Sportsbooks adjust as betting public backs USC for national title

No college football team has seen its odds to win the national championship improve more in the first two weeks of the season than Southern California.

The Trojans are off to a 2-0 start under new coach Lincoln Riley and joined the big three (Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State) and Clemson as the only teams with odds below 20-1 to win the title.

“When people see other teams not looking as good, especially with Alabama and Ohio State not looking as sharp, they’re going to look for value elsewhere,” said Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading at Caesars Sportsbook. “USC looks like a team that’s ripe for people to jump on. Let’s see what happens when they play some tougher opponents, but there were reasons to get excited about USC before the season. So it’s not surprising to see them get attention now with how the offense has looked.”

After opening at 40-1 at the Westgate SuperBook to win the title, the Trojans were adjusted to 25-1 in July and are now 12-1, tied with Clemson as the fourth choice. USC saw a 2½-point increase in this week’s Westgate’s power ratings and is ninth, up from 16th after Week 1.

BetMGM also has USC at 12-1 after opening at 35-1 to win the title. Caesars lists the Trojans at 16-1, as does William Hill, while Circa is 17-1.

The lowest odds are 10-1 at Station Casinos, where USC is tied with Clemson as the fourth choice.

SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said it’s been “100 percent public” money wagered on the Trojans, who were the ticket leader at Westgate during the summer.

“They’re definitely a decent liability, one of our higher ones,” Salmons said. “They’re kind of like the darlings of the media. And you kind of expect this to keep rolling. As long as they don’t lose, people will start building them up to more than they are.”

The Trojans, 4-8 last season, blasted Rice in their opener and raced to a big lead over Stanford in a 41-28 victory, covering as 8½-point chalk. Their Pac-12 schedule also is favorable with Oregon and Washington absent.

USC hosts Fresno State this week and is a 12-point favorite. The only game the Trojans play against a ranked opponent is Oct. 15 when they travel to face Utah.

“Lincoln Riley hasn’t had Oklahoma teams that can compete with the big boys, let alone it’s his first year there, and he just threw a bunch of transfers together and whatever was left over and is going with it,” Salmons said. “We’ll let it play out and see what happens.”

More adjustments

Georgia made a notable move to the second choice at many sportsbooks to win the title. Caesars has the defending champions at +250 after being +425 at the start of the season.

The Bulldogs went from +375 to +250 after a 33-0 victory over Samford in Week 2, while Ohio State remained at +325.

Georgia is the +250 second choice at William Hill sportsbook and tied with Ohio State (+250) behind Alabama (+180) at the SuperBook.

At BetMGM, the Bulldogs are the 2-1 second choice, garnering the third-highest handle and percentage of tickets to win the national title.

Heisman update

There isn’t much value left on USC quarterback Caleb Williams in the Heisman Trophy betting market.

Williams is the 3-1 second choice at BetMGM after opening at 8-1. He has the third-lowest odds at Caesars, improving to 4-1 from 7-1.

Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud is the 3-1 favorite at Caesars, followed by Alabama QB Bryce Young (+325).

Georgia QB Stetson Bennett is fourth in the Heisman odds at Caesars (16-1) after he was a 60-1 long shot entering the season. Since the Bulldogs’ win over Oregon in Week 1, Bennett is first in tickets at 23.6 percent and second with 18 percent of the handle at Caesars.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.