Iowa Football: Early Odds For 2017-18 National Title Released

By Jeremy Karll | Jan 11, 2017

Nov 25, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz is surrounded by fans as he arrives before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

A look at Iowa’s chances of hoisting the trophy next season

Just a day after the Clemson Tigers upset Alabama in the national championship, national title odds for the 2017-18 season have already been released. And Iowa football is surprisingly not in the running.

Iowa finished the 2016 campaign 8-5 and will lose many key players such as quarterback C.J. Beathard and cornerback Desmond King. Iowa will still have many upperclassmen starting on both sides of the ball, however, they enter the season with a sophomore quarterback in Nathan Stanley and with less hype than when they were coming off a perfect regular season.

That said, the Hawkeyes are one of 10 teams given 300-1 odds to win the national championship next season. Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern are the other three Big Ten teams given those odds.

To no surprise, Alabama will enter the season as the favorite, again. Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook gave Alabama 3-1 odds next season.

Alabama, Florida State, Oklahoma, USC and Ohio State are the favorites to be in the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma, USC and Ohio State each have 8-1 odds.

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Michigan and Penn State are given 12-1 and 30-1 odds, respectively, as the Big Ten West champion Wisconsin Badgers are given 60-1 odds after beating Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl this season.

After failing to become bowl eligible a year after making the College Football Playoff, Michigan State is given 100-1 odds with huge aspirations to bounce back and return to the top of the Big Ten East division.

Iowa’s first opponent of the 2017 season, the Wyoming Cowboys, are tied with Army, Air Force and New Mexico for the worst title odds at 5000-1. North Texas is part of the field, which is given 1000-1 odds, and Iowa State has 500-1 odds next season to wrap up Iowa’s non-conference schedule.

The Hawkeyes’ conference schedule will get significantly harder next season, though. Seven of their nine Big Ten opponents have equal or better title odds than Iowa as of now.

Of course, signing day and transfers have not happened yet, and injuries can still happen in training camp. There is still a lot of time between now and the start of next season, therefore the odds will likely shift some in that span.

Although, it does give a slight indication of how the media views Iowa heading into next season.

Next: Iowa Football: Seven Hawkeyes In Divisional Round

The Hawkeyes have a lot of questions surrounding them heading into next season, but they should still be in the thick of things in the Big Ten West, and the early title odds solidify it.