AP Poll Top 25 | How the Betting Favorites Differ from the Week 4 Rankings

Sunday saw the release of the AP top 25 poll for week four and there were no real big shocks in this week’s rankings. For the first time this season, we take a look at how the AP poll differs from how the bookies at Bovada and BetOnline see it. Who are their betting favorites, and who do they believe is underrated or overrated?

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The Rankings

Arkansas Overrated?

The first thing that stands out is that all three are in agreement about the top three. That should not surprise anyone as even coming into the season these were three most likely winners of and betting favorites for the national championship, and nothing has happened to change that so far.

After that, things get a little more complex. The oddsmakers favor Clemson and USC over the AP poll voters’ choices of Michigan and Oklahoma. Both Bovada and BetOnline had Penn State and Tennessee at eight and nine whereas the AP poll ranks them a little lower at 14 and 11 respectively. This to us means that Penn State are possibly a little underrated by pollsters at the moment.

The general consensus among the oddsmakers is that Kentucky is currently overrated. They currently rank eighth in this week’s top 25 poll, but Bovada make them 14th favorites and BetOnline their 11th favorites for the championship.

However, the biggest discrepancy between the two comes with Arkansas. This week’s tenth ranked team doesn’t make the top 25 in either oddsmakers’ rankings. This could come down to the fact that they play Alabama in a couple of weeks and would likely meet Georgia in the SEC championship game if they get there. That’s a tough road to a national championship. If you fancy betting on them, they can be backed at +25000 with either firm.

Texas Teams Underrated

Texas appear to be another underrated team. At 22nd in the AP poll, the Longhorns may feel they should be ranked a bit higher as Bovada and BetOnline once again agree to a degree and rank them 13th and 14th respectively. It’s a similar story for another Texas team, the Aggies, along with non-Texas team, the Washington Huskies. Both bookmakers agree they both have a better chance of winning the national championship than their current ranking suggests. However, there is no room in the top 25 of the oddsmakers for another Texas team, Baylor.

ACC Disagreement

There appears to be more disagreement between our pollsters and our oddsmakers as far as the ACC goes. The oddsmakers believing that North Carolina (Bovada & BetOnline #22) and even Florida State (BetOnline #19) should be in ahead of Miami (AP poll #25) and Pittsburgh (AP poll #24). Other potentially underrated teams include LSU (Bovada #19), Washington State, Minnesota and Iowa State.

It will be interesting to see who knows more as the season progresses. Where’s your money?