The MAC Championship Game will be contested on Friday night at Ford Field, and we are set to make our Ohio Bobcats vs. Northern Illinois Huskies picks for one of the biggest games on the schedule! Check out the MAC Championship keys to the game!

MAC Championship Game: Ohio Bobcats vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
MAC Championship Game Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
MAC Championship Game Date/Time: Friday, December 2nd, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
MAC Championship Game Television Schedule: ESPN2, ESPN3.com

Key #1: The Bobcats have to put a harness on Harnish
QB Chandler Harnish is one of the most athletic players in the entire country, and he is going to be the one player on the field that the Bobcats truly have to contain. If Harnish gets going with his legs and his arm, this NIU offense is absolutely impossible to stop. Harnish accounted for 2,692 passing yards and 1,351 rushing yards this year, and he has a total of 34 TDs to his credit. He hardly ever turns the ball over either, as he only has five picks on the campaign. The Bobcats have the speed in their front seven on defense to be able to at least keep Harnish under wraps, but the problem is that he can beat you with his arm as well in a big time way, and he isn’t afraid to spread the ball around to a slew of receivers. Ohio only ranked No. 62 in the nation against the pass at 226.7 yards per game.

Key #3: NIU special teams have to at least be remotely special
Though the Huskies do score a slew of points, they have a big time problem on special teams. Kick and punt returning isn’t a problem, but when it comes to the kicking game, there are some issues. P Ryan Neir is only averaging 35.3 yards per punt this year, and his long boot is only 54 yards. Meanwhile, K Mathew Sims has had problems kicking the ball from any sort of distance. He is only 3-of-6 in kicks that are longer than 38 yards on the season, and he hasn’t hit one from further than 44 yards. We tend to think that Ohio’s defense will at least make this sophomore kicking in his first big time game work for his points, and if that turns out to be the case, the Huskies could be in some real trouble.

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.

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.

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.”

Oregon Ducks @ Stanford Cardinal Picks & Info
Oregon Ducks @ Stanford Cardinal Date: Saturday, November 12th
Oregon Ducks @ Stanford Cardinal Location: Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, CA
Oregon Ducks @ Stanford Cardinal Spread: Stanford Cardinal -3.5

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.

Oregon Ducks vs. Stanford Cardinal Past Games (Since 1995)
2010: Oregon 52 – Stanford 31
2009: Stanford 51 – Oregon 42
2008: Oregon 35 – Stanford 28
2007: Oregon 55 – Stanford 31
2006: Oregon 48 – Stanford 10
2005: Oregon 44 – Stanford 20
2004: Oregon 16 – Stanford 13
2003: Oregon 35 – Stanford 0
2002: Oregon 41 – Stanford 14
2001: Stanford 49 – Oregon 42
1998: Oregon 63 – Stanford 28
1997: Stanford 58 – Oregon 49
1996: Stanford 27 – Oregon 24
1995: Stanford 28 – Oregon 21

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.

Oregon Ducks @ Stanford Cardinal Game Odds @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 11/6/11):
(Get a HUGE 50% Bonus at 5Dimes.com When Using This Link)

Oregon Ducks (+3.5) @ Stanford Cardinal

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.

LSU Tigers @ Alabama Crimson Tide Picks & Info
LSU Tigers @ Alabama Crimson Tide Date: Saturday, November 5th
LSU Tigers @ Alabama Crimson Tide Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
LSU Tigers @ Alabama Crimson Tide Spread: Alabama Crimson Tide -5.5

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.

LSU Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Past Games (Since 1995)
2010: LSU 24 – Alabama 21
2009: Alabama 24 – LSU 15
2008: Alabama 27 – LSU 21
2007: LSU 41 – Alabama 34
2006: LSU 28 – Alabama 14
2005: LSU 16 – Alabama 13
2004: LSU 26 – Alabama 10
2003: LSU 27 – Alabama 3
2002: Alabama 31 – LSU 0
2001: LSU 35 – Alabama 21
2000: LSU 30 – Alabama 28
1999: Alabama 23 – LSU 17
1998: Alabama 22 – LSU 16
1997: LSU 27 – Alabama 0
1996: Alabama 26 – LSU 0

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.

LSU Tigers @ Alabama Crimson Tide Game Odds @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 10/23/11):
(Get a HUGE 50% Bonus at 5Dimes.com When Using This Link)

LSU Tigers (+5.5) @ Alabama Crimson Tide

Week 4 of college football betting action is here! But before you get started with the NCAA football odds, be sure to check out our college football prop picks for Friday night and our UCF vs. BYU picks!

Jeff Godfrey Over/Under 26.5 Pass Attempts
If the Knights have any hope of winning this game, this had better be an ‘under’. Godfrey put the ball in the air 27 times last week against the Florida International Golden Panthers, and that was only a matter of self-preservation for a ground game that just couldn’t get anything going. No matter what Head Coach George O’Leary keeps telling us, Godfrey is a run first, throw second quarterback. Sure, BYU is going to stack seven and eight players in the box just like FIU did, but that isn’t going to stop a stubborn O’Leary from getting the ball in the hands of his fantastic running backs a whole heck of a lot, even if the Knights are trailing. Godfrey Under 26.5 Pass Attempts (-115 at BetOnline Sportsbook)

JJ Di Luigi Over/Under 55.5 Rushing Yards
It’s been a rough start to the year for Di Luigi, as he hasn’t even gotten beyond 56 rushing yards in a game this season. However, we have to remember that this is a very small sample set, and it has been a horrifyingly difficult schedule to start off this season. This is the first time that the Cougs have really been in a game that they really should win on paper (though they were favored at Ole Miss, it was still a long cross-country trip). Di Luigi averaged over 70 yards per game last year on the ground, and he did it against some solid defenses like that of the Florida State Seminoles and TCU Horned Frogs as well. Don’t think for one second that, even though UCF’s defense has only allowed 20 total points this year, that Di Luigi isn’t going to at least threaten the 100+ rushing yard mark. We expect to see him at this point in the third quarter. Di Luigi Over 55.5 Rushing Yards (-115 at BetOnline Sportsbook).

Week 4 of college football betting action is here! But before you get started with the NCAA football odds, be sure to check out our college football prop picks for the first day of the fourth week of the season, including the NC State vs. Cincinnati picks!

TJ Graham Over/Under 88.5 Receiving Yards
It is interesting how Graham has really stepped up in this, his senior season. He only had just over 700 receiving yards in his first three seasons with the Wolfpack, and now, he has 252 yards and 12 receptions thus far this year. Of course, this Cincinnati defense, though not the greatest in the world, is still a heck of a lot better than those of two FCS teams and Wake Forest. We just have a hard time believing that QB Mike Glennon is going to be finding all that much success, and if that’s the case, Graham won’t be able to put up fantastic stats either. Graham Under 88.5 Receiving Yards (-115 at BetOnline Sportsbook)

Isaiah Pead Over/Under 97.5 Rushing Yards
Pead really has run wild in his first three games of the year, including putting up 155 yards on just 14 carries against the Tennessee Volunteers. What’s interesting is the fact that Pead has 257 yards on the ground, yet he has only had 27 touches of the football. This is a lot more serious game, and Jameel Poteat, George Winn, and the likes won’t be getting as many touches as they did against the Akron Zips and the Austin Peay Governors. Though Pead won’t be averaging darn near 10 yards per carry in this game in all likelihood, there is no way that we can see the Wolfpack and their relatively shoddy defense keeping Pead under 100 yards on even 16-18 carries. Pead Over 97.5 Rushing Yards (-115 at BetOnline Sportsbook).

Last season, college conference realignments really shook the landscape of college football as we know it. Now, the Boise State Broncos are in the Mountain West, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are in the Big 10, the Big 10 has 12 teams, and the Big 12 has 10 teams… not to mention that the artists formerly known as the Pac-10 are now known as the Pac-10 after taking the Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes. However, conference expansion certainly isn’t done yet, as there are shockwaves that are already rumbling across the country about how conference realignment might pan out.

Here’s what we already know: Next year, the ACC is going to have at least 14 teams in it. The Syracuse Orange and the Pittsburgh Panthers are heading to the ACC to make that conference have 14 teams. It is likely that the ACC is going to be looking for two more teams to add into the fold for an even 16.

We also know that the Big East is at least getting one team back in the TCU Horned Frogs, who made the commitment last year to jump from the Mountain West to the Big East once this athletic year is over.

The Texas A&M Aggies are trying to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, and though the SEC has openly welcomed the Aggies with open arms, there are still schools in the Big 12 like Kansas State, Iowa State, and Baylor that are trying to block the move. Odds have it, they won’t be successful, and in 2012, A&M will be in the SEC.

The question for the SEC though, is who the 14th team is going to be. There are some thoughts that perhaps TCU could go back on its word to the Big East and try to head to the SEC, but the West Virginia Mountaineers are trying to make the move as well. If this happens, it is clear that the Big East is just a dead conference waiting to be partitioned the rest of the way.

To make matters worse for the Big East, the ACC is also reportedly in pursuit of the Connecticut Huskies and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for their Super Conference. This would round out the conference at 16 teams and would likely lock in the conference for the foreseeable future without any further expansion or departure… or does it???

The new realigned SEC Coference would have 14 teams with the additions of Texas A&M and West Virginia, and it would need two more schools. You just know that there won’t be small, unproven schools coming to the SEC, so the conference will do all that it can to poach from a bigger conference. Remember how the ACC thought it was set? Not so fast. Don’t be shocked if Florida State and Clemson headed to their instate rivals Florida and South Carolina and joins the SEC.

And that would leave the ACC with two open slots again to fill…

And that’s only the half of it. The Pac-12 is in talks with the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners about coming to their conference, and if that happens, the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Texas Tech Red Raiders will almost certainly be on the move to make that conference the Pac-16 as well.

That being said, the Big 12 would only be left with Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas, and Missouri. Kansas State and Kansas seem to be a package deal, and they could be headed to the Big 10, and that is the preferred conference for the Tigers as well. Iowa State and Baylor would be hung out to dry and might have to join lesser conferences. The 16th team for the Big 10? You’d like to think since this is probably going to ultimately signal the dawn of a college football playoff down the line, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are probably going to have to join, and this is the conference that makes the most sense.

And if you’re keeping score at home, the Big East could only be left with TCU, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Louisville, with the prospects of Villanova joining the FBS ranks for football in the coming years.

So let’s go back to the ACC, which has two slots to fill. Louisville and Cincinnati make relatively close travel partners, and the conference location does fit those schools, and though really any of the holdovers, or the possibility of South Florida and UCF coming into the ACC together exists, we tend to think that it would be the Bearcats and the Cardinals that enter into the ACC.

Thus, the dawn of the college football super conferences that we’ve been hearing all about… And right now, this is what we really could end up seeing when this alignment is said and done…

Proposed College Football Realignment & New Super Conferences
(College Footall Teams in Italics Designate New Teams Entering Conferences)

ACC “Super Conference”: Wake Forest, Maryland, NC State, Boston College, North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Miami, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Louisville

Pac-16 “Super Conference” (the old Pac 10): California, Stanford, Oregon, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, USC, Arizona State, UCLA, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech

Big 10 “Super Conference”: Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Kansas, Missouri

SEC “Super Conference”: Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Florida State, Clemson

Still, that leaves a lot of questions to be answered… Baylor, TCU, South Florida, and Iowa State all wouldn’t have places to go, though they could all come together in Conference USA. BYU is another team that is basically left out in the cold for all of this, and save for going to the WAC and hoping that eventually the WAC and the MWC combine, it could end up as an independent for the foreseeable future without a conference, and potentially without a spot in college football’s prospective playoff.

And then of course, there’s Boise State, the team that thought it was going to a conference in the MWC that could have been a powerhouse… until BYU opted for independence, TCU left for the Big East (or did they???), and Utah went to the Pac-12. There are going to be very, very unhappy teams in all of this, and in all likelihood, these are going to be the unhappy campers that are left out of the super conferences of college football.

The other question is what is left to do with the rest of the Big East Conference in basketball. Teams like Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, and Villanova could be headed to the Atlantic 10, while that conference might have to eliminate some of its members at the bottom of the totem poll to try to get all of these teams under the same conference umbrella.