Cowboys and Crimson Tide roll into Shreveport
NCAA Football Betting Lines
12/24/2006 - Shreveport, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Alabama Crimson Tide are set to collide in the PetroSun Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Oklahoma State owns a mediocre 6-6 record, but the team has been much better than that mark suggests. Four of the games were decided on the final play, and the six teams that have defeated the Cowboys are all headed to bowl games with combined records of 53-21. They are 10-6 all-time in bowl games and will attempt to halt a two-game postseason losing skid. Oklahoma State is making its fourth bowl appearance in the last five years, the most successful stretch for the program since the 1980s. The Cowboys have played only five games against SEC opponents since 1981.
Alabama, a member of that SEC conference, also owns a 6-6 overall record, and the team will be led by interim coach Joe Kines, as he is taking the place of the fired Mike Shula. The Crimson Tide won their first three games of the season, but things seemed to fall apart from that point on. When the squad lost its final three outings, including a setback to arch-rival Auburn, Shula paid the price. Alabama is set to take part in its NCAA-leading 54th bowl appearance, and it has more bowl wins (30) than any other team. This Independence Bowl marks the third straight postseason appearance for the Crimson Tide, a feat that has not been accomplished since the program reached 10 straight bowl games from 1985 to 1994.
This game marks the first-ever meeting between the Crimson Tide and the Cowboys on the gridiron.
Oklahoma State has had no trouble moving the ball and scoring points this season, as the squad is racking up 35.3 ppg, good for eighth-place nationally, while gaining 409.0 total ypg to rank 16th. The Cowboys are gaining over 200 ypg both on the ground and through the air, and that balance puts a great deal of pressure on opposing defenses. The offense has generated 51 total touchdowns through 12 games, with 26 coming through the air and 25 on the ground. Rather than rely on one player to carry the rushing load, Oklahoma State gets contributions from several runners. Dantrell Savage has been the most effective of the bunch, as he has run for 708 yards and seven touchdowns on only 107 carries. Keith Toston, Mike Hamilton and quarterback Bobby Reid have all rushed for at least 466 yards and four touchdowns, providing Oklahoma State with a wealth of rushing options. Speaking of Reid, he has completed 55.9 percent of his passes for 2,054 yards with 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. While he did suffer a shoulder injury late in the season, Reid is expected to be fine for this bowl game. Adarius Bowman is the most dangerous wideout on the Oklahoma State team, as he has made 57 catches for 1,131 yards and 11 touchdowns. D'Juan Woods is a solid second option on the outside.
The Cowboys do a tremendous job of pressuring opposing quarterbacks, as they are averaging three sacks per game to go along with 7.5 tackles for loss per outing. Still, the defense is a rather mediocre unit. Oklahoma State is surrendering 25.2 ppg and 371.4 total ypg, and shaky defense has played a major role in many of the six losses. Opposing offensive units have racked up 34 total touchdowns against the Cowboys, including 19 through the air. Oklahoma State has forced 23 turnovers to go along with the high sack totals, and those big plays have helped throughout the season, but sure tackling and sound coverage will be needed to knock off Alabama in this bowl showdown. Victor DeGrate has registered 8.5 sacks, and Nathan Peterson is close behind with eight sacks. As for Andre Sexton, he leads the Cowboys with 75 total tackles.
Alabama sophomore quarterback John Parker Wilson has received some criticism for the team's mediocre season, but he put up some impressive numbers that rival some of the best to ever play quarterback for the storied institution. Wilson has thrown 16 touchdown passes this season to tie the school record, and he owns the outright single-season record for total offense, passing yards, pass attempts and 200-yard games. He needs just eight completions to break that single-season record as well. Entering the season, the Tide expected to feature a punishing ground attack led by tailback Kenneth Darby, but he has failed to even approach those expectations. In fact, Darby's average of 68.3 rushing yards per game is good for just 71st nationally. Although Darby does not get goal line carries, it is still concerning that he hasn't reached the end zone as a rusher on 200 attempts. The most dangerous player on offense for Alabama is wideout DJ Hall, as he has racked up 1,014 yards and five touchdowns on 57 catches.
Alabama ranked 29th nationally in scoring defense and 18th in total defense, as it is surrendering 18.0 ppg and 287.6 total ypg. No opponent has scored more than 28 points against the Tide, and the fact that the team held Hawaii to 17 points in the season opener speaks volumes. Against the run, Alabama is yielding only 3.8 ypg and has permitted only nine rushing scores to date. The club has yielded 14 passing touchdowns, but it has also come up with 15 interceptions. A key for the defense has been its ability to get off the field on third down, as opponents are making good on only 33 percent of their conversion attempts. Jeffrey Dukes leads the with 74 total tackles, and Juwan Simpson is close behind with 73 stops. Keep an eye on Simeon Castille, as he has five interceptions and three fumble recoveries to his credit.
Considering the fact that Alabama ended the season on a down note and has had an extremely difficult time finding someone to replace Shula, it is hard to pick the Tide in this contest. Expect Oklahoma State to take care of business behind a balanced offensive attack.
Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Oklahoma State 27, Alabama 13
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TENNESSEE TITANS AT BUFFALO BILLS, 1:00 P.M. (ET)
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2007 online football betting Preview
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
2007 College Football Betting Preview
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
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The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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