College football is back! Today, the ACC kicks off the 2022 college football season with FSU and UNC holding season openers at their home fields. Additionally, Vegas has released its latest odds on the first ACC head coach to be fired. Let the debates begin!
Viva Las Vegas
Sports betting in Vegas is an interesting experience. Strangers gather to bet on their similar interests and end up watching the game/match/race/whatever in a common area, cheering and jeering with a sense of camaraderie generally reserved for Hollywood movie sets. Vegas stays hustling and bustling.
Some college football coaches become the stuff of legends. Others run struggling programs, risking their livelihoods every time the L column gains a notch. Then there are coaches who rebuild programs in shambles, and others who inherit successful programs and run them into the ground. Regardless of circumstance, college football fans love it all.
Dynasties, success stories, programs so disastrous every game is a train wreck you can’t look away from-bring it all on. Bets are made on any possible aspect of any given game. Exhilarating and all-consuming, Vegas loves college football just as much as any “regular fan.” And Vegas loves to be in on the action, too.
Per Vegas odds, most of the ACC’s coaches are in safe territory this season. But, there are always exceptions.
Who’s On The Chopping Block?
More than half of the ACC’s head coaches are on pretty steady ground right now. But, for the few in question this season just might make-it-or-break-it.
First up: Syracuse’s Dino Babers is on the hot seat with odds at +200.
In second, Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins is close behind with odds at +220.
Florida State’s Mike Norvell is coming in third at +275.
Louisville’s Scott Satterfield follows Norvell with odds at +500.
Finally, North Carolina’s Mack Brown is in a safer position at +700.
Who’s Cruising?
Boston College’s Jeff Hafley and Miami’s Mario Cristobal are tied at odds of +2500.
The five coaches tied at +5000 are UVA’s Tony Elliott; Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi; Duke’s Mike Elko; NC State’s Dave Doeren; and Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry.
Unsurprisingly, Clemson’s Dabo Sweeney is highly unlikely to be fired this season. Vegas odds for Sweeney being fired are +6600. Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson is tied with Sweeney right now.
Vegas Odds: Worth A Gamble?
The coaches on the hot seat are no surprise for anyone who’s watched ACC games in the past few years. What’s different this year is the talent and coaching strategies, especially in programs like Virginia’s and Florida State’s.
Of course Vegas odds aren’t a guarantee that anyone will get fired, but it does give an added burst of hope to watching the games of struggling programs. Can they perform well enough to save a coach’s job, even in a lost game? You never really know; after all, stats and upsets exist in the same world.
What happens on the field, stays in the media. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.