The first day of the 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 season!

Montee Ball Over/Under 122.5 Rushing Yards
It’s tough to bet on a running back to put up at least 123 rushing yards in a game, but we have no reason to believe that both of the big time Wisconsin running backs won’t get to triple digits in rushing. The Runnin’ Rebels had a woeful rush defense last year, and there is no doubt that Ball and RB James White should end up dominating. Don’t be shocked if Ball ends up flying past this number, especially knowing that QB Russell Wilson probably isn’t going to be turned loose in this first game. Ball Over 122.5 Rushing Yards (-105 at BetOnline Sportsbook)

Chris Relf Over/Under 11.5 Completions
Last year, Relf and QB Tyler Russell split time when playing against the Tigers, but this year, we tend to think that Relf is going to have a heck of a lot more work. Head Coach Dan Mullen knows that this is a great opportunity to build his offense, and Memphis’ defense really isn’t going to have any recourse for stopping anything that the Dawgs are going to try to do, and though there is really no reason to put the ball up 20+ times over the course of this game, we do think that Relf will do just that. Take Relf Over 11.5 Completions (-115 at BetOnline Sportsbook).

We have waited for over a month to sink our teeth into this one! Finally, the BCS National Championship Game is here, and NCAA football betting fans can’t wait to watch the Oregon Ducks take on the Auburn Tigers for all of the marbles. Just when you thought we had every angle of this game covered, think again! Today, we’re tackling some of the best props on the board for the biggest game of the year.

Will there be a score in the first 4 1/2 minutes?
Let’s be remotely reasonable here. Every single season, we look and see two teams with these great offenses playing for all of the marbles in the BCS Championship Game, and every single year, we think that we are going to see all of these points hit the board right away in the first quarter and that the scoring will just never look back. Sometimes, like when the USC Trojans played the Texas Longhorns, we end up with that great offensive shootout. Others, like when the Florida Gators beat the Oklahoma Sooners, we get a complete dud. Either way, it usually takes teams quite a while to get into the swing of thing. Sure, it wasn’t all that long ago that WR Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kickoff of the National Championship Game for a TD, but we know that the likelihood of that happening here is slim to none. These offenses are going to take awhile to get into the swing of things, and it certainly isn’t going to happen right away in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game. Even in that Texas/USC epic battle, there was only one score in the entire first quarter. There’s no reason to think that this isn’t a winning proposition at least 60 percent of the time. There will be No Score in First 4 1/2 Minutes (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in the BCS National Championship Game.

LaMichael James Longest Run Over/Under 30.5 Yards
When something happens eight times in 12 games and the sportsbooks are only asking you to make a 50/50 proposition call on it, you just have to jump at the opportunity. Sure, the Tigers held teams to right around 100 yards rushing this year, but this is an exception. You know that Oregon is going to get its yards in this one. It might be a frustrating night for the Heisman Trophy runner up, but James is certainly capable of ripping off at least one run of at least 31 yards in this one. He did that in each of his first five games of the year and three times down the stretch. James should be able to do this at least once. Don’t be shocked to see his longest rush be Over 30.5 Yards (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

Will Kenjon Barner score a TD?
Let’s be real here with Barner for a second. Sure, he had 17 carries in each of his last two games against the Arizona Wildcats and the Oregon State Beavers, but his numbers are inflated thanks to the fact that he had five scores in the first game of the season when RB LaMichael James was suspended. Barner has only found pay dirt three times since then, and two of those scores came against Oregon State. The odds on this prop should probably be about -300 for ‘no’, but because of the fact that the ‘total’ is so high in this game, the oddsmakers are hoping that you fall into all of the traps and bet ‘yes’ on every single one of these props. Not everyone can score a TD in the title game, folks. Barner will be one of those that doesn’t get a chance to celebrate in the end zone. He will Not Have a TD (-170 at Hollywood Sportsbook) against the Tigers.

Will Mario Fannin Score a TD?
Don’t get suckered into the fact that Fannin scored five TDs this year. Two came against the Chattanooga Mocs, and one came against the South Carolina Gamecocks when the SEC Championship Game was already well out of reach. Do you really believe that this game is going to be a blowout? Unless there are some major injuries to either RB Michael Dyer and/or RB Onterio McCalebb to speak of, we’re not even so sure that Fannin gets onto the field, let alone scores a TD in more than one out of four games. He will Not Have a TD (-320 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

Philip Lutzenkirchen Over/Under 1 Reception
Maybe we’re getting suckered into this one just a tad, but we have seen more out of Lutzenkirchen of late than we did for the rest of the season. Maybe he is more likely to have no receptions than two receptions, but we have a feeling that the big guy, one of the feel good stories in this game, will at least get his hands on the pigskin once. Don’t be shocked if he’s a surprise TD scorer, as he is a great option near the end zone. However, the stellar tight end has been the target of at least a couple of passes in each of Auburn’s last three games. We’ll take our chance that he at least gets the one catch, and gets a second one somewhere along the way. Lutzenkirchen should have Over 1 Reception (+110 at Hollywood Sportsbook) against the Quack Attack.

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For several weeks, we have been anticipating how the BCS National Championship picture would pan out. Once and for all, we know that the Auburn Tigers will be facing off with the Oregon Ducks as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, and the winning team will collect the hardware as the National Champions in 2010-11. With still a month to go before the game kicks off, we present the three keys to the biggest game of the year that you need to pay attention to before making your BCS Championship picks. The opening National Championship line features Auburn favored by 2.5 points, while the ‘total’ has been set at 74.5.

Key #1: Auburn’s Defense Must Stop LaMichael James and the Oregon Ground Attack
Last week, when we analyzed this from the standpoint of the Civil War with the Oregon State Beavers, we wished the Beavs good luck. They needed it. The Ducks rushed for 346 yards without QB Darron Thomas even taking a single step past the line of scrimmage on the day. The Quack Attack is averaging 309.9 yards per game this year on the ground, and that is being parlayed into the most points in the nation at 49.3 per game. To make matters worse for the opponents, if you take out that close call at the Cal Golden Bears, Oregon is averaging 323.1 yards per game on the ground, 562.3 yards per game in total, and 52.5 point per game. If the Ducks end up scoring 61 points or more in this one, they would become the highest scoring team in the history of college football. The only team with more was the 2005 Texas Longhorns, who scored 652 points… in 14 games… Oregon would have pulled this feat off in just 13 games. James is clearly going to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy this year, as he has rushed for 1,702 yards and 21 TDs on the campaign. However, we can’t forget about RB Kenjon Barner and QB Darron Thomas either. Barner has rushed for 537 yards and six scores and just reached the century mark in the Civil War, while Thomas has 496 yards and five TDs on the ground as well. Auburn’s defense has been great against the rush this year, but it has not faced a foe like this all season long. The Tigers ranked No. 9 in the land at just 104.0 yards per game allowed, but they’ll have to really buckle down to keep the Quack Attack under 250 yards in that department.

Key #2: Cameron Newton Must Play Like Vince Young
We’ve already made one comparison in this game to the 2005 Texas Longhorns, and we are about to make our second. QB Cam Newton has drawn all sorts of comparisons to QB Vince Young, whom many thought was the best player that college football had seen until QB Tim Tebow graced the grounds at the University of Florida. There really were no players like Young that could just single handedly tear apart any defense in the country and do so seemingly without ever breaking a sweat. Who could forget about that legendary National Championship Game against the USC Trojans in January 2006 in which he rushed for 200 yards and three TDs and threw for 267 yards, gliding through one of the best defenses that the collegiate ranks had ever seen. Many think that Newton, just a junior, is better than Young is at this stage of his career. After putting up numbers like this, it’s hard to disagree. Newton, in the significantly tougher SEC, has thrown for 2,589 yards and rushed for 1,409 more, and he has thrown for 28 TDs, rushed for 20 TDs, and has one more as a receiver as well. Newton is one of just two players in the history of college football to both throw and rush for at least 20 TDs in the same season, joining Florida’s Tebow. He has also only been picked off six times and has only lost one fumble. Oregon’s defense has been known to have some holes in it, and it clearly never ran up against an offense like this anywhere in the Pac-10 this year, save perhaps against the Stanford Cardinal. However, there are no signal callers like Newton in the Pac-10, and the Ducks are finally going to get a taste of their own medicine. Still, it will be up to Newton to bust open the Oregon defense time and time again to keep up with the scoring pace that the Ducks are clearly going to be going with.

Key #3: Some Star Must Shine Outside of the Two Heisman Candidates
Believe it or not, there are more than just two players in this game! LaMichael James and Cam Newton are both amazing, but they are not the only men on the field. You can bet that after a month of game planning, the defenses are going to be keyed in on the two studs. However, there are some other men to watch, and inevitably, one of these guys is going to be the difference maker that wins the title for his school. For Auburn, the men to really keep an eye on are DT Nick Fairley, RB Michael Dyer, RB Onterio McCalebb, and WR Darvin Adams. Adams caught that ridiculous Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half of the SEC Championship Game, and he broke the SEC Championship Game record with 217 yards on seven receptions with a pair of scores… and all of those stats came in the first half. Dyer rushed for 950 yards and five scores this year, while McCalebb had 763 yards and nine TDs. Fairley is going to be the top defensive player from either of these teams, and he is the difference maker in the middle of the defensive line that will be responsible for closing down the inside ground game of the Ducks. On the other side of the field, we know that freshman S John Boyett, the team’s leader in INTs, is going to have to be at his best on the game’s biggest stage. We’ve already spoken about what RB Kenjon Barner has the ability to do, but we can’t forget about WR Jeffrey Maehl either. Maehl has been up and down at times this year, but he has 943 yards and 12 scores on a team high 68 receptions. Looking for a dark horse that could be a real difference maker for Oregon? Don’t forget about WR Josh Huff. Huff has done a little bit of everything this year, as he has 13 carries for 210 yards, 19 receptions for 303 yards, and 534 kick return yards with a total of six TDs.

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The New Mexico Bowl will kick off the 2010 bowl season on Saturday afternoon, and here at Bankroll Sports, we have the ins and outs covered for a great game for you to make your NCAA football picks for. The BYU Cougars and UTEP Miners really played opposite seasons of each other, as the Miners started off strong and limped to the finish line, while BYU won five straight games to become bowl eligible before losing the Holy War to the Utah Utes by a narrow margin. Which team will end up beating the 11.5 point spread in favor of the Cougs? Check out these three New Mexico Bowl keys to the game.

Key #1: Protecting Trevor Vittatoe
The BYU defense has done a great job this year against opposing passing games, especially in the second half of the campaign. The team only allowed 187.8 yards per game this year through the air, one of the top marks in the MWC and good enough to rank No. 21 in the country. No one threw for over 300 yards on this ‘D’ all season long. For UTEP, QB Trevor Vittatoe is dealing with an ankle injury, and though he is going to be playing in the game, he is probably going to be hobbled just a bit as well. Over the course of the last three seasons, the signal call was sacked 21, 25, and 22 times respectively, but the OL did a lot nicer job this year, allowing him to get dropped behind the line just 14 times. Of late, those numbers are getting worse, and more and more pressure is getting into his face. Vittatoe has only completed 37 passes over his last three games, and he hasn’t made it to the 200 yard mark in any of those efforts, averaging under 150 yards per game. He hasn’t thrown a TD pass in almost nine quarters of game time and has been picked off twice in that stretch as well. It’s fairly clear that, when given a chance, Vittatoe is lethal. He threw for 340 yards and three TDs against the Houston Cougars and 246 yards and five scores against the New Mexico State Aggies. However, this is probably the best pass defense he has seen all season long, and if the Cougs get to him in the backfield consistently, the Miners are in some big time trouble.

New Mexico Bowl Odds at BetUS Sportsbook
Northern Illinois Huskies -1
Fresno State Bulldogs +1
Over/Under 58.5
Click Here to Bet on Your New Mexico Bowl Picks! 

Key #2: Jake Heaps needs to play like the signal caller he was in the final four games of the year and not the one from the first two months
True freshmen sometimes get a bad rap for the way that they play. Sometimes it’s justified and they just never grow into themselves. Other times, they just need some more time to shine. That’s exactly what happened with QB Jake Heaps this year for the Cougs. He started off the season splitting reps with QB Riley Nelson, a far more experienced and significantly more mobile option. However, HC Bronco Mendenhall turned the keys to the car, per se, over to Heaps going into the game against the Nevada Wolf Pack. He struggled mightily in his first four games as the lone starter, throwing six picks and no scores. However, since the start of November, Heaps has been fantastic. He has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for an average of just under 250 yards per game with nine TDs and just one INT. All but two of his TD passes this year came in the month of November. Remember last year when Utah Utes QB Jordan Wynn really shined brightly down the stretch and in his bowl game? That’s exactly what Heaps has to do here in the New Mexico Bowl to beat the Miners.

Key #3: Someone aside from JJ Luigi needs to help Heaps out
RB JJ Di Luigi did just about everything for the Cougars this year. He had the most carries on the team (158), the most receptions (42), the most rushing yards (819), the most receiving yards (422) and the most total TDs (8). We know that, whether as a rusher or a receiver, Di Luigi is going to get his numbers, and there is nothing that the UTEP defense can do about it. What the Miners have to do though, is shut down everyone else around him. RBs Bryan Kariya and Joshua Quezada have combined for over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage this year, but there isn’t a receiver out there that has more than 34 catches or even 400 yards for BYU aside from Di Luigi. We know that both WR Cody Hoffman and WR Luke Ashworth are threats, but that doesn’t mean that they are going to be able to really bust out. UTEP has to contain these men on the outside and keep from letting the big play happen. There was only one pass play all season long that went for more than 50 yards for the Cougars, and the Miners need to make sure that it stays that way.

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The Oregon Ducks are just one game away from the BCS Championship, but standing in their way are their hated arch rivals, the Oregon State Beavers. This game is known as the Civil War for a reason, as you won’t find two teams that despise each other as much as these two do. Check out the keys to winning this game for both sides and the things that you must remember before making your NCAA football picks on this game.

Key #1: Stopping LaMichael James
Good luck, Oregon State. The Beavers rank No. 82 in the nation against the rush at 165.43 yards per game, and they have been absolutely wrecked by some of the best running teams on their schedule. Fortunately, we have a lot of great games to compare this one to, but unfortunately for the Beavs, none of them have turned out all that well. The TCU Horned Frogs rolled off 278 yards on the ground, the Boise State Broncos racked up 178, while the Stanford Cardinal had 167. Though these three teams are all phenomenal squads, none of them have LaMichael James on their roster. Simply put, this is the best and most dynamic running back in college today, and he proves it week in and week out. James already has 1,568 rushing yards and a total of 20 TDs in just ten games this year, and he is pacing a rushing attack that is averaging 306.6 yards per game on the season. If Oregon State can’t at least slow this unit down on the ground and keep James relatively in check (and by that, we mean in the near 100ish yard range), there isn’t much hope for knocking off the best team in the country.

Key #2: You Must Believe, Oregon State!
The Beavers have had their backs to the wall a number of times before, but probably never really like this. They’re a 5-6 team right now that is certainly one of the best 40 or so teams in the country. They have fallen upon hard times because of a brutal schedule, and one absolutely unforgiveable slip up at home against the Washington State Cougars shouldn’t be the difference between them going to a bowl game and not going to one. The Civil War has been won before, right here at Reser Stadium, and Oregon State has blown away the Rose Bowl and National Championship hopes for the Ducks in the past. Oregon is a great team. There’s no taking that away from them. However, if they really think that they are going to be competing in this one, the Beavers have to enter with the mindset that they are the aggressors in this game, not the team that is just trying to keep it close and hang on for a ‘W’ at the end. If that’s what happens, they’ll get destroyed.

Key #3: Take Jacquizz Rodgers Out of the Game and Make Ryan Katz Beat You, Oregon
This is really the only think that the Ducks need to worry about. We know that their offense is going to get the job done; that’s why they’re ranked No. 1 in the country at 546.7 yards and 50.5 points per game this year. The real question is whether or not the defense, which has been shaky at times this year, can really get the job done in this rivalry game. The Beavers were shut out last week and have fallen upon some hard times, but they really aren’t to blame for all of these hassles. Their schedule and some injuries are. WR James Rodgers has been out for the majority of the season, and he was the team’s most dynamic receiver. It was bad enough that QB Ryan Katz was already being asked to step in an replace QB Sean Canfield, who was phenomenal with the Beavers in his short time in Corvallis. Now, Katz had to get the job done with Rodgers. He does have his brother to work with though, and RB Jacquizz Rodgers is the man most likely to blow this game open with big plays for the Beavers. Last year in this game, Rodgers rushed for 64 yards and caught 73 yards worth of passes, and this season, he already has 1,110 yards and 16 total scores. The way that you slow down Rodgers is by not letting him have the football. As long as Oregon’s offense keeps scoring and the defense can at least work Oregon State into a few third and long situations, the Ducks should be fine. It’s only going to take a few early stops to take the lead in this game, and once the Beavers fall two scores behind, that’s when things can get a little ugly for Katz, who has only thrown for 2,159 yards this year.

The Oklahoma Sooners are usually the team that is doing the hunting in the Bedlam series against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. However, this time around, it is Oklahoma State that is the favored team. The stakes are even higher on Saturday night, as the winner will play in the Big XII Championship Game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Here at Bankroll Sports, we have all of the prop picks for this de facto Big XII South title game that you certainly won’t want to miss out on.

Landry Jones Over/Under 330.5 Passing Yards
Let’s face the facts here. This isn’t going to exactly be a low scoring game. We know that Jones and the Oklahoma offense are going to get their points on the board, and we know that they are probably going to rack up over 500 yards of offense on the day. The Cowboys know that as well. The hosts rank No. 107 in the country in pass defense at just 258.0 yards per game allowed, but that includes all of those games against teams that could care less about throwing the pill around. Jones has averaged 318 yards per game in his career, and he is only getting better with every passing week. If you believe that the Cowboys are going to continue scoring in this one at a wicked pace, you have to love Jones going Over 330.5 Passing Yards (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) on Saturday night.

Brandon Weeden Over/Under 344.5 Passing Yards
This number though, is a little absurd. Perhaps if Weeden were in the 320s or so, we would consider backing his over, but getting to 345 passing yards in a game is really, really tough, whether you have some of the best receivers in the nation to try to throw to or not. We know that over these last three games, Weeden has thrown for at least 389 yards and that he has tossed seven TDs in that stretch, but this is a different type of challenge which will require more attention to the ground game as well. The Sooners, at their best, are worlds better than the Kansas Jayhawks, Texas Longhorns, and Baylor Bears. You know that this isn’t going to be a three score game, which is what each of these last three have been as well. We think that Oklahoma is at least going to be able to hold Weeden down just a tad. He’ll put up his usual gaudy numbers, but he’ll still end up going Under 344.5 Passing Yards (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

Justin Blackmon Over/Under 130.5 Receiving Yards
Blackmon is always the top target for Weeden to throw to, and though we aren’t all that confident in his ability to get to the 350ish yard passing mark, we have no doubts that Blackmon is getting to his yardage total. Remember that this wide out leads the nation in virtually every receiving category in spite of the fact that he was suspended a couple weeks ago for a DUI. Blackmon can go for 300 yards by himself in this game if he really wanted to, and even though the Sooners are inevitably going to be rolling coverage to his side quite a lot, it isn’t going to make one difference. Blackmon will easily go Over 130.5 Receiving Yards (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

By the standard set by the Florida State Seminoles. they have never had much in the way of luck against the NC State Wolfpack, particularly in Raleigh. Nor have they ever really played that well on primetime football, especially during the week. However, if they want to win the ACC Atlantic Division, they are going to have to put those demons aside and come forth with their best effort on Thursday night to take care of the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Here are our NCAA football props picks for this nationally televised game on ESPN!

Russell Wilson Over/Under 3.5 Touchdowns + INTs
Florida State has a ball hawking secondary that is really one of the most athletic units in the nation. However, unless Wilson plans on throwing oodles of INTs, we have no idea why the oddsmakers are asking him to get to four TDs + INTs in this one. Wilson has 18 touchdown passes this season in just seven games, which is a remarkable number. However, the majority of these TD tosses have come against iffy defenses, save the three TD game against the Virginia Tech Hokies a few weeks ago. Wilson is up against it now, perhaps against the best defense in the ACC. Yes, the Noles will probably get their INT, possibly even two. After all, Wilson has tossed nine picks in his last four games. Remember that this was also a man who only threw one INT in his entire freshman season. Florida State isn’t allowing three TDs passes, and if that’s the case, we’re banking on Wilson to not throw at least three picks again. We’ll take our chances on Wilson going Under 3.5 TDs + INTs (+125 at Hollywood Sportsbook) on Thursday night.

Will Willie Haulstead Score a Touchdown?
QB Christian Ponder loves to throw the ball all over the field to a number of different receivers, but Haulstead, at best, is option No. 3. You’re talking about a man that has only scored in two different games this year, and has only had four total catches in FSU’s last two games overall. Aside from that, the Wolfpack have a secondary that is better than what the Noles are used to seeing on average. The sophomore is a big time deep threat, but asking him to score a TD in at least one out of three games to beat us is ludicrous. There’s no way that we aren’t on the right side of this prop more often than not. Go with a Haulstead Not to Score a Touchdown (-180 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

Will Jermaine Thomas Score a Touchdown?
Here we go again with another prop that the oddsmakers don’t really know what they’re doing. Thomas really became the “feature” back in this FSU offense when RB Ty Jones got hurt a few weeks ago. However, Jones came back into the fold last week against the Boston College Eagles, and as a result, Thomas only ended up with five carries for the entire game. We expect to see him touch the rock a solid 12-15 times between receptions and carries in this one, but that doesn’t mean that he is finding pay dirt even half the time. There is no real rhyme or reason for who HC Jimbo Fisher elects to deploy down by the goal line, and we aren’t so sure that Florida State won’t be doing more throwing the ball in tight in this game anyway. Once again, the oddsmakers don’t know what they’re doing with this one. Go with Thomas Not to Score a Touchdown (+120 at Hollywood Sportsbook).