Oddsmakers have high expectations for K-State football in Big 12 and playoff race
Kansas State won’t be trying to prove any doubters wrong on the football field next season.
Instead, the Wildcats will strive to prove the oddsmakers right.
A pair of sports books released early odds for the Big 12 championship race this week, and Chris Klieman’s team is the betting favorite to win the conference in each of them.
Both FanDuel and BetOnline are giving K-State roughly 3-to-1 odds to win the Big 12 in 2024, with Utah (7-to-2) and Kansas (13-to-2) coming in as other top contenders behind the Wildcats.
With Oklahoma and Texas on their way to the SEC and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah on their way to the Big 12, many wondered which teams would be best positioned to win the conference next season. Right now, K-State is receiving the most respect.
But the team’s preseason betting hype doesn’t stop there. BetOnline also released odds to make the expanded 12-team playoff next season and K-State is among the betting favorites there, too. The Wildcats checked in with the seventh shortest odds there (at -200) with implied odds of 66.67% to reach the playoff.
Only Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Clemson and Florida State have better odds.
Also: FanDuel has set Kansas State’s over/under win total at 9.5 for next season.
The Wildcats are coming off a 9-4 campaign in which they beat North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Expectations are high heading into next season as Avery Johnson is set to take over the offense as a sophomore quarterback and several starters are returning on defense.
They hope to live up to the early projections that oddsmakers have given them.
Early Big 12 championship odds
Kansas State: +340
Utah: +380
Kansas +650
Arizona: +750
Texas Tech: +800
UCF: +1000
Iowa State: +1100
Oklahoma State: +1600
TCU: +1600
West Virginia: +1900
Colorado: +4000
Baylor: +5500
Cincinnati: +6500
Arizona State: +10000
BYU: +13000
Houston: +13000
This story was originally published February 28, 2024 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Oddsmakers have high expectations for K-State football in Big 12 and playoff race."