Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 | 2 a.m.
An all-time high of 134 teams competed in the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision this season. Only six of them distinguished themselves enough to earn a College Football Betting award.
It’s the ninth annual edition of the College Football Betting Awards, and this year’s class is comprised largely of the usual upstart teams but with one megaprogram mixed in. As always, the first three categories are based entirely on results while the final three require some subjectivity but were chosen carefully after monitoring the betting market all year.
Without further ado, here are the winners.
Team of the Year: Marshall Thundering Herd (team with the nation’s best record against the spread)
Last year’s winner: Arizona
The Sun Belt Conference champions were an enigma all year, as their statistical profile painted them as an average to middling team at best. But they just kept winning anyway. Marshall finished the year 12-1 against the spread, including its conference championship upset victory against Louisiana. The Herd’s only point-spread loss came in a 28-23 win against Louisiana-Monroe in Week 10 as 10.5-point favorites when the Warhawks scored a touchdown in the final two minutes. Marshall banked its highly memorable season behind a breakthrough coaching campaign from Charles Huff (who’s since left to take the same job at Southern Mississippi), a stiff defense and a running back rotation headlined by A.J. Turner and Jordan Houston.
Achievement Award: Arizona State Sun Devils (team that furthest eclipsed its over/under preseason win total)
Last year’s winner: Northwestern
The Sun Devils were picked last in the Big 12 in the preseason poll released during the conference’s media days at Allegiant Stadium in July, and sportsbooks weren’t any more bullish. Arizona State had a Big 12-low over/under of four wins. The Sun Devils eclipsed that mark in five weeks, and never stopped from there, going 10-2 in the regular season and then smashing Iowa State 45-19 as 1.5-point underdogs in the Big 12 championship game. Arizona State is now College Football Playoff-bound, with a bye through the first round, in an ascent no one could have seen coming behind second-year coach Kenny Dillingham and veteran running back Cam Skattebo. The betting market certainly didn’t see it coming.
Covering Streak of Excellence: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (team with the longest current winning streak against the spread)
Last year’s winner: Ball State
The Irish have covered in eight straight games heading into their first-round College Football Playoff game against in-state opponent Indiana. Notre Dame suffered the most notorious upset of the season in Week 2, a 16-14 defeat to Northern Illinois as 28-point favorites, and then never lost again. It only failed to cover once again, a 28-3 win against Miami (Ohio) as 27-point favorites in Week 4, as quarterback Riley Leonard and running back Jeremiyah Love helped Notre Dame topple opponent after opponent. During the eight-game covering streak, there’s only been one close call — a 31-24 victory against Louisville as 6.5-point favorites in Week 5 — as Notre Dame has beaten the number by at least a touchdown in every other game.
Bettors’ Choice: Indiana Hoosiers (team that made the most money for gamblers through point-spread victories)
Last Year’s winner: Penn State
Notre Dame took over the nation’s longest covering streak from Indiana, which beat the number in nine straight games before eking out a 20-15 win against Michigan as 14.5-point favorites in Week 11. Bettors largely took advantage, especially late in the run when first-year coach Curt Cignetti and his transfer-heavy team (largely comprised of players who followed him from James Madison University) began getting more publicity. The Hoosiers covered all nine games in the span by at least a touchdown and recreational bettors threw out terms like “free money” to describe them colloquially. Notre Dame opened as an 8.5-point favorite against Indiana in the teams’ playoff game that feels like a battle for ultimate betting supremacy.
Bookmakers’ Choice: South Carolina Gamecocks (team that made the most money for the house through point-spread victories)
Last year’s winner: Alabama
There was a general skepticism around South Carolina all year. The Gamecocks continually proved it unfounded by covering in almost all of their biggest games. South Carolina knocked off College Football Playoff-bound Clemson 17-10 as 2.5-point underdogs, came within two points of shocking powerhouse Alabama as 21-point underdogs and crushed Texas A&M 44-20 as 3-point underdogs. Late money came in against the Gamecocks in all three of those matchups. They finished the regular season 9-3 straight-up and against the spread. That’s not too bad for a team that had an over/under of 5.5 wins coming into the season.
Underdog of the Year: Vanderbilt Commodores (team that performed the best with the odds stacked against it)
Last year’s winner: UNLV
Vanderbilt’s win total was over/under 2.5 victories but it became bowl eligible for the first time in six years at 6-6 straight-up. The Commodores also went 8-4 against the spread—including 7-2 as an underdog — behind cult-hero quarterback Diego Pavia. Northern Illinois’ win against Notre Dame might have been the biggest upset of a blue blood program this season, but Vanderbilt’s 40-35 victory against Alabama as 23-point underdogs in Week 6 was a close second. It was the first time the Commodores beat the Crimson Tide since 1984. Other unsuspecting outright victims of Vanderbilt’s sudden ascent were Auburn, Kentucky and Virginia Tech, while it covered but lost against Texas, Missouri and LSU.
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.