As the beginning of fall camp draws near and preseason predictions pop up just about everywhere you look, the Kansas University football program continues to see the odds of a decent season stacked against it.

Earlier today, I received an email from the folks at www.bovada.lv with the updated odds on each school’s chances of winning its respective conference this season.

Not surprisingly, KU was the biggest of the long shots in the Big 12, at 100-1. If you scroll through the rest of the conferences you’ll see that they capped the longest odds at 100-1, which I suppose makes sense for the oddsmakers but seems a little off from where I sit.

Don’t get me wrong here; I think KU will be a much improved team in 2013 and I’m fully expecting the Jayhawks to win a Big 12 game or two. But if I’m putting down any money on the Jayhawks to win the entire conference, I’d sure like to see my payout be greater than 100-1 if they actually pulled it off.

For the record, I’m not betting on KU or anyone else to win the Big 12 this season, but I did pick Texas on my preseason ballot.

Inside the program, KU coach Charlie Weis and his staff and players will continue to use things like this as motivation. They know that nobody outside of the walls of their football complex believes KU will be much more competitive this season in the conference than they have been in the past few.

But they also believe — even if they aren’t saying it — that those people will be wrong.

As you know, KU was picked to finish 10th in the 10-team Big 12 by the media. And most of the preseason college football magazines I’ve scanned have the Jayhawks slotted in the cellar, as well.

But I have heard, oh-so-quietly, from a few people out there who are willing to say that KU will be the surprise team in the Big 12 this season. What that means is not exactly clear. By calling them the “surprise team” they could be saying that most people expect them to win zero games and they see them winning 3 or 4. They could also be calling them a surprise team because they believe they can finish in the top half of the league. Who knows?

The good news here is that, a week from tomorrow, we’ll begin the quest to finding out, as KU’s fall camp opens and the season officially gets under way.

In the meantime, here’s a look at the rest of those odds in the other major conferences.

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Big 12 Conference

Oklahoma State 5/2
Texas 5/2
Oklahoma 3/1
TCU 15/4
Baylor 12/1
Kansas State 12/1
Texas Tech 25/1
West Virginia 25/1
Iowa State 40/1
Kansas 100/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 American Athletic Conference
Louisville 4/7
Cincinnati 4/1
Rutgers 4/1
UCF 15/2
SMU 25/1
Connecticut 33/1
South Florida 33/1
Houston 50/1
Memphis 66/1
Temple 75/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Atlantic Coast Conference

Clemson 19/10
Florida State 5/2
Miami 7/2
Virginia Tech 15/2
North Carolina 8/1
Georgia Tech 12/1
Pittsburgh 33/1
Virginia 33/1
North Carolina State 50/1
Maryland 66/1
Syracuse 66/1
Boston College 75/1
Duke 100/1
Wake Forest 100/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Big Ten Conference
Ohio State 5/6
Michigan 4/1
Nebraska 13/2
Michigan State 15/2
Wisconsin 15/2
Northwestern 10/1
Iowa 33/1
Indiana 50/1
Minnesota 66/1
Purdue 75/1
Illinois 100/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Mountain West Conference
Boise State 7/5
Fresno State 2/1
Utah State 11/2
San Diego State 13/2
San Jose State 10/1
Colorado State 33/1
Nevada 33/1
Air Force 40/1
Hawaii 40/1
Wyoming 40/1
New Mexico 100/1
UNLV 100/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Pac-12 Conference
Oregon 7/4
Stanford 9/2
USC 5/1
Arizona 15/2
UCLA 15/2
Arizona State 9/1
Oregon State 10/1
Washington 12/1
Utah 28/1
California 50/1
Washington State 50/1
Colorado 100/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Southeastern Conference
Alabama 1/1
Georgia 7/2
South Carolina 9/2
Texas A&M 15/2
Florida 9/1
LSU 9/1
Ole Miss 33/1
Tennessee 50/1
Vanderbilt 50/1
Missouri 66/1
Arkansas 75/1
Auburn 75/1
Mississippi State 75/1
Kentucky 100/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Mid American Conference
Northern Illinois 13/10
Bowling Green 7/2
Ball State 5/1
Ohio 15/2
Kent State 15/2
Toledo 10/1
Buffalo 12/1
Miami-Ohio 20/1
Western Michigan 33/1
Central Michigan 40/1
Eastern Michigan 75/1
Massachusetts 75/1
Akron 75/1

Odds to win the 2013-2014 Conference USA
Tulsa 2/1
East Carolina 15/4
Marshall 15/4
Rice 5/1
Middle Tennessee 12/1
UAB 15/1
Louisiana Tech 15/1
North Texas 20/1
Southern Miss 20/1
UTEP 25/1
Florida Atlantic 28/1
Tulane 33/1
Florida International 33/1
UTSA 66/1