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The 2010 college football betting season is fast approaching and to prepare you, we will look at the odds to win the Big Ten at Bankroll Sports, provided by BetUS Sportsbook .

It’s no secret that the clear-cut favorites are the Ohio State Buckeyes (-250 at BetUS). The offense is led by Heisman hopeful quarterback Terrelle Pryor. As we know, he is a powerful passer, but would have no trouble leading his unit’s ground game for a second consecutive year. However, that might not happen with several strong running backs, including senior Brandon Saine and junior Daniel Herron. Junior DeVier Posey and senior Dan Sanzenbacher will again be effective at wide receiver. The offensive line is full of experience and depth, but struggled at times last year. The defense returns seven starters, including its sack leader Cameron Heyward and two outstanding starting LBs in Brian Rolle and Ross Homan. The Buckeyes benefit greatly from a schedule that contains eight home games. Road contests at Wisconsin and Iowa will ultimately decide if OSU runs the table, but the Buckeyes should have no problem topping the Big Ten.

The Penn State Nittany Lions (+650 at BetUS.com) are an unknown this year, with the potential to surprise the major powers. Obviously, the quarterback situation is the top issue. Kevin Newsome appears to have won the job, having thrown just eleven passes in his young career. At running back, the Nittany Lions feature Evan Royster, who could break school rushing records. WRs Derek Moye and Graham Zug return after being the top two targets last season. The offensive line also returns three starters. On defense, Penn State needs to replace some major talent, including conference Defensive Player of the Year DT Jared Odrick. At linebacker, the Lions will need big playmakers to replace three NFL picks. Look for DE Jack Crawford to make an impact in the pass rush. The unit is strongest in the secondary, with returning junior safeties Nick Sukay and Drew Astorino. On the schedule, Penn State will face Iowa and Ohio State on the road, but avoid Wisconsin. If the offense can click, the Nittany Lions could shock the conference.

Looking up at the contenders will be the Minnesota Golden Gophers (+3000 at BetUS.com), who will drop like flies after last year’s Insight Bowl appearance. On offense, starting quarterback Andrew Weber returns, having thrown more picks than touchdowns last season, however. Juniors Da’Jon McKnight and Troy Stoudermire will be counted on to become the top two wide receivers. Stoudermire has also shown himself to be an effective kick returner. The running back situation should be solid with juniors Duane Bennett and DeLeon Eskridge. It all sounds good so far, but the monumental problem for Minnesota is the defense. The unit returns just two starters, the fewest among FBS teams. Some positions will also be filled with inexperience, with freshman Ra’Shede Hageman expected to play defensive end. All the pressure will be on the offense to dominate time of possession, at least until the defense can find itself. A brutal non-conference schedule with games against USC and Northern Illinois could have the Gophers beat up just in time for the conference home opener against Northwestern.

Big Ten Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook(as of 7/29/10):
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Ohio State -250
Iowa +350
Wisconsin +350
Penn State +650
Michigan +1200
Michigan State +1200
Illinois +2000
Northwestern +2000
Purdue +2000
Indiana +3000
Minnesota +3000

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Let’s get one thing straight before I get started with this little rant: Mississippi State and Minnesota don’t deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament in they don’t win their respective conferences on Sunday. But neither do Illinois, Florida, Rhode Island, Seton Hall, or any other teams that are sitting on this proverbial “bubble” that we have come to know and love.

Come to think of it, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Wake Forest, and probably about 12 other teams shouldn’t get the right to play for the National Championship either.

And you want to expand this field to 96 teams next year???

Regardless of whether I like it or not, the Golden Gophers and Bulldogs are both going to get to win their way onto the dance floor the old fashioned way: by winning their conference tournaments.

These two teams should both take lessons from the teams before them. Washington was considered a bubble team until it removed all doubt by winning the Pac-10. San Diego State could say the same thing with the Mountain West.

The other lesson that Mississippi State and Minnesota should take into consideration: Don’t complain if you don’t get into the field.

The Golden Gophers have some unsightly losses on their resume, including a 28-point defeat to Michigan which capped a season sweep for the Wolverines over Minnesota, a loss at Northwestern, and ‘L’s to Portland and Miami. Winning more than one legitimate road game (@ Illinois) in conference would’ve helped quite a bit, too.

Hey Mississippi State, why the heck are you losing at home to Rider? It doesn’t matter that that loss came on the first night of the regular season. It’s Rider! Tournament teams don’t lose to Western Kentucky or to Arkansas, Alabama, or Auburn in conference play. The only road wins in SEC play came at Ole Miss, LSU, and South Carolina.

Don’t get me wrong… Anyone that wins their conference tournament is deserving of a spot in the field of 65. It’s all of these bubble teams that annoy the heck out of me.

I’ll admit this much: I smirked just a bit when Utah State and UTEP both lost their conference finals, which is probably going to take a bid away from one of these teams that doesn’t deserve to go dancing.

And once again, I’d love nothing more than to see the Dawgs and Gophers take care of business, pull upsets in their conference finals, and take automatic bids to the dance. Then there will be two more teams deserving of their tickets to the NCAA Tournament, while more teams will be left at home, complaining that the system doesn’t work and that there should be more teams allowed in the NCAA Tournament.

But don’t worry, all of you 21-10 teams. When the field expands to 96 teams, you’ll all be in the tournament. Then all we’ll have complaining is all of the 18-14 teams why they’re not allowed to play for college basketball’s biggest prize.