Best Early 2018 SEC Championship Odds

When we think about SEC football, we usually start by thinking about Alabama — and that’s smart sports betting because they won yet another national championship back in January. However, when you’re thinking about conference championship action, remember that Alabama didn’t even win their division in the SEC a year ago, as Auburn and Georgia squared off in the SEC title game (and then Alabama got into the College Football Playoff even after losing to Auburn in the regular season). We have some perspectives on the 2018 SEC Championship odds contenders down below for each team to win the conference title.

Best Early 2018 SEC Title Bets

Step into the spotlight#FBF #SECMD18 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/uIzJW90vyd

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) July 21, 2018

2018 SEC Championship Odds

• Alabama                                              +150
• Georgia                                               +300
• Auburn                                                +700
• Mississippi State                                 +1000
• Florida                                                 +1400
• Texas A&M                                         +1600
• LSU                                                     +1600
• South Carolina                                    +2000
• Missouri                                               +2000
• Tennessee                                          +5000
• Ole Miss                                              +5000
• Arkansas                                             +5000
• Vanderbilt                                            +10000
• Kentucky                                             +10000

Alabama has a quarterback controversy with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa atop their depth chart. Hurts has won one national championship but then looked ineffective in the first half of this past year’s title game. Tagovailoa came on in the second half and led the Tide to a comeback that forced overtime and threw a brilliant bomb to give the Tide the title over Georgia. Nick Saban had to come out and warn both of them to avoid calling attention to themselves, as Hurts put out a hype video a few days ago, while Tagovailoa posted pics of his hand in a cast on social media. The injuries that had ravaged Alabama’s linebacker corps have healed, and the team has the recruiting depth to replace the defensive starters who went to the NFL. Could drama rear its head in Tuscaloosa? That would be an unusual sight indeed for a Nick Saban team. But for now, Alabama has earned its spot as the favorite. Georgia is the odds-on favorite to win the SEC East, and since the SEC title will come down to the winner of that game, it makes sense to put your money down on the team that will be in that game and that offers the better value. Quarterback Jake Fromm did break a bone in his non-throwing hand in a summer fishing accident, but reports indicate that he is already throwing and should not miss any summer workouts. On both sides of the ball, Georgia has talent that matches what Alabama will bring. The Tide and the Bulldogs do not meet in regular season play this year, so all signs point toward them squaring off in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see if Georgia has a monkey on their collective backs in that game, though, after seeing their halftime lead evaporate and turn into an overtime nightmare in the national championship back in January. If you’re looking for someone further down the odds table, take a look at South Carolina. They host Georgia in Week Two, and they have one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in Jake Bentley, who loves to throw to Bryan Edwards and Deebo Samuel. Their defense doesn’t quite have the talent of Georgia or Alabama, but they are extremely well-coached. If South Carolina can win, they would have the tiebreaker in the SEC East, and their toughest conference test after that would be a game at Florida on November 10. They do face Clemson in the last week of the regular season, and while that might influence College Football Playoff committee voting, that game does not impact SEC standings at all. Georgia could still have some national championship hangover clinging to them, and it’s not like an opening week matchup with Austin Peay will challenge the Bulldogs much. What about Florida? Well, they do have a new coach, but they have problems on defense, and they don’t have an established quarterback. They face Mississippi State and LSU in cross-division games, and they also have to win at Georgia. So this is probably not a year to pick the Gators to come out of nowhere.