College Football season has arrived. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic featuring North Carolina and TCU squaring off at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on August 29th, is just days away. We’re breaking down every team and every market we can find here at SGPN, and next up we’re going to build a few parlays of the conference champions we like most.
Favorites Parlay: Georgia (SEC), Ohio State (Big Ten), BYU (Big 12) (+6569)
It doesn’t take much to take a couple of chalk favorites and get a big number. Let’s say the season goes as expected and Georgia wins the SEC, and Ohio State wins the Big Ten. Neither would be big shockers, and they are the favorites for obvious reasons. Sprinkle in a small upset with the second-best odds in the Big 12 in BYU, and bam. North of 65/1 odds real quick.
Taking the chalk and running here seems to be the best play in the SEC. It’s Kirby Smart’s era, and we’re just living in it. The Georgia head coach is building an empire, and he learned from the best, Nick Saban, on how to do it. This is the most stable team in the conference, maybe the country. Ohio State only lost to Indiana last season, and it’s hard to see Indiana repeating their year. With Michigan slightly behind and Penn State starting under a new coach, the Big Ten is theirs for the taking with Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith.
The Cougar revenge tour starts now in the Big 12. With Texas Tech’s quarterback situation, I expected the Cougars to be at lower odds than they are. The team is coming off a 12-2 season that saw them get slaughtered by the Red Raiders. But it was back-to-back 11+ wins and gave them a taste of that College Football Playoff. This team is full of strengths and loaded with talent. This team will be dangerous on a national level.
Top Threats: USC (Big Ten), Texas State (PAC 12), LSU (SEC) (+129,100)
Scared money doesn’t make money! A cool $10 would return you over 12k if this crazy parlay hits. So, how crazy is it? Let’s say the chalk doesn’t hit this year, and we don’t have to go as far down the board as Indiana last season. The Big Ten is Ohio State’s conference to lose. But Last year we had a longer shot to win the title, so looking down the board, who could be that surprising team this year?
USC stands out to me. We know they have a good coach in Lincoln Riley, and this might be the most balanced team Riley has had at USC. The team focused on defense big time in their recruiting and has made big improvements. Jayden Maiava returns as the starter at quarterback, giving the team stability and a stud they know they can trust. They aren’t the favorite, but the ceiling is high for this Trojans team in 2026.
The PAC-12 looks to be Boise State’s to run, but it is essentially a brand new conference. Texas State has an outstanding offense that will be hard to keep up with. If they can improve their defense, they’ll be right there to compete with Boise State. For LSU, there are a lot of unknowns, but with Lane Kiffin teaming up with Heisman candidate Sam Leavitt, they could be good real fast. They attacked the transfer portal hard. If Kiffin can put it together fast, LSU could be a title contender right away.
The Mid-Major Money Maker: JMU (Sun Belt), Western Michigan (MAC), North Dakota State (Mountain West) (+7869)
We’ve hit on the big popular conferences; now let’s take a look at some of the smaller conferences that can still make us big money. JMU is the favorite, and it’s for good reason. They suffered some portal losses, but former Florida coach Billy Napier brings a lot to this team, and the Dukes have a very good roster. Just having to win their division to get to the championship game is also helpful.
The Western Michigan Broncos return a lot from last season, including quarterback Broc Lowry. The continuity under coach Lance Taylor is a big advantage for them in the MAC. North Dakota State is one of the most interesting teams in all of College Football. After years of dominance at the FCS level, they bring their talents to the FBS level and the Mountain West. They have a legit shot at winning the conference in their first season in it, and they have a winning history. Let’s ride it to this parlay win.
