2016 NFL Betting Odds to Win the NFC South

Carolina has dominated the NFC South the past few seasons and last year the Panthers won the division title going away with a 15-1 record in the regular season. The Oddsmakers at BetAnySports are looking for this trend to continue by listing them as prohibitive -227 favorites with Atlanta the next best team on the board at +620.

The main cloud overhead in Carolina is a devastating 24-10 loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50. Past history in the NFL has taught us that teams that lose a Super Bowl tend to struggle a bit more than expected the following season. You would have to go all the way back to the 1993 season to find the last time a team that lost the Super Bowl made it back to that game the next year. That was when the Buffalo Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls starting in 1990. This does add some value to the Falcons' odds to get back on top in the NFC South as the only viable team in my mind that has the overall talent to make a run at the Panthers in 2016.

Check out the link below for complete preview for this division race along with my official prediction as to which team will win the NFC South title this season as part of a series I did for SportsBettingStats.com

LINK: NFC South Odds

Dalvin Cook's Betting Odds to Win the 2016 Heisman Trophy

If the Florida State Seminoles are going to get back on top in the ACC this season, they will need another big effort from running back Dalvin Cook. He comes into his junior year as the school's all-time single-season record holder for rushing yards after gaining 1,691 yards on 229 carries as a sophomore in 2015. He is also one of the top candidates to win this year's Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player in the nation.

Derrick Henry was the first running back to win this coveted award in the past six seasons and he joined fellow Alabama alumni Mark Ingram as the only two running backs to win the Heisman since 2000 (if you do not count Reggie Bush's 2005 vacated title). This could work in Cook's favor given that the Heisman voters may not have that tunnel vision that leads to a quarterback winning this award the majority of the time.

Cook will face some stiff competition for the 2016 Heisman from a pair of other quality runners in LSU's Leonard Fournette and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, not to mention fellow ACC contender Deshawn Watson as the star quarterback at Clemson. Cook needs quite a few things to go right to actually pay off on his +900 odds to win, but there is still quite a bit a value in this pick. Check out the link below for my complete profile of Dalvin Cook as part of my Heisman hopefuls series for Doc's Sports.


LINK: Dalvin Cook Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks

2016 NFL Betting Odds to Win the NFC West

The betting odds at BetAnySports suggest that the battle for the NFC West title this season will be between Seattle and Arizona with the edge right now going to the Seahawks. Much farther down the list is the Los Angeles Rams followed by San Francisco. The Cardinals are the reigning division champs after going 13-3 last season and in my eyes the team to beat again this year. Seattle took a step backwards to 10-6 in 2015 after winning the NFC West the previous two years. The Rams turned in a 7-9 record in their last season in St. Louis and the 49ers' current slide from being the top team in this division in 2012 continued with a 5-11 record last year.

The link below is my complete preview and overall prediction to win the NFC West in 2016 as part of a series for SportsBettingStats.com in which I covered the race for all eight NFL division titles this year.

LINK: NFC West Odds

Christian McCaffrey's Betting Odds to Win the 2016 Heisman Trophy

Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey was not even in the Heisman discussion heading into the 2015 college football season, but after he broke the NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yards he vaulted all the way to No. 2 in the final voting results behind Alabama running back Derick Henry.

McCaffrey is no longer flying under the radar heading into his junior season with the Cardinal and he has been listed as one of the top three favorites to take home this year's award for the top college football player in the nation according the Heisman futures odds at BetAnySports.com.

As part of a series I recently completed for Doc's Sports, I broke down his chances to win the 2016 Heisman and you can find my complete player profile at the link below.

LINK:Christian McCaffrey Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks

2016 NFL Betting Odds to Win the AFC West

My final stop of division race previews in the AFC takes us to the AFC West. Denver has won this division the last five seasons leading up to last year's victory in Super Bowl 50. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning road off into the sunset and his backup Brock Osweiler left for greener pastures in Houston. It is very rare for any team that is coming off a Super Bowl win to not even be favored to win its division the following season, but that is the case with Denver according to the current betting odds at BetAnySports.

Kansas City has been opened as a slight favorite to win the AFC West this season and the betting public has also been high on Oakland's chances to break through this year after going 13 seasons without a winning record. Check out the link below at SportsBettingStats.com for my complete preview of the AFC West along with my top pick to finish first this year.

LINK: AFC West Odds

Deshaun Watson's Betting Odds to Win the 2016 Heisman

As part of a recent series I wrote for Doc's Sports on the top prospects to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy as college football's top player in the nation, the next stop on the tour takes us to Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. After leading the Tigers all the way to the national title game in 2015, he finished third on the Heisman ballot with 1,165 total points behind Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey. Henry won the award that season and he has moved onto the NFL leaving McCaffrey and LSU running back Leonard Fournette as Watson's top Heisman competition heading into the 2016 college football season.

Clemson is one of the top favorites to win a national title this year and this should set the stage for Watson's run to the 2016 Heisman. Check out the link below get my full take on his chances to actually be the top college football player in the nation this year.

LINK: Deshaun Watson Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks

2016 NFL Betting Odds to Win the AFC South

The AFC South could be one of the closest and most interesting division races in the NFL this season. The Houston Texans sneaked past Indianapolis last season with Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck missing quite a bit of playing time due to injuries. Luck is back and healthy for the 2016, but there are still some major holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball in Indianapolis. The Texans have a formidable defense led by JJ Watt, but with Brock Osweiler penciled-in as the starting quarterback after signing as a free agent out of Denver, there may be more questions than answers with that move.

That leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans as the second tier of contenders in this division. The Jaguars are poised for an explosive year on offense with some young studs at the skill positions and head coach Jack Del Rio could be on the verge of turning things around on defense with some positive offseason moves. This will be Tennessee's second season with Marcus Mariota as its starting quarterback and new head coach Mike Mularkey used the majority of his draft picks to address some major concerns on his defensive unit.

All-in-all, it should be a battle to the bitter end in the AFC South this season so please check out the link below at SportsBettingStats.com for my complete preview of this division as well as my "best bet" pick as to which team offers the best value to win based on BetAnySports' updated futures odds.

LINK: AFC SOUTH ODDS