LSU Odds to Win Football NC

It seems fashionable in the sports press right now to denigrate LSU's football prospects for 2013 and predict a 9-3 season at best. It makes some sense, given the multiple losses on defense and the tough schedule. Despite all that, though, I was checking the odds to win the National Championship on betmania.com, and LSU actually has pretty short odds, at 9:1. The only teams with better odds are Alabama at 2.5:1, Oregon at 5.5:1, and Ohio State at 7:1. It's hard to square those numbers, which say that LSU is the fourth most likely team in the country to win the national championship, with rankings like Phil Steele's and others, that put us well out of the Top 10. Just food for thought during the off season. I think LSU, with the new offensive coordinator, all of the personnel turnover, and all of the close games last year, is one of the hardest teams to figure going into this season. I could realistically see anything from 7-5 to a national championship.