South Carolina, national champion? Here’s what Vegas thinks for next season

For any Gamecock fan with an excess of faith in Will Muschamp’s ability to predict the future, there’s now a lot of money to be made betting on South Carolina football to win it all next season.

In the final hours before the College Football Playoff final on Monday, Westgate Las Vegas Superbook revealed its initial odds for next year’s national champions, ranging all the way from perennial favorite Alabama (5/2 odds) to Appalachian State (999/1).

USC landed somewhere in the middle of the 78 schools for whom odds were listed, with 200/1 chances, according to Brett McMurphy. The Gamecocks have the same odds as Central Florida, Washington State and Iowa, among others.

Westgate gave 34 other teams better odds than Will Muschamp’s squad, which was also recently rated the No. 23 team in the country in Sporting News’ pre-preseason top 25 for 2018. Muschamp has led to the Gamecocks to consecutive improvements of three wins in his first two seasons, culminating in an upset win over Michigan in the Outback Bowl.

Eight other SEC schools were listed with better odds than South Carolina: Alabama, Georgia (8/1), Auburn (30/1), LSU (30/1), Texas A&M (50/1), Florida (60/1), Mississippi State (100/1) and Missouri (100/1).

Clemson, meanwhile, opens up as the second-leading favorite for the title next year, with 6/1 odds after falling in the CFP semifinals at the Sugar Bowl this year.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 5:52 PM with the headline "South Carolina, national champion? Here’s what Vegas thinks for next season."