November 30th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in College FootballComments Off on Oregon Ducks vs. UCLA Bruins Keys To The Game 12/2/11
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The first annual Pac-12 Championship Game kicks off on Friday night at Autzen Stadium, as the Oregon Ducks vs. UCLA Bruins odds will be contested. The team that makes for great college football picks in this one will end up playing on January 2nd in the Rose Bowl!
Pac-12 Championship Game: UCLA Bruins vs. Oregon Ducks
Pac-12 Championship Game Location: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR
Pac-12 Championship Game Date/Time: Friday, December 2nd, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Pac-12 Championship Game Television Schedule: FOX Sports
Key #1: UCLA has to show some heart
It goes without saying that the Bruins are the decided underdogs in this game, and everyone is just expecting them to lay down and die on Friday night. This is the last time that Head Coach Rick Neuheisel will get to coach the Bruins, and the team might be brutally disappointed, especially knowing that a bowl game would require a petition to the NCAA if this one is lost. Last week, UCLA just looked like it gave up after the first quarter against the USC Trojans, a game that ended 50-0, and if it isn’t going to show any more intensity than that on Friday, the final score could be a heck of a lot worse than that.
Pac-12 Championship Game Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook UCLA Bruins +31.5
Oregon Ducks -31.5
Over/Under 66.5 Click Here to Bet on Your Pac-12 Championship Game Picks!
Key #2: LaMichael James needs to play like a Heisman Trophy contender
There is a real chance for James to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy this year in spite of the fact that he missed two full games and pieces of others due to injury. He still has 1,427 rushing yards and 15 scores on the campaign, and he has the ability to go for over 200 yards on any team in America. UCLA’s defense ranks No. 81 in the country against the rush, and if that unit doesn’t improve, not only will James get 200+ yards on the ground, but RB Kenjon Barner might be over 100 by the time the day is said and done as well. Head Coach Chip Kelly isn’t shy and has no problem beating a team by 70 points and keeping the starters in for at least the first three quarters regardless of what the scoreboard says. If this really is James’ last home game, expect it to be a special one, as Kelly is going to do everything in his power to make sure that his best player is in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation.
Key #3: UCLA has to hit the big play
We know that the Ducks are going to have a number of plays that travel at least 30 yards on Friday night, especially at home, but UCLA has to take advantage of its chances as well. Oregon doesn’t have the greatest defense in the world, and just as its offense plays with a lot of spunk, its defense does as well. Sometimes, that leaves the Ducks out of position and prone to the big play. Last week, QB Kevin Prince had his chances to hit players like WR Shaq Evans and WR Nelson Rosario down the field, until the last drive of the game, it just didn’t happen. Neuheisel is surely going to use every last trick that he has in his bag to get his team to Pasadena in shocking fashion, but when those tricks come out, the Bruins have to capitalize.
November 6th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in College FootballComments Off on College Football’s Top 25 Games in 2011: #1 Oregon @ Stanford
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If last week’s game was the “Game of the Century,” this week’s game can’t be all that far behind. After all, the stakes are virtually as high for the Cardinal and the Ducks. The winner’s hopes of winning the Pac-12 and going to the BCS National Championship Game are still quite intact, and the loser can pack its backs for either the Rose Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl in all likelihood. Both teams are still going to be ranked in the Top 10 when it’s said and done as well. And, much to the contrary of last week’s game, when neither team was able to score a touchdown, even with the aid of overtime, we expect to see plenty of scores in this one down on “The Farm.”
The Ducks have had their share of problems this year, most notably injuries to both RB LaMichael James and QB Darron Thomas. That being said, both are back in the saddle and are ready for this game. Oregon already has 414 points scored this year, and 600 seems to be a formality when it’s all said and done with. This team just does not stop trying to score under any circumstance, regardless of who is out there on the field, and it is that mentality that will keep it going in this game as well. The Quack Attack is only blemished this year by a loss to the LSU Tigers at the outset of the season, a loss that is certainly nothing to be ashamed of now, seeing all of what the Bayou Bengals have accomplished.
The argument could be made that the only thing that kept the Cardinal out of the National Championship Game last year was a loss to these Ducks at Autzen Stadium, a loss that came after scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter. QB Andrew Luck has bad memories of that one, and he wants to make amends by putting down the U of O once and for all. The Cardinal have done it both through the air and on the ground this year, and the end result has been not just nine wins, but nine covers in nine tries as well. Not bad for a team which was a 41.5 point underdog just four years ago in a conference game at the USC Trojans, eh? A win in this one would essentially lock up a BCS bowl bid for the Cardinal, though they’ll obviously have to finish off the Pac-12 slate and the conference title game to ensure nothing worse than a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.
October 30th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in College FootballComments Off on College Football’s Top 25 Games in 2011: #2 LSU vs. Alabama
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In the SEC, virtually every game is an important one. However, there probably won’t be a game in the SEC this season that means more than our No. 2 game of the season, the clash between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Tigers are going to open up this game ranked as the No. 1 team in the country, as they are just in front of the BCS Rankings. They have had a tumultuous season chock full of suspensions and players that have been dealing with other off the field issues. QB Jordan Jefferson was suspended for the first month of the season, but he is back, though he is splitting time with QB Jarrett Lee. This defense is one of the best in the country, and it has shut down virtually every team that it has run up against. There isn’t a team in America that has played a schedule that has been this tough. The Bayou Bengals have already won a de facto road game against the Oregon Ducks and a legitimate road game against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
This was supposed to be a rough year for the Crimson Tide, as they had to replace their three biggest offensive stars at quarterback, wide receiver, and running back. However, RB Trent Richardson has been a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, and the likelihood is there that he could end up taking the honors for this award right here in this game. Scarily enough, the Tide have allowed less than half the touchdowns to opponents that Richardson has scored. Heck, the total yardage between the opponents and Richardson isn’t all that far apart either. Head Coach Nick Saban and company haven’t played that tough of a schedule yet, but that win at the Penn State Nittany Lions is looking better and better as the weeks pass and the Lions climb up the polls.
Alabama opened up this season at -6 in this game, but since that point, the line has come out at +5.5 at 5Dimes, and +5 at some other outlets. We fully expect to see this number drop over the course of the next two weeks, though both of these teams are on bye until the game the first weekend of November.
September 9th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in NFL FootballComments Off on 2011 Week 1 NFL Lines – Week One NFL Spreads Breakdown
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The Entire List of 2011 Week 1 NFL Lines are Listed at the Bottom of This Page!
Week One of the 2011 NFL campaign is going to get underway this weekend. Below you will find the current list of 2011 Week 1 NFL lines and spreads along with a breakdown of the Week one odds. Be sure to check out the free NFL picks from the expert handicappers at Bankroll Sports this week. The Premium picks from the experts at Bankroll Sports can be purchased by clicking the “Purchase Premium Sports Picks” image on the right hand side of this page.
The NFL Week 1 lines are always extremely tough to gauge, especially with three more weeks still to play before we reach the start of the games that count. This year, things will be even tougher, as training camps were shorter and rookies really didn’t get a chance to start playing until just a few weeks ago thanks to the NFL lockout. Still, these games are huge and are meaningful right out of the block.
The season kicks off on Thursday, September 8th with the defending Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers hosting the Super Bowl winners from two years ago, the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are relatively hefty four point underdogs in this one, a certain sign of disrespect for a team that they finished with a better record than a year ago. If New Orleans is truly the better of these two teams, this will be a heck of a fight between two teams that are hoping to be in the NFC Championship Game this year.
This is the second straight season that the Houston Texans are going to open up against the Indianapolis Colts. Last year, Houston came away with a relatively easy 34-24 ‘W’ thanks to an absolutely amazing day by RB Arian Foster, who rushed for 231 yards and three TDs. This season, the Colts are in some trouble because there was no significant improvement in terms of personnel, and QB Peyton Manning now knows that he is out for at least the foreseeable future, if not for the entire season (as of Friday morning). Are his best days behind him? The oddsmakers think so, because Houston is a whopping nine point favorite on the Week 1 odds.
The week one schedule will also put the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers against one another. These two teams are almost always postseason clubs, and this year should be no exception. These are two veteran laden teams who hope to get back to AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs; where Pittsburgh ousted Baltimore a season ago. As always, this should be a hard hitting slug fest. Both road teams won in this series last year, with SS Troy Polamalu making the play of the game forcing a fumble on QB Joe Flacco. Think the oddsmakers know that this one will be close? The NFL week one odds have Baltimore favored by 2.5, the value of home field advantage against the Steelers.
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Also in Week 1, we have a total of four nationally televised games instead of the usual two or three. We’ve already talked about New Orleans/Green Bay, but we haven’t spoken of the others yet. The Dallas Cowboys are four point underdogs at the New York Jets in what is slated to be the first regular season game back in the saddle for QB Tony Romo.
Monday Night Football features a pair of games, as the New England Patriots open up as 5.5 point favorites but have since raised to seven over the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium, and the Denver Broncos are three point choices of the oddsmakers at home against the Oakland Raiders.
There are only two teams that are favored by more than a TD in Week 1. One is Houston over Indianapolis. The San Diego Chargers are nine point favorites against the Minnesota Vikings as they hope to get this year off on the right foot after surprisingly missing out on the postseason last year.
‘Totals’ are generally a tad lower than usual on the NFL Week 1 betting lines. All but four games are featuring ‘totals’ of 41.5 or lower.
It should come as no surprise that the lowest ‘total’ of the week involves two of the nastiest teams in the league, the Ravens and the Steelers. These two almost always play games in the 20s or 30s, and this should be no exception. The oddsmakers have placed this ‘total’ at just 36, and if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, that number could fly down into the low-30s by the time the ball is kicked off.
The clash between the other two AFC North teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns is set just a half point lower at 35.5. Though these two have a history of playing some higher scoring affairs, these two teams are just brutally offensively challenged this year. The Bengals really have no clue how to stay out of their own way with QB Andy Dalton and a host of running backs and receivers that truly aren’t all that talented, and Cleveland didn’t go out in the offseason and pick up any real help for QB Colt McCoy.
One of the highest ‘totals’ of all the NFL week one lines was the 46 hung in the Houston/Indianapolis game. And why not? These two teams have played three straight games to at least 47 points, and a number of games in this series have gotten into the 50s and 60s. However, with QB Peyton Manning now in doubt, that ‘total’ has dipped to 43. The highest ‘total’ of the week is the 47 posted in the Green Bay/New Orleans opener.
August 28th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in College FootballComments Off on 2011 WAC Odds & Preview – NCAA Football Odds To Win WAC
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Full List of Odds To Win WAC Below
With Boise State leaving the WAC, things have definitely opened up for the other teams in this conference. Of course, what we have to remember most about last season is that it wasn’t the boys from the Blue Turf that won the conference: the Nevada Wolf Pack(Current WAC Odds: 2.15 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) did. Sure, Nevada has its own problems this year replacing a stud signal caller in Colin Kaepernick, who felt like he was playing in Reno for at least seven years, and the likes of Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott are gone from the backfield, but Head Coach Chris Ault almost always fields a competent side. After dealing with four straight hellacious road games to start off the season (including a trip to Boise), Nevada plays six of its last eight games at home with those two roadies at New Mexico State and Utah State. There’s no excuse for the Wolf Pack not to win this conference.
Head Coach Pat Hill always has his Fresno State Bulldogs(2011 WAC Lines: 3.50 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) ready to take on anyone in the country, and this season, he gets to face Cal, Nebraska, Ole Miss, and Boise State out of conference play. The problem here is that this team just plays too many games on the road (seven to be exact), and it’s stuck with the extra road game in conference this year. Games at Nevada, Idaho, and Hawaii won’t be fun to say the least, and unless Hill’s defense can rank a whole heck of a lot better than No. 83 in the nation in scoring like it did last year, the Dogs are in trouble.
The media has selected the Hawaii Warriors(Current WAC Odds: 2.50 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) as the favorites for the WAC this year, but we just aren’t so sure that it is justified. WRs Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares were both 1,500+ yard receivers a year ago, and RB Alex Green rumbled for nearly 1,200 yards and accounted for 19 scores. QB Bryant Moniz is back in the saddle, and he is surely going to throw for over 5,000 yards once again this year, but this Hawaii defense is just woeful at times. Parlay all of that with the newcomers that have to slot in on offense and the road trips to Nevada, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, and San Jose State, and the makings are there for a 5-2 or 4-3 mark in conference play.
Nevada Wolf Pack 2.15 to 1
Hawaii Warriors 2.50 to 1
Fresno State Bulldogs 3.50 to 1
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 7 to 1
Idaho Vandals 17.50 to 1
San Jose State Spartans 19 to 1
Utah State Aggies 22 to 1
New Mexico State Aggies 36 to 1
August 28th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in College FootballComments Off on 2011 Sun Belt Odds – NCAA Football Odds To Win Sun Belt
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Full List of Odds To Win Sun Belt Below
The Sun Belt is one of the more open conferences in America this year, but the teams in this division are definitely up and coming. This is no longer just the doormat for the rest of college football. Case in point: The Florida International Golden Panthers(Current Sun Belt Odds: 2.40 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). FIU didn’t exactly come out of nowhere last season, but it did end up winning the conference crown and winning its bowl game against Toledo. Getting both Troy and Florida Atlantic at home this year is a big plus, but there are definitely some challenges coming if this offense can’t put up anywhere near the 28.8 points per game that it did a year ago.
You know that the perennial powers of the Sun Belt, the Troy Trojans(2011 Sun Belt Lines: 2.40 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) are bound and determined to get their conference title back this season, especially after losing it at home against FIU in bad form last season. Even though WR Jerrel Jernigan has moved on to the next level, QB Corey Robinson still has the potential to be the best player in this conference. He threw for 3,726 yards as a true freshman, and he should easily eclipse the 4,000 yard barrier this year in this offense as long as he stays healthy.
The team to watch out for as the up and coming bunch is the third favorite in the conference, the Arkansas State Red Wolves(Current Sun Belt Odds: 6.25 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook). Both FIU and Troy are paying visits to Jonesboro this year, and that bodes well for a team which was a lot better than its 4-8 record indicated last season. ASU lost five games by a TD or fewer last season, and its 52-26 loss at eventual National Champions Auburn Tigers turned out to look not all that bad, all things considered. QB Ryan Aplin was good for right at 30.0 PPG last season, but the key for the Red Wolves will be establishing a defense after allowing a miserable 440.5 YPG on the campaign in 2010.
Florida International Golden Panthers 2.40 to 1
Troy Trojans 2.40 to 1
Arkansas State Red Wolves 6.25 to 1
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 6.75 to 1
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders 8.50 to 1
North Texas Mean Green 11 to 1
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns 15 to 1
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 16 to 1
Florida Atlantic Owls 19 to 1
August 26th, 2011
by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in College FootballComments Off on College Football’s Top 25 Games in 2011: #3 Oklahoma @ Florida State
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Last season, the Florida State Seminoles looked completely outclassed on the road against the Oklahoma Sooners. This year, with both teams starting off ranked in the Top 5 of the country, the Noles will look to exact some revenge for what might amount to be the start of a National Championship season for both.
Oklahoma @ Florida State Picks & Info Oklahoma Sooners @ Florida State Game Date: Saturday, September 17, 2011 Oklahoma @ FSU Location: Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL Oklahoma @ Florida State Game Line: Florida State Seminoles +2
The Sooners have some high hopes this season after a few years of relative disappointment after the injuries and departure of QB Sam Bradford. However, it wasn’t the offense that was the problem last year. QB Landry Jones tore apart defenses to the tune of over 4,700 yards, and he very well could be in for even better numbers this year with more emphasis coming on the passing game. WR Ryan Broyles had a field day in this fixture last year, going for 124 yards and a score on a dozen receptions. The defense was an issue for the most part, but not against FSU. This unit held the Noles down to just 345 total yards, a true accomplishment after racking up 500 yards of offense.
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Florida State Seminoles Past Games (Since 1995)
2010: Oklahoma 47 – Florida State 17
2001: Oklahoma 13 – Florida State 2 (National Championship Game)
FSU has never really had any luck against the Sooners, getting beaten twice relatively badly. Now, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is going to hope that QB EJ Manuel has the goods to get the job done this year in what could amount to be the biggest game that the Garnet and Gold have had in quite some time. The defense picked up the slack over the back half of the season until the ACC Championship Game, and Fisher knows that this unit is going to be the key at home to stopping the Sooners’ mighty attack. Look for DB Greg Reid, who had a terrible game last year, to have a significantly better showing. He could be the difference maker in this one.
Oklahoma Sooners @ Florida State Seminoles Game Odds @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/26/11): (Get a HUGE50% Bonusat 5Dimes.com When UsingThis Link)
