We’re still several months away from the start of the 2017 college football season and teams are still in the middle of spring practices, but early betting odds are already starting to be released. Bet Online just released their first odds for teams in the SEC to win the conference championship, and the Vols aren’t favored very highly.
Bet Online releases first SEC Championship odds of the offseason. No surprises here some value in Tennessee and Mississippi State pic.twitter.com/2N9XAkLxkB
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) March 29, 2017
According to the odds given, Tennessee has the sixth-best odds in the SEC to win the conference title. Alabama is by far the favorite to win the SEC Championship yet again, with LSU coming in second. The Vols are also notably given the third-best odds among SEC East schools. Georgia is tied with Auburn for third-best overall odds while Florida is given slightly better odds than Tennessee.
After the Vols, there’s a huge drop-off with the odds to win the conference title. Which means Bet Online believes Tennessee is the separation marker for the talent in the SEC this year. Bet Online’s odds believe the Vols are the “worst of the best” in other words. And they also view them as the third-best team in the SEC East.
Tennessee was picked as heavy favorites to win the SEC East at last year’s SEC Media Days. But the Vols did not live up to the hype and instead finished second in the East behind the Florida Gators after dropping games to South Carolina and Vanderbilt down the stretch.
If these early odds are any indication, the Vols won’t be the darlings of the SEC East this year like they were last season.
