1

Washington 6/1

Arizona State 9/1

California 9/1

Utah 9/1

Stanford 12/1

UCLA 12/1

Washington State 33/1

Arizona 100/1

Colorado 100/1

Oregon State 100/1

The over/under on the number of games each Pac-12 team will win in its seven-game schedule:

Oregon -- Over/Under 6

USC -- Over/Under 5½

Cal -- Over/Under 4½

Utah -- Over/Under 4½

Arizona State -- Over/Under 4½

Washington -- Over/Under 4½

Stanford -- Over/Under 3½

UCLA -- Over/Under 3½

Washington State -- Over/Under 2

Oregon State -- Over/Under 1½

Colorado -- Over/Under 1½

Arizona -- Over/Under 1

Top 20 Heisman Trophy Favorites

Trevor Lawrence - Clemson QB - 7/2

Kyle Trask - Florida QB - 15/4

Mac Jones - Alabama QB - 4/1

Justin Fields - Ohio State QB - 7/1

D'Eriq King - Miami QB - 10/1

Kyle Pitts - Florida TE - 10/1

Travis Etienne - Clemson RB - 12/1

Jaylen Waddle - Alabama WR - 18/1

Stetson Bennett - Georgia QB - 18/1

Chuba Hubbard - Oklahoma State RB - 33/1

Khalil Herbert - Virginia Tech RB - 33/1

Sam Ehlinger - Texas QB - 33/1

Sam Howell - North Carolina QB - 33/1

Shane Buechele - SMU QB - 33/1

Trey Sermon - Ohio State RB - 33/1

Zach Wilson - BYU QB - 33/1

K.J Costello - Mississippi State QB - 40/1

Najee Harris - Alabama RB - 40/1

Devonta Smith - Alabama WR - 50/1

Ian Book - Notre Dame QB - 50/1

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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