{"id":346605,"date":"2025-08-15T13:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/346605\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T13:12:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:12:13","slug":"2025-conference-usa-betting-odds-preview-picks-utep-is-cfp-sleeper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/346605\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Conference USA betting odds, preview, picks: UTEP is CFP sleeper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

Everything pointed to a runaway season for Liberty in 2024.<\/p>\n

The Flames were coming off a 13-1 campaign, they had Kaidon Salter returning after a monster year under center and head coach Jamey Chadwell was entering his second year.<\/p>\n

Liberty was a clear favorite to win Conference USA and there was a lot of buzz about the Flames representing the Group of 5 in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

Not so fast.<\/p>\n

Liberty finished 8-4 overall, and just 5-3 in C-USA.<\/p>\n

It was a reminder to assume nothing in this sport, especially in the Group of 5.<\/p>\n

2025 Conference USA odds<\/p>\nTeamOdds<\/tr>\n\nLiberty<\/td>\n+120<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nWestern Kentucky<\/td>\n+350<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nLouisiana Tech<\/td>\n+800<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nJacksonville State<\/td>\n+850<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSam Houston State<\/td>\n10\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nFIU<\/td>\n14\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nUTEP<\/td>\n14\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMiddle Tennessee<\/td>\n18\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNew Mexico State<\/td>\n25\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nKennesaw State<\/td>\n33\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Odds via bet365<\/a> (Delaware and Missouri State are ineligible to win the conference).<\/p>\n

The Favorite<\/p>\n

Despite their down year and the transfer of Salter to Colorado, Liberty is once again the runaway favorite in Conference USA, perhaps the weakest in the Group of 5.<\/p>\n

It may seem odd to install the Flames as such a short favorite, but the reality is that this program can outspend the rest of the teams in the conference by a wide margin. <\/p>\n

The Flames may be breaking in a new quarterback \u2014 Ethan Vasko, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, is the projected starter \u2014 but he will have plenty of experience in front of \u2014 and around \u2014 him.<\/p>\n

\"LibertyLiberty Flames head coach Jamey Chadwell. Getty Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also likely that Vasko and the offense won\u2019t be asked to be prolific because Liberty\u2019s defense projects to be one of the best in the Group of 5. <\/p>\n

With a terrific coach, plenty of money and a lot of talent and experience throughout the roster, Liberty remains a step above the rest of C-USA.<\/p>\n

We could have said the same thing last year, though.<\/p>\n

Dark horses<\/p>\n

Western Kentucky is the second favorite behind Liberty, and that seems a bit crazy considering the amount of turnover in Bowling Green.<\/p>\n

The Hilltoppers saw 80 total transfers (in and out) take place over the offseason, and they\u2019ll have new coordinators on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n

Tyson Helton has been steady as she goes for WKU, but he\u2019ll need to work some serious magic for this team to win eight-plus games for the fifth year running.<\/p>\n

There will also be upheaval at Jacksonville State (Rich Rodriguez has departed for West Virginia) and Sam Houston State (K.C. Keeler left for Temple, and defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity took a bunch of his players to North Texas), making them unappealing at their short prices to provide a challenge for Liberty.<\/p>\n

The case for Louisiana Tech is that there\u2019s not much of a difference between the Bulldogs and the teams priced above them, but it\u2019s been pretty dire under Sonny Cumbie, and the odds are not enticing enough to bet on a turnaround just because the rest of the conference is wanting.<\/p>\n

Long shots<\/p>\n

The path to success for the also-rans in C-USA is that the rest of the conference won\u2019t put up that much resistance.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the starting point, at least.<\/p>\n

For a team like Middle Tennessee State, it may be enough if Derek Mason gets things moving in Year 2. But considering how things went in his first year in Murfreesboro, it\u2019s more of a hope than a sound bet.<\/p>\n

\"MiddleMiddle Tennessee State coach Derek Mason. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s FIU, which is just hoping Willie Simmons can lead them out of no man\u2019s land in his debut season with the Panthers.<\/p>\n

Kennesaw State returns plenty of its roster, but that may not be a good thing considering how it played in 2024.<\/p>\n

There is one team, however, that does stand out as a good bet in this range.<\/p>\n

Betting on College Football? <\/p>\n

Best bet to win Conference USA<\/p>\n

UTEP to win Conference USA (14\/1, bet365<\/a>) | UTEP to make the CFB Playoff (300\/1, DraftKings<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll start with UTEP, who profile as a potential bounce-back candidate after a poor but also quite unlucky 3-9 campaign in Scotty Walden\u2019s first year in El Paso.<\/p>\n

Walden tried to accelerate the turnaround by getting aggressive in the transfer portal, notably adding former five-star recruit and USC quarterback Malachi Nelson to his ranks.<\/p>\n

Nelson immediately becomes one of the most interesting players in the Group of 5. His ceiling is as high as anybody\u2019s at this level, but he\u2019s not come close to hitting it while at USC and Boise State.<\/p>\n

If Nelson can click with his new offensive coordinator Mark Cala, the Miners could turn this conference on its head.<\/p>\n

I think the Miners are absolutely worth a bet to win C-USA at 14\/1 odds, and I\u2019d also consider a very small sprinkle on them to make the Playoff at 300\/1. Picks up!<\/p>\n

Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[4304,10932,122936,79,2027,76602,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-346605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-betting","9":"tag-college-football","10":"tag-college-football-betting","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-sports-betting","13":"tag-sports-picks","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115032958236395899","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}