NIT Quarterfinals Matchups

Last night two teams punched their tickets for a trip to New York next week and two more will do so tonight in the NIT. On Tuesday, both road underdogs covered the spread, with North Carolina winning outright. Is history due to repeat itself in Blacksburg and Champaign or will the home teams stand their ground and get ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple?

Rhode Island (25-9, 11-17-3 ATS) may have worn their road uniforms this month; however they haven’t visited enemy territory in awhile. The Rams haven’t played a true road game since Mar. 6 at Massachusetts, losing 69-67 as 7.5-point favorites. In fact, Rhode Island hasn’t won a road game period, last doing so on Ground Hogs Day at LaSalle. The Rams are 24-12 ATS in non-conference contests the last three years and could use another hot shooting night from Delroy James, who pumped in a career-high 34 points against Nevada two nights ago, to help Rhode Island advance in 85-83 thriller. They are only 2-9 ATS after scoring 80 or more points this season.

Virginia Tech (25-8, 14-12-1 ATS) also had a nail-biter Monday night, finding a way to knock off Connecticut 65-63. The Hokies won in spite of Malcolm Delaney scoring six points on 2-14 shooting. Delaney still found a way to contribute with nine assists.

DiamondSportsbook.com has Virginia Tech as six-point favorite with total of 143 and the Hokies are 13-4 ATS off a close home win by three points or less, while the Rams are 2-8 ATS versus teams outscoring their opponents by four or points after 15 or more games this season. This first NIT quarterfinal is on ESPN2 at 7 Eastern with Rhode Island 11-0 UNDER against defensive teams surrendering 42 percent or less shooting percentage past the midway point of the regular season.

Dayton (21-12, 15-15-1 ATS) had an undistinguished regular season, finishing eighth in the A-10 and being bounced in the quarterfinals of the league tourney by Xavier. The Flyers can earn team redemption by winning tonight and moving on to NIT semis with upset of Illinois (21-14, 14-17-2 ATS). Dayton has played extremely well in this tournament, with a 20-point win over Illinois State and taking it to in-state partner Cincinnati 81-66 on their floor. The Flyers have locked up opponents with stifling defense, holding last two to 33.3 percent from the field. However, they are 5-18 ATS playing their second road game in three days.

Illinois was thought to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but they lost five of their last six regular season games and had two chances to knock off Ohio State in Big Ten tourney and failed to do so. Coach Bruce Weber’s squad has put aside that disappointment and is 40 minutes from making trip to Madison Square Garden, winning three of last four and not losing against the spread in those contests (3-0-1 ATS). The Fighting Illini’s win against Kent State was impressive (75-58) and they are 29-13 ATS at home off a home win by 10 points or more.

Dayton is a three-point underdog for this 9:00 Eastern contest on “the deuce” and is 0-8 ATS off an upset win as an underdog over the last three seasons.

CBB Tournament's Update

Friday March 12 3:50 PM MST

I got an email from a guy who is a pretty sharp bettor who told me to play Michigan on the money line. I didn’t see it until after the game had started, I can only hope he also had the Wolverines against the spread.

An absolutely superb performance by Michigan in which they should have won the game, but their coach John Beilein had his team push hard for 39 minutes and 57.8 seconds and just like a football coach, goes into prevent defense. There is really no defending their defense in those few precious seconds. Manny Harris and his teammates deserved better, but their coach didn’t do his job at crunch time.

You have to give props to Evan Turner, it was a remarkable shot and what ESPN’s Steve Lavin said, I thought as it was happening, great form by Turner to give him and his team a chance.

How do you figure Illinois? For 35 minutes they looked like they should have tied for the Big Ten title, great precision on offense and stifling defense. Wisconsin ended shooting 28.6 percent for the game and was outrebounded by five and certainly did not look like Bo Ryan coached team as eight point favorites.

The top plays from the handicappers today look like this today. St. Louis (L) Florida State, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Xavier.

The earlier numbers for Dog Hunters

A handful of games had early lines for Friday, with the matchups already predetermined. For this week, the idea, especially before Saturday, is to find the best value, which means hunting for underdogs. Here is a look at the chances of those dogs that were assigned early numbers, attempting to figure out if they can cover or win outright.

St. Bonaventure’s needs your prayers

The Bonnies won their opening game 83-71 over DuQuesne as a one-point favorite. After torching the nets early in the season, conference play slowed down St. Bonaventure’s. However, recently the team has regained their shooting eye, converting on 49.2 percent or more in their last four outings. The Bonnies are 5-1 and 4-2 ATS in last six contests; unfortunately they will be up against Temple defense that allows 56.8 points per game and 38.1 percent.

The Owls have won seven straight and nine or 10, with only loss at highly respected Richmond. Temple has won and covered last nine meetings by an average of 19.2 per game. DiamondSportsbook.com has the Owls sitting as 10-point favorites and they are 6-0 ATS as neutral site favorites for this high noon start.

Underdog Cover Chance – Slimmer than Heidi Montag

Contrast in style

St. Louis is the higher seed at four; nevertheless, they are the underdog to Rhode Island by three-points. Oddmakers tip their hat to coach Rick Majerus, but are not convinced the Billikens 8-2 SU and ATS close to the season is for real. Ignorance is bliss for St. Louis, since they perfectly suited for this moment, having only been favored twice during this stretch. The average total score of a Billikens game is just over 122 points, while the Rams prefer the speedy 94-foot version that goes up and down to the tune of 148.6 total points a contest.

Oddsmakers might be giving an indication of what they really think having the total at 128.5, definitely at more a St. Louis pace. Rhode Island sunk St. Joe’s at home Tuesday by nine points, giving them three victories in last eight games with 1-6-1 ATS record. The Rams are in the subemployment area with 2-8-1 ATS record as favorite.

Underdog Cover Chance – Better than coach Majerus missing next meal

Illini-wreck

The fight has come out of Illinois, losing five of six with two covers. After shooting 49 percent or better five out of six times from Jan.23 –Feb. 9, the Fighting Illini have become card caring members of the welders union having to repair broken rims since they have been clanging hoists at 38.3 percent or worse in most contests. (5 of 6) They shot 35.6 percent against today’s opponent Wisconsin only five days ago and they are 0-5 SU and ATS at neutral site locations.

The Badgers are favored by eight-points which seems a bit generous, but they are 12-4 and 9-5 ATS off a spread cover and are 5-0 ATS after scoring in 68-79 point range this year.

Underdog Cover Chance – Better than Simon Cowell and Sting having lunch.

Dayton chasing bid

Dayton was the preseason choice to be A-10 champions this campaign, instead it turns out they weren’t even the second best team in Ohio from the Atlantic 10. The Flyers reached the 20-win barrier with non-cover 70-60 home win against George Washington in opening round and needs more W’s to be strongly considered for NCAA bid. The players understand their task.

“We just know we have to give it our all every single night and we cannot let up," Dayton forward Kurt Huelsman said. "We're not perfect, nobody's perfect and we made mistakes. But we have to learn and move on." Dayton is just 1-6-1 ATS and faces their biggest rival Xavier.
The Musketeers have rattled off seven wins in a row and 11 of 12 (9-3 ATS) and are playing for A-10 title and NCAA seeding. Xavier has scars from last Dayton dual, being thrashed 90-65 and is listed as three-point fave. The favored squad has covered 13 of the previous 17 conflicts.

Underdog Cover Chance – Similar to driving Toyota, risky

Massachusetts dealing with arachnophobia

The Minutemen were the one lower seed (11th) to pull the upset in the opening round of A-10 tourney. They upset Charlotte 59-56 as nine-point road underdogs, despite shooting 32.1 percent. Next up is one the best defensive teams in the country in Richmond, who is also very efficient on offense. On the year, UMass shoots only 40.1 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from three-point range. Those figures correlate with the Spiders defensive numbers.

Massachusetts is on the receiving end of 9.5-points and is just 1-5 ATS as neutral site dog. The bright side is the Minutemen are 7-3 ATS with two days rest and has covered three previous meetings with Richmond. Unfortunately, these Spiders really get under opposing teams skin, with 10 wins in 11 tries (9-1-1 ATS) and only defeat was at Xavier by two in double overtime.

Underdog Cover Chance – The movie “Cop Out” for Oscar nomination

Time to get serious about wagering college basketball

What a weird weekend for television viewing in college hoops. With conference races heating up, to be taken seriously as college basketball bettor you have to know the surroundings. While ESPN for the most part does fine work in identify quality matchups, they first are concerned about ratings. And while a lot of people like to watch and wager, do really trite matchups like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and N.C. State and North Carolina really hold anyone’s interest these days, unless you attended those universities, even during rivalry week. We’ll have information on many of the key games that are televised, however we also will inform readers about important contests like those in the Big Sky and Colonial Athletic Conferences, where something is at stake. Are you with me here! I thought so. Lines from Bookmaker.com.

Saturday, Feb. 13

Maryland at Duke (-10, 147.5)1:00E CBS

Before the season began, the general feeling was the ACC might be more competitive top to bottom than in years. Those beliefs have been prophetic and this will be a matchup that will help sort out the logjam. Maryland (16-6, 10-7 ATS) has nice collection of players, but for them to emerge victorious, forward Landon Milbourne and guard Greivis Vasquez have to be the Terps top point producers. Look for Duke to play rough and do some talking, since Vasquez can get off his game, flapping the lips and being too emotional. Maryland is 16-7 AT in road games when facing a team with a winning record past the midpoint of season and is 5-2 and 5-1 ATS in true away games this season.

Duke (20-4, 15-8 ATS) looked like a tired squad in loss to Georgetown at the end of January, playing four games in 10 days. Now this ACC clash will be their fourth in nine days, at least they will have the crowd support to spur them on. The Blue Devils could really use Kyle Singler to begin filling the bucket with greater regularity, since the team has become too dependent of Jon Scheyer to do everything. Singler has to hit medium and three-point shots to open up the lane for players in the paint, which in turn opens up jump shooters to have clearer looks. Duke is 8-1 ATS vs. good passing teams, averaging 16 or more assists a contest.

Maryland is 8-1 ATS in 2010 and Duke is 13-0 and 9-3 ATS at Cameron Indoor. What will happen, the outright winner is 13-0-1 ATS in last 14 encounters for the only teams with two ACC losses.

Missouri at Baylor (-4, 144.5) 1:45E Big 12 Network

The Tigers and Bears are looking to move up in the Big 12 standings and do battle in Baylor. Missouri’s style is to pressure the entire court, nonetheless that is nearly impossible to do unless they make shots, which sets up the press. A quick perusal of Mizzou’s season shows most losses have occurred on off-shooting outings. Make baskets and the Tigers (18-6, 10-8 ATS) are 13-5 ATS versus offensive teams scoring 77 or more points a game.

This is important contest for Baylor (18-5, 11-5 ATS), since they will either be favored or a short road underdog in next five Big 12 engagements. The Bears follow the lead of guard Tweety Carter, who can score or dish. The Baylor big people add more than expected and do nice work cleaning the glass. That point is meaningful since Missouri will force turnovers, making rebounding a must to control an aspect of the contest. The Bears are 22-9 AT against teams who make eight or more 3-point shots a game.

Baylor has covered last six meetings in Waco, winning four times.

Rhode Island at Temple (-4.5, 133) 4:00E Comcast

A glance at the A-10 standings shows this race is going down to final weekend to crown regular season champion, with seven teams having either two or three league losses. One of the matchups that will help determine the eventual outcome is this tilt. Rhode Island (19-4, 8-10-2 ATS) would make Al Davis smile, since all they do is win. That method of play makes the Rams a poor play at home and swell choice on the road as 8-2 and 6-2-2 ATS proves. On game by game basis, Rhode Island has a lot of answers to take down opposing clubs.

No. 21 Temple (19-5, 14-10 ATS) has put together an impressive body of work in 2009-10. Victories over Villanova, Siena and Virginia Tech, along with its strong play in the A-10 makes the Owls a hoot. All year Temple has been among the best teams in college basketball in fewest points allowed (57.6), yet is not deficient in scoring (65.0), like other comparable units. This is not a squib; the Owls are 32-13 ATS against conference opponents over the last three seasons.

Rhode Island tries to prevent season sweep, however is 2-9 and 4-7 ATS at the Liacouras Center, against a Temple team that is 10-1 and 7-4 ATS on its home court.

George Mason at Old Dominion (-13.5, 122.5)4:00E Comcast-DC

These two squads trail Northeastern by a game in the Colonial Conference at 13-3 and each will look to at least keep pace Saturday afternoon. George Mason (16-9, 10-11-1 ATS) was school record 10-1 in January (6-4-1 ATS) and has stumbled a couple of times this month at Georgia State and at Drexel. The Patriots are young team and they are about to find just how good they really are. With guard Cam Long their best player, George Mason is 6-2 ATS on Saturday’s.

Old Dominion (19-7, 8-13-1 ATS) was pasted by the Patriots 71-55 as six-point road favorites on Jan. 2, before anyone realized how good they might be. The Monarchs are built around playing solid defense, permitting a meager 55.2 points per game. ODU came together as a team when Kent Bazemore was paired with Darius James in the backcourt. Old Dominion is 12-0 at the Constant Convocation Center, winning by whopping 19.8 PPG, however is only 3-5-1 ATS.

Watch the underdog in this one, who is sporting 6-2 ATS mark

Memphis at Tulsa (-2.5, 132) 7:00E ESPN2

Memphis fans are finding out what it is like to no longer be elite. The Tigers have been clipped for a couple of C-USA losses, as Tigers’ fan jealously think of how John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins would have looked in Memphis blue. The Tigers (17-7, 6-13 ATS) are no longer privileged, going just seven deep and six players absorbing the majority of the minutes. Coach Josh Pastner knows what he will receive most nights from the backcourt, up front, not so much. Memphis is just 1-6 ATS against clubs with winning home record.

Tulsa (19-5, 7-13-1 ATS) has two exemplary players in guard Ben Uzoh and center Jerome Jordan and they are the only two to start every game this season. With Memphis finally vulnerable, the senior duo understands this is their time and they want to be the top dog of the league. The Golden Hurricane can board, leading the conference in rebound margin, but get very few easy baskets ranking last in creating turnovers. Tulsa still has other taxing affairs ahead, yet a win here breeds confidence for a team that is 12-3 ATS as a home favorite of six points or less or pick.

Both teams have two conference losses and trail once beaten UTEP. The loser could be out of C-USA contention and Memphis likes their chances since they have won last 10 of 11 (6-5 ATS), including last four visits to Tulsa, covering three times.

Northern Colorado at Weber State (-4.5, 148 ) 9:00E

In the Big Sky Conference, Northern Colorado (20-5, 11-11 ATS) attempts to catch Weber State (16-8, 12-8 ATS) for first place. Will Figures and Devon Beitzel are the Bears two leading scorers this team is at its best against quality competition with 8-3 ATS record vs. outfits with a winning record.

Weber State is at the head of the conference leaderboard, having won six of seven since losing at Northern Colorado. The Wildcats are trying to win their second straight regular-season conference championship which is meaningful since the regular-season champ plays host to the semifinals and championship game of the league tournament. A usual, Weber State is tyrant at home with 10-1 mark and 5-3 ATS record. They have covered 41 of last 61 home games.

Northern Colorado is the underdog and covered the spread last night for the first time since beating Weber State eight games ago.

Tennessee at Kentucky (-9.5, 147) 9:00E ESPN

You have to tip your cap to coach Bruce Pearl. While most coaches and players talk about overcoming adversity, which many people never quite grasp, this Tennessee (18-5, 9-11 ATS) club really has with earlier suspensions that rocked the team. It says a lot about the coach and players. Though basketball is a team game, each individual had to make conscious decision to played better, work harder and the basketball world marvels at what the Volunteers have been able to accomplish since the new year began. Pearl will need another trick up his sleeve at Kentucky; however the Vols are 6-3 ATS as road underdogs.

All the early discussion was how terrific guard John Wall was the best point guard since Jason Kidd coming into college. Wall has not disappointed anyone with his singular play, but as the season has worn on, center DeMarcus Cousins has turned into a double-double machine. He wants the ball when Kentucky (23-1, 11-11 ATS) needs a basket and as opposed to many 6’11 big guys, he’s got a good stroke from the free throw line. One of the most striking aspects of these two and fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe, they love to compete and when Big Blue is off a non-cover like what happened against Alabama the last time out, they are 20-8 ATS, including this group at 10-0 and 7-1 ATS.

The Wildcats have taken 10 of last 12 at Rupp Arena vs. the Vols, thou are 6-6 ATS.

Sunday, Feb. 14

Ohio State at Illinois (+1.5, 137) 1:00E CBS

This matchup has Big Ten Network written all over two weeks ago, instead it’s an indicator of who might emerge as conference champions. Illinois (17-8, 9-13-1 ATS) was NIT bound after losing three league games in a row in the middle of January. Nobody gave them much a chance, since they still had the meat of their schedule ahead, however three wins gave the team confidence, which were followed by upsets of Michigan State and Wisconsin and an overzealous Brent Musburger has Bruce Webber up for coach of the year with this turnaround. What Webber really did is punish bad behavior from various players by giving them splinter time and they have roared back. The Fighting Illini are 12-1 in Champaign and perfect 9-0 as home favorites, though 3-6 ATS.

Ohio State (19-6, 12-13 ATS) has won eight of nine (5-4 ATS) to crawl back into Big Ten chase. The return of Evan Turner has made this team complete and they are hell-bent on winning it all since Turner is likely to enter NBA Draft after the season. Turner’s ability to score allows William Buford and David Lighty to find more open shots. Illinois will also have to contend with center Dallas Lauderdale, who is a load in the low blocks. The Buckeyes are 3-7 ATS away from Columbus and Thad Matta coached teams are 6-17 ATS after making 20 percent from the three-point arc.

The Illini are 6-3 SU and ATS hosting Ohio State and swept them last season.

Louisville at Syracuse (-8, 150.5) 1:00E ESPN

Louisville (15-9, 7-12 ATS) has not met lowered expectations from a season ago, facing a slate loaded with landmines. The Cardinals have been on the short side of a number of road games in the Big East, however Rick Pitino isn’t about to lay all the blame on his players. “I’ve had it with the officiating (in the conference). That’s why I’m not going to say anymore. I’ve had it.”—Coach Pitino. He’ll hope the zebras won’t be an issue on Valentine’s Day, with his club 14-5 ATS in February games over the last three seasons.

Syracuse (24-1, 15-6 ATS) caught many prognosticators off guard in November, yet this club has methodically gone about its basketball business and keeps winning games. The Orangemen have suffered a couple of sleepy starts in recent weeks, but showed their talent and grit in overcoming Georgetown and DePaul. If Syracuse is really Final Four material, over the next month have to be less risky when handling the ball, trying to make too many ESPN highlight plays. Facing a pressing Louisville squad could be a step in the right direction for a team that is 13-5 ATS playing a team with a winning record this season.

The Orange is 2-5 and 1-5-1 ATS vs. the ‘Ville in last 12 years.

Rivalry Week lives up to billing tonight

For the most part, this made for cable sports broadcasting concept work well putting on a variety of top line games to watch and wager on. The situations are presumed to work and sometimes the schedule and prior events bring added importance to these matchups. It’s a battle of Tennessee when Vandy hosts the Volunteers in Nashville and the Big Ten has four of its top five teams in action in extremely important conference clashes. It promises to be quite a Tuesday for Rivalry Week.

Volunteer State Scuffle

Vanderbilt and Tennessee are positioned one game behind Kentucky in the SEC East and the winner will be no worse off at the completion of this conflict. Vanderbilt (17-5, 10-9 ATS) blew a golden opportunity Saturday to stay tied with the Wildcats falling at last place Georgia 72-58 as 4.5-point favorites. The Commodores shot 32.8 percent from the field (6-23 from 3’s) and did a real poor job defensively as the Bulldogs shot 53.2 percent and had nearly as many assists as baskets. Vandy will have to be much more efficient at home since they are 5-13-1 ATS off a SU loss.

Tennessee (18-4, 9-10 ATS) continues to confound, winners of three in a row after suffering a pair of SEC losses, one of which was to Vanderbilt. Wayne Chism is off a career high 30 points against South Carolina and he needs to be a defensive stalwart on the road. The Vols are just 2-5 ATS in last seven conference games.

The Volunteers are 13-5-1 ATS in last 19 battles, including 7-2 ATS at Vandy and are 3.5-point road underdogs at Bookmaker.com. This contest is on ESPN at 7 Eastern.

State Line Collision

Illinois and Wisconsin really don’t have much of a rivalry except for those that live on either side of the border between the two states. Folks south of the border see Wisconsin as nice quiet place to visit for vacations and those from the Badger State have little use for “those Flat-landers”. The Kohl Center will be no vacation spot for coach Bruce Pearl’s club, who is off its signature win of the season against Michigan State 78-73. The Fighting Illini (16-8, 8-13-1 ATS) has won four in a row and is in three-way tie for second place, one game behind Michigan State, however they are only 2-7-1 ATS off a cover since last season.

The Badgers (18-5, 13-8 ATS) have just taken care of both Michigan schools and return home where they are 13-0 and 8-3 ATS this season. Wisconsin is receiving fine performances Keaton Nankivil and Jordan Taylor, both who have raised their play since Jon Leuer was injured and coach Bo Ryan has developed a little depth with forward Ryan Evans and guard Rob Wilson making solid contributions. Off their win and cover at Ann Arbor, Wisconsin is 10-2 and 7-3 ATS after covering the oddsmakers number.

Wisconsin is a 9.5-point favorite and is 3-0-1 ATS the last four times Illinois has visited and the Under is 4-1 in the Mad City. This encounter is on the Big Ten Network at 7 Eastern.

Spartans in survival mode

Michigan State (19-5, 8-15 ATS) had kept winning, yet aesthetically was far from pleasing in starting Big Ten play 9-0. Among the reasons have been Raymar Morgan hasn’t always played with complete effort and is Casper the Ghost on the floor at times, particularly when foul problems arrive. Sophomore forward Delvon Roe continues to struggle, which is why sixth man Draymond Green continues to see heavy minutes. The Spartans were blasted by the Badgers for their first conference loss and with injured Kalin Lucas on the sidelines, could not match baskets with improbable Illinois club. Lucas’ status is still up in the air for tonight and it is time for these other players to assertive themselves, since Purdue is in town and their mindset is aggressive. Sparty is 33-14 ATS when they grab more than 45 rebounds.

It seems odd a Top 20 team would still be tinkering with main players in February, yet this is exactly what coach Matt Painter has been doing. A few Purdue (19-3, 10-12 ATS) bench players and occasionally starters have been more erratic than the Real Housewives of Orange Country. Nobody would prefer to have certain individuals step up more than Painter, with eight Big Ten games on the docket. Sophomore point guard Lewis Jackson has played 41 total minutes in three games since returning from a broken left foot that sidelined him and some of the rust is starting to come off which would help since the Boilermakers are 4-14 ATS as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points.

First place Michigan State is favored by 2.5points and is 9-1 and 7-3 ATS at the Breslin Center vs. Purdue with 6-2 UNDER mark. Game time will be just after 9 Eastern on ESPN.

Team toughness on display Tuesday

Adversity will often determine character. For Purdue, Tennessee and to a lesser degree Northern Iowa and Wichita State, they will all be tested on Super Tuesday. The Boilermakers have lost three in a row; the Vols take to the road since having best player dismissed and the Panthers look to stay perfect in conference action, while the Shockers look to rebound from loss.

Purdue pride on display

The Boilermakers (14-3, 8-9 ATS) started 14-0 and looked like one of the best teams in the country, three conferences losses later they might not even be a Big Ten contender unless they can overcome inadequacies. The question around the country has been what’s wrong with Purdue? Unfortunately, the warts are in more than one location.

Start with the Boilermakers are a good not a great shooting team. Purdue makes 45.2 percent from the field, which is only good for a tie for fifth in the conference with Wisconsin. When they have an off shooting night like they did at Northwestern (35.6 percent) their defense alone can’t overcome bad shooting eye. Though they are a +7 in turnover margin, coach Matt Painter has another issue, rebounding.

Beyond 6-foot-10 JaJuan Johnson, Purdue lacks height, as Robbie Hummel continues to be miscast as power forward. The Boilers have been out-rebounded in every Big Ten game thus far, by an average of over eight per game. That means few offensive boards for opportunities to score and giving up too many chances to the opposition. If Johnson gets in foul trouble, then the problem becomes even larger.

Purdue is a 2.5-point road favorite at Illinois (12-6, 5-10-1 ATS) according to Bookmaker.com, who is 3-7 ATS in last 10 games. The Boilermakers are on 2-6 ATS slide as favorites and 3-8 ATS against teams with a winning home record. Possibly there only saving grace is the Illini are 1-10 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less or pick, losing by almost six points game.

This Big Ten tilt starts at approximately 9 Eastern on ESPN.

Why don’t we do it on the road?

It’s been a test of character for Tennessee, losing four players to suspension, especially its best player Tyler Smith, who has been dismissed from the squad. The Vols (14-2, 7-6 ATS) have been able to overcome a shortened roster playing at home, which has been a big plus. Though guards Melvin Goins and Cameron Tatum returned to practice Sunday, coach Bruce Pearl’s club takes to the SEC road for the first time since the off-campus incident occurred.

Coach Pearl and his team have done great work in rallying, playing with just six scholarship players on the roster until Goins and Tatum returned. A hostile environment sets up a different set of circumstances for a team that is 17-32 ATS in road games after four or more consecutive wins.

Look for this to be an angry Alabama (11-6, 7-7 ATS) club having lost two straight. The Crimson Tide student body will likely have an opinion about Tennessee’s returning players, who according to Pearl might not see any action, preferring to keep the recent rotation intact. The Volunteers are 2.5-point favorites; however Bama is 12-1 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less or pick. ESPN has coverage at 7 Eastern.

Missouri Valley matchup a beauty

If you haven’t seen Northern Iowa (16-1, 12-4 ATS), all they do is systematically disassemble opponents. They have a collection of skillful guards with different abilities. Center Jordan Eglseder is 7’0, 285 pounds, with a deft left-handed touch and forward Adam Koch is dependable 13 points a night with five boards and solid defender for squad that is 16-4 ATS versus clubs that concede 64 or fewer points a game over the last two seasons.

Wichita State (16-3, 7-5 ATS) has proved its pedigree with wins over Texas Tech and quality road triumphs at Cleveland State and Missouri State. The Shockers have imposing depth, with eight players averaging 17 to 30 minutes a game, with no drop off. Guards Clevin Hannah and Toure Murry, along with center J.T. Durley are the team’s three leading scorers that are part of a very balanced attack. Coach Gregg Marshall stresses defense and his players are wholly committed to limiting descent looks at the basket by the opposition. Wichita State is off tough one-point loss at Creighton and is 5-0 ATS after a defeat.

The Shockers are a three-point favorite which doesn’t mean much since Northern Iowa is 16-4 ATS as an underdog over the last two seasons. These combatants are 6-6 SU and ATS at Charles Koch Arena the last 12 years. This MVC matchup starts at 9:05 on ESPNU.

Looking ahead in rearview mirror in college football

The world is an amazingly fickle place. When you are on the rise, everybody wants to be your friend. Once you reach the top of the summit, you are revered, honored and respected. Act a little pretentious and take a calculated risk that backfires and people will turn on you faster than an elected official talking bipartisanship.

That’s what seems to being happening to Urban Meyer at Florida, after the franchise, Tim Tebow, was blown up and suffered concussion at Kentucky. The media has decided to crush Meyer for having Tebow in a game that was 31-7 and the Wildcats showing no inclination of being any closer. Of course if the left side of the Florida line blocks and doesn’t expose “Superman” to big hit or Tebow’s own teammate’s knee doesn’t happen to be there to cause the trauma, all of this not a national sports story.

Like any good coach, Meyer had again seen a sluggish second half offense and undoubtedly wanted to give his first-teamers a chance to work out rough spots, for the eventually of actually having to play a full 60 minute game (see Penn State). Take off the 20-20 after-the-fact glasses and it was nothing more than bad luck Tebow was hurt. Besides let’s be honest, most of these scribes and talking heads love to see their names in more read areas to enhance reputation, than Tebow’s actual health.

For as many years as Joe Paterno has coached at Penn State, he as much as anyone should know playing bad opponents will improve team’s record; however will not prepare a team for eventual tough opposition. Iowa’s superior mental toughness (down 10-0 on the road) and more physical style started to take command in the second quarter and the Nittany Lions had no point of reference to turn the tide. StatFox had an angle that I’d never seen before and it rang true again. Penn State still might go on a win a beleaguered Big Ten, but they are 0-15 ATS against teams that hold opposing teams to 12 or fewer points.

California showed the courage of the “cowardly lion” from the Wizard of Oz at Oregon. Forget all the nonsense of look ahead to USC or Oregon just had hot day, these Bears by all appearances invoked the “Q” word and could have used someone like former Duck LeGarrette Blount, because at least he cared about losing. The type of loss Cal suffered (524 to 207 total yards) is hard to wash off and they are 3-7 ATS after Oregon. These Bears will have to hope there is no place like home against the Trojans.

One person and team that showed intestinal fortitude was Jimmy Clausen and Notre Dame. Starting Friday, reports were starting to emerge Clausen wasn’t nearly as good to go as advertised. Just minutes before the game, backup QB Dayne Crist was caught on camera warming up, which was a strong indicator Clausen wasn’t near 100 percent. The junior Irish signal caller was laboring with mechanics and Charlie Weis sent in a very effective package with Crist and Golden Tate in building 17-7 lead. Purdue did determine Notre Dame wasn’t going to really test them thru the air and shutoff the Irish offense and took the lead 21-17 with just over 3:30 minutes to play. Clausen strapped on the helmet, encouraged his team that they had to execute and he would take of the rest no matter if he was throwing on one foot. Clausen and the Irish showed grit in engineering game winning drive and were helped by highly questionable Purdue timeout with Notre Dame scrambling on third and goal. Are the Irish a great team or a good bet? Neither seems to be the case, but they don’t have another true road game until Nov. 14 (Washington State in San Antonio on Oct.31) and the way the first month has played out, it’s about winning and gathering styles points later.

Conference USA has a bevy of unfortunate teams, but Southern Miss and Houston are players. The Eagles pushed unbeaten Kansas to the limit at their place. Southern Miss was tied at 28 heading into fourth quarter as 11.5-point underdogs and lost by a touchdown. The stats proved how competitive the Eagles were, outgained just 433-395. They have good running game with Damion Fletcher and QB Austin Davis can chuck it around to big, strong wide receivers. They will have two difficult road trips to Houston and East Carolina, nonetheless, will be capable of winning both.

C-USA finally has respectable BCS-crasher somebody will talk about. Tulsa was 7-0 last year, but was thought of as nice story, not legit BCS material. Houston is 3-0, with a pair of Big 12 conquests. The spine-tingling comeback over Texas Tech before a record crowd at Houston has the Cougs in the Top 25 and BCS schools potentially looking for a new coach reading up on coach Kevin Sumlin. If the Cougars could conquer Mississippi State on the road in under two weeks, that leaves Southern Miss and at Tulsa as remaining visible road blocks.

Quick hits – The combination of Adam Webber and Eric Decker signifies that Minnesota has play on potential against Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State in the coming weeks. –Alabama is the most impressive team in the country and it is going to be nearly impossible to bet against them even as oddsmakers load the points on their opponents the next month. - So much for Virginia Tech not being a considerable factor in the ACC, after making Miami look like Duke in 31-7 thrashing. It will be interesting to see what the Hurricanes have left in the tank for Oklahoma this week as almost a touchdown home underdog. – The Ron Zook era might be coming to a close in Illinois. It won’t happen this year, but a lifeless Illinois team’s best performance was woofing at Ohio State BEFORE the game. Juice Williams never improved after Rose Bowl season. The Zookers are 15-32 SU if you take out FCS games in his tenure and might be favored just three more times this season.

Looking ahead in the rear view mirror

Coaching is often an overlooked aspect of sports betting. Sometimes how a coach prepares a team will have a direct impact on the outcome of a game. Oregon and Illinois were two examples of teams that looked extremely unprepared despite plenty of talk from the respective squads how they were going to dish out revenge.

New coach Chip Kelly’s team was impatient on offense and was completely befuddled by Boise State’s defense. No ability to run or pass in a game that shouldn’t have been as close as the final score.

Ron Zook is starting to look very much like he did in Florida, making Illinois an impossible wager. The Illini defense had a few big hits but was outclassed by a prepared Missouri offense. Juice Williams looked like he was past the expiration date and was totally ineffective. After Illinois State this week, the stumbling Illini are at Ohio State, host Penn State and at Michigan State. This team will win when it’s has no chance and lose in spectacular fashion, just like the “Zooker” teams did in Gainesville.

The Big Ten was 10-1, but 1-6 ATS. Ohio State was shaky, Wisconsin had to battle, Minnesota went to overtime with Syracuse and Iowa needed consecutive blocked field goal attempts to hold off FCS Northern Iowa.

At least the Big Ten won a number of games, the ACC was 4-6 and 1-4 ATS. Two of the spread losses were outright upsets as home favorites and Virginia fell at home 26-14 to William and Mary, (maybe they should have just played Mary) and Duke was rounded up by Richmond 24-16. About the only positive for either conference is league play should be competitive.

Syracuse played with more energy than anyone has seen in years and could have beaten Minnesota. Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus gave good accounting as starting Orangemen quarterback after not playing football for four years.

The Washington Huskies are not going to have a winning record; however they will be much improved, with a good offense led by quarterback Jake Locker. Definite underdog and back door potential with the Huskies.

Alabama could be VERY good come October. What’s so impressive about the Crimson Tide is they have players with large bodies and posteriors who can run and really smack people. The offensive line will only get better and they appear to have ability to wear down opponents in the fourth quarter. This team will be quickly overvalued.

Does Notre Dame FINALLY have something in the works? We’ll know more against improved Michigan, but the real tests will come later.

Tennessee and Auburn showed they might be better than expected, however sports bettors shouldn’t get too excited just yet. Both schools were playing at home in very positive environments that lent themselves to big opening games against inferior competition. Were the wins and covers impressive, yes, but much like the U.S. Open tennis tournament being played in New York, the Vols and Tigers just held serve, Let’s see when adversity strikes and see how they react.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins challenged his team to think big in the off-season and said the goal was to win 10 games in 2009. That task just became a little tougher after being upset 23-17 as 13-point favorites in Boulder. The worst part was the Buffalos looked similar to other teams viewed this weekend; they just weren’t mentally prepared for first game of the season in trailing 17-0, which is inexcusable.

Games to watch this week include Notre Dame at Michigan to see which team is further ahead or possibly can North Carolina defeat Connecticut, as the Huskies were popular play against team last week at Ohio and are 33-17 (20-12-1 ATS) at home since 2003. South Carolina becomes a big opponent for Georgia who hasn’t lost first two games since 1996. East Carolina and West Virginia won’t receive a lot of national exposure, but is important contest for both teams. The Pirates want to show they are Top 25 team and the Mountaineers want to prove they are still the team to beat in the Big East.

Study the numbers

Those who wagered early were not particularly effective with 5-8 ATS record on the sides and 2-3 mark on totals that moved 2.5 or more points as of last Tuesday.

Favorites were 20-19 against the spread and double digit home favorites were 11-9 ATS. Home underdogs didn’t have much luck with 3-5 ATS record.

In studying the final numbers, games in which the final number moved three points or greater, the wagering public was 9-5 ATS on the sides and 6-4-1 on the totals. Overall, the Under was the play at press time with 22-17-1 record for week one.

Five Extra-Large College Football Previews

Thursday was a nice appetizer; however what college football and sports bettors are looking for is day long action. Depending on your proximity it’s time to get those last wagers in and settle in for great day. Will Notre Dame finally look like a program on the rise? Can Oklahoma State knock off opponent with real pedigree? Is this the year Illinois wins the Arch Rivalry? Is Oklahoma worthy of lofty ranking with rebuilt offense? Will Virginia Tech prove the ACC is on the rise vs. Alabama? All or part of these questions will start to be answered on Saturday.

Georgia (+5, 61) at Oklahoma State 3:30E ABC-GP

The Georgia Bulldogs seemingly are returning to what they do best under coach Mark Richt. In his eight seasons in Athens, Richt is 82-22 (51-47-1 ATS) and his best teams were usually those with less gaudy expectations. Matthew Stafford raised the SEC title beliefs and when they weren’t delivered, enough Bulldogs backers wondered why. This year it is back to basics, with workman-like Joe Cox under center. Cox and the rest of the seniors were put thru the paces by Richt in the spring, expecting them to lead by example. Last year’s offensive line failures are expected to be replaced by hungry individuals returning from injury or those seeking playing time. Sophomore A.J. Green is first team All-SEC pass catcher and will ease Cox’s transition. Defensively, Georgia has the athletes on the line to quell running game and linebacker Rennie Curran is on many All-American lists. The Bulldogs are 8-0 and 5-2-1 ATS in first away game of the year.

Oklahoma State comes off their most successful season since 2003 at 9-4. Former Cowboys gunslinger and head coach Mike Gundy (27-23, 23-21-2 ATS) has the program headed in the right direction with three consecutive winning seasons and three bowl bids. The next order of business is climbing into top three in Big 12 South. For Gundy’s squad to take this step, he must have defensive improvement. Since the 2002 season, Oklahoma State has not ranked higher than 74th in total defense. Cornerback Perrish Cox and linebacker Andre Sexton will try to lead the improvement, but it will be the D-Line that will determine fate. On offense, it’s hard to find a better trio than quarterback Zac Robinson, running back Kendall Hunter and receiver Dez Bryant. This deadly trio helped lead an offense that scored 40.8 points per game last season. Though that imposing number might be difficult to reach again, the Cowboys will score a ten-gallon hatful of points. Sportsbook.com has Okie State as five-point favorites with total of 61 and Gundy’s crew is 7-1-1 ATS as home favorites Boone Pickens Stadium.

This is return match from two years ago, when Georgia won at home 35-14. Okie State has won 13 straight home openers (5-3 ATS); however this is different type of opponent. The Cowboys are 4-18 and 6-14-2 ATS against ranked teams.

Nevada (+15, 62) at Notre Dame 3:30E NBC

Charley Weis has had a tumultuous time at Notre Dame and if things haven’t been challenging enough, this billboard popped up in South Bend this week.

-Best wishes to Charlie Weis in the fifth year of his college coaching internship. –

The billboard was paid for by a former Irish football player from the late 1960’s, which was taken down later this week. That sentiment is held by more than one alumni and this the season Weis has to prove he should be the coach in South Bend beyond this season. The offense should have no problems scoring points with triggerman Jimmy Clausen and arguably the best receiver group in the country. The defense will have much to say what direction the Fighting Irish move, being talented and athletic (a rarity), but inexperienced. Notre Dame is 7-13 ATS as home favorites in the Weis regime.

Nevada will receive rare national exposure traveling to South Bend on the first Saturday in September. The country will learn about the Pistol offense, run expertly by QB Colin Kaepernick. The 6’6 junior has a good arm and loping stride that chews up yards in the open field. His backfield partner is RB Vai Taua, who is coming off 1,521-yards season. On defense, the Wolf Pack are relentless pass rushers and will test Clausen’s composure. If they don’t rattle the junior QB, it could get ugly, as Nevada was 119th among 119 FBS schools in past defense last year and has to face this Irish contingent. Coach Chris Ault’s club is 2-7 ATS the last five years against ranked teams.

Notre Dame opened as 8-10-point favorites depending on where you looked and were quickly lifted to current status. The Wolf Pack is 16-25 ATS as dogs of 10 or more points.

Notre Dame can’t overlook Nevada who can score. This is important year for coach Weis or its back to the NFL. Notre Dame just 3-13 ATS against non-BCS schools at home.

Missouri (+6.5, 61) vs Illinois 3:40E ESPN

A new era dawns of Missouri football, starting without Chase Daniel. He wasn’t the only one to depart as high draft picks Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman will being playing on Sunday’s instead. This could mean head man Gary Pinkel (59-41, 50-43-2 ATS) relies on the running game more, at least to start the season. Blaine Gabbert is the starter at quarterback and he will he handing off tailback Derrick Washington, until he feels more comfortable in the pocket. The Tigers lost top receivers, but Jared Perry and Danario Alexander are both seniors and they have contributed plenty and have deep speed. The defensive line’s two deep lacks experience and Jaron Baston is only returning starter. All-Big 12 linebacker Sam Weatherspoon is a stud and will have to be leader. Only one starter is back in defensive backfield, which might not be a big deal after finishing 117th in pass defense. The Tigers have shown some teeth with 8-3 ATS record in first game away from Columbia.

When Ron Zook was hired at Illinois, his recruiting skills were not questioned, his coaching ability was. Many thought Zook had turned a corner after taking Illinois to Rose Bowl two years ago; however last year’s 5-7 campaign opened up Pandora ’s Box again for Zook. That makes this a critical season for Zook, not from a job standpoint, rather if he can take the Illini program to similar status of Wisconsin year-in year-out in the Big Ten. Having Juice Williams should help, if he cuts down interceptions and every down running back emerges to make Williams run less. Arreloius Benn should have true bust-out year and Michael Hoomananwanui needs to have 40+ receptions at tight end. Talented individuals are on defense, with the question being can they be molded in a cohesive unit. The Fighting Illini haven’t shown much fight with 3-9 ATS record the last three years as single digit favorites.

Hard to call Game 1 is critical; nonetheless it could set the tone for both schools. Missouri has won four in a row in the Arch Rivalry and is 8-1 ATS in last nine. Illinois has rugged opening slate and Missouri wants to get program situated early.

BYU (+21.5, 66) vs Oklahoma 7:00E ESPN

BYU is coming off 10-3 endeavor and has its sights set on even greater glory in 2009. The Cougars over the years have not been afraid to take on some of the best programs in the country and they will get a look at one of the finest in Oklahoma. Coach Bronco Mendenhall (38-13, 25-22-1 ATS) has signal caller Max Hall back for senior season. Hall will have new receivers to chuck the pigskin to, making tight end Dennis Pitta especially important as bailout pass catcher. The offensive line needs four new starters, yet the Cougars usually find a way to put together a group of road-graters that can pass protect. The Cougars never mounted a pass rush in 2008 and nothing seems to have changed that much. The corners look weak, which is not what you need against a Heisman Trophy quarterback like Sam Bradford to start you new season. BYU is abominable 4-17 ATS in first game away from home.

Bradford stood behind arguably the best offensive in the college game last year and will have four different helmets to look at this fall. The junior has a quick trigger and Ryan Broyles and Jermaine Gresham will be favorite targets in no-huddle attack. Running backs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown will find lanes to scoot thru. While the offense doesn’t figure to be as prolific scoring 51.1 points per game, the nine returning starters on defense will play more of a role. Though it sounds ridiculous, the Sooners have six players in defensive line with pro potential, led by Gerald McCoy. Ryan Reynolds and Travis Lewis anchor a swift linebacker core. Oklahoma may disappoint in the biggest games, but don’t think for moment Bob Stoops isn’t elite coach. Boomer Sooner is 8-2 and 7-2-1 ATS in first matchup away from Norman.

After bumbling a bit, the Sooners are 11-1 and 10-1 ATS in non-conference regular season contests the last three years. With BYU having to replace four O-linemen against Sooners defense, the Cougs could be tough spot, already 0-5 ATS versus neutral site ranked teams.

Alabama (-6, 38) vs Virginia Tech 8:00E ABC

Alabama played in SEC title game and made BCS bowl game, are greater things on the horizon for Nick Saban’s (19-8, 12-13-1 ATS) third year in Tuscaloosa? It depends and the answer won’t really be known until later in the season. Where the tricky part is the offense, junior Greg McElroy has waited his turn and is now the big man on campus for the Crimson Tide. McElroy has professed to be ready and sophomore sensation Julio Jones will be one of his favorite targets to pass to. The offensive line has to be reworked with three outstanding starters gone and running back Glen Coffee leaving early. On defense, zero question marks with nine starters back and improving depth in support. All-American nose tackle Terrance “Mount” Cody is poised for colossal campaign and is leaner and reportedly meaner than ever. Rolando McClain is a headache at linebacker and the secondary has aggressive ball-hawks. The Tide have won last five of six as favorites.

Does it seem possible that Virginia Tech was ever bad under coach Frank Beamer? You have to go back to 1992 to find the last losing season in Blacksburg. The Hokies have won 10 or more games eight times in the last decade including five in a row (38-24-1 ATS). With 14 starters back in the fold, this opening game could determine if Virginia Tech is national contender or one of the best in the ACC. Junior Tyrod Taylor in the undisputed leader of the offense. He’s worked diligently to become better passer and expects to see the results. With Darren Evans out with ACL tear an unproven yet versatile running core will have to step up, running behind an offensive that came into its own late last season. Jason Worilds might be just 6’2 240 pound defensive end; however he’s upfield before the tackle is even out of his stance pressuring the quarterback, leading another stern Hokies defense. The Hokies are 12-4 ATS in first roadie of the season.

Oddsmakers have made their case about this matchup. Bama opened as a six-point choice despite a new quarterback and just four returning offensive starters. That speaks volumes about what they think about the difference between SEC and ACC. This is a special opening matchup and Virginia Tech is 17-6 ATS in September road encounters. The Tide is 16-1 SU in opening tilts since 1992, but just 5-10 ATS during that time.

What College Football Teams have Guts?

With the advent of the 12th game added to college football schedule in 2006, it was reported by the NCAA, this was designed to create more interesting non-conference conflicts. Well, like any government bureaucracy, the plan was short-sighted, not thought all the way through and turns out to be nothing like it was intended to be. Most BCS universities used this opportunity to add a home game as revenue builder and brushed up on geography, trying to Google locations of FCS schools that could use cold hard cash and would not mind trading a loss for green-backs.

These FCS schools quickly passed a class in economics, no longer settling for a quarter of a million dollars to get beat, raising the price to current levels of $500,000 to close seven digits for the right of bigger schools to build winning records.

This does not go on at every large university thankfully. There are those who have the courage to play home and home with another big program and try and have the team prepared for conference action. They will still play a cream-puff, but at least it doesn’t look like a whole box of Dunkin Donuts, like many other schools.

Here is a review of the schools that have courage and a couple that are cowardly lions. (Any nicknames with lions is purely coincidental)

Georgia and LSU

Mark Richt works well with his athletic director to schedule the right combination. You don’t have to play USC and Ohio State every year in non-conference action, however, find the right above average program that will be tough competition and have the interest of the local fans to come out and watch with a purpose. Georgia opens at Oklahoma State and you can ask Oklahoma and Texas how much fun Stillwater can be to play as a highly ranked team. The Bulldogs have return match in Athens against Arizona State and closes the season as per usual, with in-state rival Georgia Tech, this year in Atlanta. Nobody will begrudge Georgia hosting Tennessee Tech, as a doughnut game between Florida and Auburn.

Contrast Georgia’s slate with that of LSU. It’s not the Tigers fault Washington is moribund, it just worked out that way for the season opener on the road. In their remaining three non-SEC contests, LSU doesn’t even leave the state of Louisiana. The Tigers play Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech and Tulane at Tiger Stadium. And please don’t send email suggesting LSU wants to promote football in the Bayou, nobody is buying it.

Virginia Tech

Someday coach Frank Beamer will retire and fans of college football will be poorer because of it. Beamer will play anyone anywhere, as long as they will visit Blacksburg. No big time program has played as often on Thursday’s, trying to promote what they have going and build on winning tradition. This season, Beamer takes the Hokies down to Atlanta for a beauty against Alabama on Sept. 5. Two weeks later, Nebraska arrives at Lane Stadium and they will have revenge on their minds from last year against East Carolina at home on the first Thursday of November. Even Marshall is a representative opponent.

Florida State

Bobby Bowden is the modern version of building a program from scratch and playing anyone wherever, which he started doing 34 years ago in Tallahassee. After getting away from his roots for a few years earlier this decade, Florida State is getting back to what it used to do. On Sept. 19, the Seminoles will make treacherous trip to Provo, to face BYU. Florida State has more athletes than BYU, nevertheless, the Cougars passing game could be equalizer. Of course defending national champs Florida will close the regular season, but kudos to FSU for scheduling South Florida. It’s not a gimme, as the Bulls have talent and they have plenty of players that Florida State probably never recruited, thus will be motivated to prove Bowden and his team they made mistake.

Miami- Florida

Head coach Randy Shannon is in his third year, trying to rebuild the Hurricanes program back to past glories. Similar to LSU, Miami never leaves Florida for its four non-conference games, with a sharp contrast in quality and whereabouts. The AD didn’t do Shannon any favors, scheduling Oklahoma on Oct. 3, right after encounter at Virginia Tech. The following week they have Florida A&M coming into Landshark Stadium. What separates the Miami from LSU, they go right into the eye of the hurricane so to speak with road challenges at Central and South Florida.

BYU

The Cougars will be more than ready for Mountain West Conference play in 2009. BYU will travel to Arlington, Texas, to play in Jerry Jones new palace against Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and Oklahoma in season opener. This is followed by another road excursion to Tulane, before heading home to prepare for Florida State. That is ambitious start for the Cougs, who are preseason MWC favorites.

Houston and Rice

It’s not easy playing in a non-BCS conference, since finding games means traveling for the most part. This is true for Conference USA favorite Houston, who had to make one-sided deal with Oklahoma State and returns to Stillwater for second straight year. The Cougars will at least have Texas Tech at Robertson Stadium on Sept. 26. Following that battle, Houston has three straight road games, with the middle one at Mississippi State.

Rice is off rewarding 10-3 campaign and Texas Bowl rout of Western Michigan. The Owls suffered major losses on offense, which included QB Chase Clement and receiver Jarett Dillard. Having September road games versus Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will test mettle early, with Vanderbilt home game to follow. Later in the middle of October, it’s off to face a good East Carolina club. Nothing easy for Rice this season.

Illinois

The Fighting Illini’s non-Big Ten schedule isn’t so pressing, as it is unusual. This will be the third consecutive year Illinois opens with Missouri, which hasn’t worked out well for coach Ron Zook trying to get off to fast start with a pair of defeats. Illinois State makes the journey south to Champaign for next game and home opener for Illinois. Because the Big Ten slate has the Illini playing at Ohio State, home to Penn State and Michigan State in first three affairs starting Sept. 26, they made Sept. 19 an open date. How the Zookers decided to play the rest of non-conference games was wait until the Big Ten was over, take a bye week and play at Cincinnati the day after Thanksgiving and have Fresno State visit in December to finish the year. Certainly creative, especially for the Big Ten.

Penn State

Joe Paterno has been at Penn State forever, or so it seems. Paterno earlier this year was lobbying for the Big Ten to add a twelfth team to the league and wasn’t shy about his feelings in saying he didn’t want Notre Dame, when Pittsburgh or Syracuse would do fine in his mind. Of course Jo Pa wouldn’t want to do what the Pac-10 did in adding ninth conference game, not when you can schedule Akron, the Orangemen, Temple and Eastern Illinois all at Beaver Stadium.