NCAA Football FanHouse

Gambling Site Releases Odds on Next School to Violate NCAA Rules

Clay Travis — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:45:00 EST

Filed under: Gambling, General CFB Insanity

You know 2009 is the the summer of NCAA violations when sports betting sites take aim at the action. In a sign as momentous as when the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (this might be in my mind because I went to see the most epically bad movie of the summer in Year One. Seriously it's awful.), BetUS.com laid action on which school was the most likely to receive the next NCAA violation. NCAA president Myles Brand just broke a crystal gavel in the NCAA corporate offices.

USC leads the pack at 8-1, followed by Ohio State at 9-1, Florida and Ole Miss at 10-1. I think I speak for everyone when I say that Tennessee at 14-1 is an extremely attractive option. And how in the world is Iowa also 14-1, don't you at least have to have good players for penalties to seem likely? Or is that a subtle nod to the slow derailment that has been the Kirk Ferentz era? Regardless, I think we all know what this means, the NCAA enforcement procedure has become such a joke, that we can all have fun with teams breaking the rules. See no evil, hear no evil, fear no evil: Welcome to the 21st Century NCAA.

The Sun-Sentinel has the odds posted. I've included them below for your handicapping analysis.

USC 8-1
Ohio State 9-1
Florida 10-1
Ole Miss 10-1
Florida State 12-1
Michigan State 12-1
Alabama 13-1
Michigan 13-1
Georgia 12-1
Iowa 14-1
Tennessee 14-1
Georgia Tech 14-1
Oklahoma 15-1
Virginia Tech 15-1
Mississippi St. 15-1
Cincinnati 15-1
Texas A & M 15-1
Boston College 16-1
Oklahoma State 17-1
Texas 18-1
Texas Tech 18-1
Missouri 18-1
TCU 20-1
UCLA 20-1
Cal 20-1

Remember back in the day when everybody feared the NCAA? Maybe I was just young and naive but I really think this used to be the case. The NCAA was a group of jack-booted thugs, you didn't want them anywhere near your program. In the early 1980's I remember SEC fans discussing the NCAA's investigation of Florida Gator football with hushed tones. I didn't even know what the NCAA was, but I knew Florida was in real trouble. Florida fans were terrified, the only two words more scary to them than "NCAA investigation" was "citrus freeze."

On the way to Disney World that year, my dad entered into a conversation with a man wearing a Florida Gator shirt in an Ocala Wendy's.

"You think you're going to get the death penalty?" my dad asked. (These were in the days when Tennessee fans did not crumple into the fetal position and commence crying every time they saw a Florida Gator shirt.)

"No," the man said, grasping his Frosty tightly in his sun-burned palm, "and let me tell you why, we self-reported the wrong-doing." (By the way, at some point I'm going to write an article about how every fan on earth can analyze the equities of an NCAA investigation of their favorite school, but none of them can tell you who either of their United States senators are. Seriously, if you can cite relevant NCAA penalty codes on sports talk radio, but you can't correctly distinguish between when to use you're and your, isn't it time to question your life?)

Dad: "We'll see, the NCAA can be pretty tough."

Florida fan: wide-eyed, "Oh, hell (looking down at me), excuse me, heck, they sure can."

Then we got back into the car and my dad said, "You don't ever want to mess with the NCAA."

My how things have changed.

Now everyone messes with the NCAA. No one is afraid of them. Now their eternal foil, the gambling industry, is walking right up and smacking them in the nose. (By the way, is the Mike Vick "Don't bet on it campaign," not the perfect example of a misplaced NCAA obsession now? Mike Vick, dogfighter at large, is the spokesperson who the NCAA chose to keep us from gambling on college sports. He was gambling on dogfights at the time! But at least college football was clean.) The subtext of this prop bet? The NCAA is a bunch of pansies, and their enforcement provisions are such jokes that fans aren't even afraid to gamble about who gets in trouble next.

We can argue about why the NCAA's jihad against gambling is misplaced -- I personally think the best way to uncover gambling is to have as valid of a line as possible so Las Vegas can detect when money swings one way or the other -- but I think examples like these are unintentional tipping points that illustrate the end of the NCAA's reign as collegiate arbiter is nigh.

In the olden days the NCAA word was law; they were Stalin ruling over Russia, their iron will and power was feared across the land. Stalin memorably said, "Death solves all problems. No man, no problem." Ask SMU what the death penalty could do to a program. Now? Now, the NCAA is like Fidel Castro, a doddering old man sitting around on an island nation wearing a ridiculous Cuban tracksuit. Out of power, out of influence, tilting at the windmills of collegiate athletics. And consistently swinging and missing, while everyone else points and laughs.

Gambling Site Releases Odds on Next School to Violate NCAA Rules originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toledo Point Shaving Scandal Was Made Too Easy by NCAA Regulations

Mark Hasty — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Toledo, Gambling, Police Blotter

Nobody really wants to admit it, but gambling helps make sports popular. It's why practically all media outlets, including this one, make a point of providing all the point spreads they can find.

There comes a time, though, when the action on the game become bigger than the game itself. On Wednesday, six student athletes at the University of Toledo were indicted for taking part in a point shaving scheme allegedly masterminded by two Detroit-area gamblers. The 30-page indictment (PDF file) names two former Toledo football players and four former Toledo basketball players as part of the scheme but does not allege if any games were successfully "shaved."

The university maintains it knew nothing about any possible point shaving. That may be true, but the culture of college athletics made a scandal like this all but inevitable.

FanHouse's Greg Couch has already pointed out how the NCAA is of two minds about gambling, but there's more to the problem than accepting a casino sponsorship here and there. NCAA regulations which keep student athletes in a state of perpetual poverty are just as much to blame. They make it too easy for athletes to be swayed by gamblers.

I mean, those of you who went to college and lived in a dorm, answer me this: Back when you were a freshman, what would've been your price of betrayal? How much, or maybe how little, money would've convinced you to rat out the locations of all the beer (assuming it wasn't allowed in your dorm), weed, or other banned items, substances, and/or persons? (What, you didn't have somebody in your dorm who was trying to keep a girlfriend and/or boyfriend hidden from the RAs?) I'd have done it for $100.

So why are we surprised that a couple medium-time gamblers were able to recruit some athletes into their plan? Are we that worried about a repeat of the SMU mess that we have to make sure student athletes stay more impoverished than the rest of the student body? Everybody knows that the veneer of amateurism which covers Division I revenue sports is thinner than the meat on a prison sandwich, but does that mean a coach shouldn't be able to buy a bagel for one of his players? The coaches are about the only people who directly benefit from the revenue big-time athletics bring in to universities.

Yes, it would be nice if student athletes, who are not forced to accept scholarships at gunpoint, would always remain perfectly within the bounds of legal and ethical conduct. It would also be nice if coffee and doughnuts fell from the sky every morning at 10:30. It doesn't matter how airtight your rules are, nor how strict your punishments; your chances of getting compliance go way up if you make it easy to be good and hard to be bad. The athletes involved may get their just deserts, but it might not have happened if those two Detroit-area gamblers couldn't have afforded to buy their souls.

Toledo Point Shaving Scandal Was Made Too Easy by NCAA Regulations originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vegas Lines Forming for BCS Games

Brian Grummell — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:40:00 EST

Filed under: BCS, Gambling, Bowl Games

Earlier this week, the BCS bowl pairings were announced. Now, the money is starting to trickle in on the various matchups. Notably the BCS Championship game between Florida and Oklahoma opened with the Gators a 1.5 point favorite but the Gators have edged forward to three point favorites. With Bob Stoops' poor BCS record and shaky defense relative to Florida's, I'm surprised the Gators don't have a bigger edge.

Elsewhere, shunned Texas opened as eight point favorites over Ohio State but the 'Horns are now 9.5 point favorites at most casinos. Non-BCS attendee Utah didn't get much love from the LVSC, opening as an 11 point dog to Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. Betters, however, are a touch more optimistic giving an extra half point edge to Alabama -10.5 right now.

In the game almost nobody outside of Cincinnati is excited about, the LVSC opened the Virginia Tech/Cincinnati Orange Bowl as a tossup, but gamblers have nudged Cincinnati to favored status, albeit by a single point. The money seems to be on a defensive struggle as the over/under is a mere 41 points compared to the 72 expected between Florida and Oklahoma.

Finally, in the traditional Rose Bowl matchup betters are in agreement with the LVSC's opening line with USC favored by a solid 10 points over Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions.

The highest-scoring game as far as over/under was very nearly the Florida/Oklahoma tilt, but they were edged by a contest two nights earlier as Ball State and Tulsa open up at 76 points in the over/under.

What does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing, but seeing where people put their money for these games, and the contrasts between opening lines and how actual betters behave, sometimes points towards things unnoticed or not discussed. And they set at least a minimal expectation of how the teams will perform relative to each other.

Vegas Lines Forming for BCS Games originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week 10 Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, SEC, Gambling

Week 10 Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lou Holtz Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame, Big East, SEC, Gambling

-Mark May's perceived IQ will drop 50 points automatically.

-Trev Alberts will walk back into the Bristol studios with a "show me the money" look on his face.

-Regis Philbin will show interest, but someone will mention that the last guy was a Notre Dame guy.

$ Continuing with the same theme, Holtz won't sit idle for long. NBC would probably love to have him doing commentary on Notre Dame games. So we put the over/under on the number of times NBC will ask him to tone down the homerism in the first month at 10.

Quick Hitters:

$ Number of "they wanna fire me" stories Bill Stewart and Tommy Tuberville will exchange before the game +/- 10.

$ When Duke plays Vanderbilt, the average GPA on the field at any time will be +/-3.85. Oddly, that's the over/under for the total points for this game as well.

$ Houston Nutt makes his return to Arkansas with Ole Miss on Saturday. Number of "we miss you and all your wins" signs +/-30.

$ Number of times Rich Brooks will looks around the Swamp and say, "man I wish our fans were like this" +/-10.

Lou Holtz Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week Eight Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Pac 10, SEC, Gambling

Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.

$ With the big news of the week being the firing of Tommy Bowden at Clemson, the crew at ESPN will be sure to debate the thought process at Clemson. Lou Holtz will most certainly defend Bowden and Mark May will defend the administration. So we give you a straight up bet that Holtz will forget the camera is still rolling again this week and have some less than flattering words for Clemson. What the heck, +/-5 on the number of times he says "damn."

$ Jim Harbaugh and Rick Neuheisel are both known for taking jabs at opposing teams and coaches in the week leading up to the game. As both have been quiet this week, we're sure they are saving everything for the post game handshake when Stanford plays at UCLA. The conversation will most certainly revolve around the post-game speech Neuheisel gave after the Tennessee game. Straight up, one of two thing will be said depending on the outcome of the game. Neuheisel-"Jim, I'd love to stand here and talk, but I've got a speech to give. Better luck next year, loser." Or, Harbaugh-"Doesn't look like anyone stuck around for your speech tonight. You guys got any games left on the schedule you think you can win?"

$ When Mississippi State travels to Tennessee, we'll be seeing the 103rd and 104th worst offenses in the country. So we'll put the over and under on the closeups of each team's offensive coordinator at +/-10. Because if someone is going to go, these guys are going to get the boot first.

Quick Hitters:

$ Number of passes Jake Ballard will get thrown his way the rest of the year, +/-1.

$ Chances USC lobbies for 40+ point spreads to be banned if they lose to Washington State this weekend, +/-99%.

$ You can take Bobby Petrino out of Louisville, but you can't take the Bobby Petrino hate out of Kentucky. Number of Louisville fans cheering for Kentucky this weekend, +/-50,000. Who would have thought Petrino was the great uniter?

$ Number of evil Richt sightings when Vanderbilt plays at Georgia this weekend. +/- 10.

Week Eight Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week Seven Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 12, SEC, Gambling

Week Seven Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week Six Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:08:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 10, SEC, Gambling

Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.

-When Penn State travels to Purdue, the combined age of the coaches will involve a lot of zeros and one of those to the power of 10 thingies. This poses a serious problem for the sideline reporter, because older people can't hear so good. Given that, we put the number of times the two coaches will say, "huh?" at +/-10 during their halftime interviews. Also, we'll give a straight up bet on if either says, "you know, women didn't dress like that in my day."

-Auburn visits Vanderbilt this weekend, and the College GameDay crew will be there. Vanderbilt is considered the "smart" school in the SEC. So, we'll put the over/under on the number of signs with a series of ones and zeros followed by "LOLZ!!!" at 10.

-Speaking of smart schools, Duke faces Georgia Tech this weekend. Pocket protectors will be out in force! Georgia Tech is averaging about 46,000 fans at home games, so naturally we put the number of pocket protectors at +/-45,999. Hey, some engineers still do it with a slide ruler.

Quick Hitters:

-Florida needs a big win, and Arkansas looks to be the moist cupcake they need. It took 13 weeks last year, but we'll give a straight up bet that Bobby Petrino will call his agent sometime in the third quarter with orders to find a new job.

-Before the season, the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game looked to be the battle for the Big Ten title. It might still be for the title, but using the word battle seems a bit harsh considering the way the two teams have played this year. We'll give a straight up bet that at some point Brent Musburger will let slip, "who's the idiot that put this game on in prime time?" Bonus if you also wager that Kirk will hand him a beer and pat him on the back.

-When Western Kentucky visits Virginia Tech, these two are gonna fight. Who you got?

Week Six Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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College Football's Overachievers and Underachievers Against the Spread

Brian Grummell — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:34:00 EST

Filed under: Gambling

Sure, one can watch a team through the first few weeks of the season and compare them to arbitrary expectations or against their rankings -- assuming they were ranked to begin with. But another measure is to look at their record "against the spread". Now is particularly a good time so early in the season when the book hasn't been written about each time and the betters and oddsmakers are still catching up to performance.

For example, Vanderbilt is now 4-0 against the spread. In a very isolated sense, they continue to outperform expectations this year. So too does No. 5 Texas, who is now 4-0 against the spread. How about No. 2 Alabama? Well, they're 4-1-0 so far in beating the spread. In-state rival Auburn with their anemic offense is just 1-4-0. Another disappointing team is Clemson who is now 0-3 against the spread.

Congratulations go out to Turner Gill, coach at Buffalo whose Bulls have beaten the odds to a 4-1-0 mark so far. Similarly, coach David Cutcliffe is now 3-0 against the spread at Duke. Both are tough places to coach at and succeed, and success is sometimes more a game of beating expectation than raw victory totals.

Fresh off a BCS Championship, LSU has started the year 1-2 against the spread. Chalk this up a bit to their being a known quantity with perhaps too much respect from the oddsmakers and betters. Ohio State has failed to cover in any game and is now 0-4 ATS. Same with disappointing Pittsburgh, also at 0-4.

And finally there's No. 1 Oklahoma, who despite high standards has put on an all-out offensive blitz early in the season to cruise to a 3-0 mark against the spread.

College Football's Overachievers and Underachievers Against the Spread originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week Five Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Georgia, Big 10, Big East, SEC, Gambling

Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.

-Predictions are already out that there will be a funeral when Georgia plays Alabama. Who's exactly is still up for debate. But everyone will be wearing black and if I know SEC fans, there will most certainly be coffins to fill. With beer, Maker's Mark, likenesses of Nick Saban and John Parker Wilson, etc. So we'll put the over/under for coffins in the tailgate area at 100. Because if you can carry something in it, Georgia fans will.

-Syracuse hosts Pitt this weekend, and in case you haven't heard things are not going well for the Orange. Pitt does not traditionally travel well. But that's neither hear nor there, because Syracuse fans are not traveling well to home games this year. So, we're betting that there will actually be more Pitt fans in the Carrier Dome this weekend than Orange fans. It'll be close, so we'll go with +/-50.

-West Virginia governor Joe Manchin pushed really had to start the WVU vs. Marshall series back up, hoping it would one day rival the Alabama vs. Auburn type rivalries of the college football world. So far, it hasn't worked out so well. Two blowouts and a steady progression from ESPN to ESPN2 to the Ocho have signaled the popularity of this series. Named the Coal Bowl, I can't actually even remember the Coal Association, the series sponsor, even running a commercial during last years game. With West Virginia having a bad year, and Marshall being Marshall we'll put the over/under on the number of updates to this game at +/-1.

Quick Hitters:

-Over/under on how many times I'll look at the schedules before I say another word +/-1,000.

-Number of times the refs will look the other way when Louisville makes a minor rules violation when UConn and the Cardinals play this weekend +/-10.

-Number of punches thrown between Rutgers players this weekend +/-5.

-Number of sideline shots of a depressed Todd Boeckman at this weekends Ohio State game +/-20.

Week Five Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week Four Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, MAC, SEC, Gambling

-Back in the good old days of eastern football, before the Big East, Joe Paterno used to wear us out with ramblings about a winless Temple team that was much better than their record indicated. Naturally, Penn State would win by 50+. But as we care not for point spreads or actual outcomes, we'll look at something more intriguing. Like the over/under on the number of times the off field incidents at Penn State will be brought up by the announcing crew. Given that this game could get out of hand quickly, we'll put that number at +/-10. Just as a way to make your money back, I'll give you a straight up prop on if Joe will make an impromptu run to the bathroom while the game is going on.

-Literally a half hour after I wrote this post I was out and helped a person move their broken down diesel truck out of an intersection. I only had to push it about 20 feet, but was completely out of breath by the time it was safely out of the intersection. Given West Virginia's total lack of respect for the effects of the change in altitude, I'm putting the over/under on the number of Mountaineers that pass out during the game at 15.

-The Alabama vs. Arkansas game this weekend should be billed as the battle of the money grubbing job hoppers. Appropriately, the number or references to the number of countries that have a gross domestic product that is less than the combined annual salary of Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino is set at +/- 5. As a side bet, the number of times ESPN flashes a list of all the jobs the two coaches have had over the past five years is set at +/- 2.

Quick Hitters:

-Number of times Orson refers to Phil Fulmer as "Fat Phil" between now and Saturday +/-5.

-Calls for Dave Wannstedt's head on a platter after Pitt loses to Iowa +/- 100,000. Assuming that there are 100k Pitt fans still alive.

-Likewise, when Eastern Michigan defeats Maryland we put the call for Ralph Friedgen's head at +/- 50,000. Even though we know there aren't actually 50k Maryland fans in existence. Still, don't underestimate the power of the bandwagon haters.

-Chances Greg Robinson gets fired this weekend +/- 80%. This bet is irregardless of whether Syracuse actually beats Northeastern or not. The Syracuse blogging community is just too damn strong to have to put up with this crap another week.

Week Four Proposition Bets for the College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic-Styled Video Hypes USC/Ohio State

Brian Grummell — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:35:00 EST

Filed under: Ohio State, USC, Big 10, Pac 10, Fans, Gambling, Video, General CFB Insanity

It's titled "Crack Those Nuts" and is part Gladiator, part 300, part Lord of the Rings and part any other epic movie we've been witness to the last few years. Over the top. Ridiculous. Awesome.

It's times like these I wish Ohio State had a cooler nickname/mascot -- couldn't they have been a Tiger or something like that? Credit to the film-maker for working with the available material, turning a Trojan into a nutcracker and Ohio State's bucknuts into, well ... cracked nuts (see 1:53 in).

Will that be the result on Saturday? That steadily-shifting line seems to agree as USC is now at -10 or -11 and counting even though everyone and their uncle has known for a week that Beanie Wells would be physically ready for this game. USC's band doesn't play "Conquest" for nothing. But maybe Jim Tressel's once again played it like a sly fox.

By Saturday night we'll know for sure. Until then: Crack. Crack. Crack.

(Via: USC Blitz)

Epic-Styled Video Hypes USC/Ohio State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week Two Proposition Bets For The College Football Junkie

John Radcliff — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Connecticut, East Carolina, Temple, West Virginia, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA, Gambling

Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.

- We kid because we care, and if Notre Dame is able to win this weekend against San Diego State you can expect Lou Holtz to remind the world that he predicted the Irish to win 11 games this year. We put the over/under for this at five, provided Notre Dame wins. Also, we put the over/under at three for the number of times Mark May will remind Holtz that it was San Diego State. We would say five, but we're sure at least a couple of those times there will be a producer on the set with a look on his face that says "just let him enjoy this moment."

- The punt block that sealed East Carolina's victory over Virginia Tech was poetic justice for all the times the Hokies have won games like that. We're sure it will be replayed multiple times during the game with West Virginia this weekend. But that's now what we're looking at. No, the over/under for this one will be the number of Tech fans actually cheering for West Virginia, and we put that number at five. If you don't know, the catch is that Tech and West Virginia were hated rivals in the Big East days. Being a West Virginia fan, I find it comforting that any Hokie would stoop so low as to cheer for the Mountaineers. Even funnier is that I know of at least one already. Unfortunately, I had to delete his comments on this because he had some derogatory phrases about the Pirates in his comments. I guess it must be my picture.

- Howard Schnellenberger had some choice words for Texas before getting thumped 52-10 last weekend. After eating those words, do you think he learned anything from it? This is a straight up yes/no proposition. Florida Atlantic plays UAB this weekend. We lean toward the yes, because if he'd say that about Texas he's say it about anyone. But probably not again to anyone that would print it.

Quick Hitters:

- Number of "firemikesherman.com's" if the Aggies lose to New Mexico this weekend, +/- 10. Remember, they take their football serious in Texas even if he doesn't.

- Number of keystrokes Desmond Howard will pretend to hit while he's on the bus talking about the volume of chatters online, +/- 500. For some reason, ESPN thinks we care if Desmond really is jumping in with chatters while he's talking in that segment.

- The announcers for the Akron-Syracuse game will probably mention Greg Robinson's accomplishments before coming to Syracuse in a vain attempt to persuade the Orange not to fire him at the end of the year. We put that at +/- 5. But for the sake of Syracuse fans, isn't one too many?

- Number of times the video in this post will be played during the UConn-Temple game, +/- 10. Come on, networks! Get on the karma train. It's time to remind everyone why UConn didn't deserve the record they had last year.

Week Two Proposition Bets For The College Football Junkie originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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College Football Betting Lines Trickling Out

Brian Grummell — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:04:00 EST

Filed under: Gambling

Both the Golden Nugget Casino and the Las Vegas Sports ~~Commission~~ Consultants have released a limited number of betting lines for the upcoming college football season. I'm not much for losing money so gambling isn't my draw here. What does interest me is how people who talk with their money feel about certain matchups.

Of interest, at the Golden Nugget the much-anticipated USC/Ohio State game opened with the Trojans a 3.5 point favorite. That quickly moved to 4.5 and could grow.

"That's the biggest game everyone is looking at, and that (line) might go up," said [Golden Nugget Sports Book Director Tony] Miller, speculating that USC could close as a favorite of 7 points or more.

Other games taking noticeable action include Georgia's trip to Arizona State, Michigan's trip to Notre Dame and rivalry games like USC/Notre Dame, Georgia/Florida, Florida/Florida State and Oklahoma/Texas.

College Football Betting Lines Trickling Out originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rich Brooks Is Happy to Report All Kentucky Players Are Bowl Eligible

Charles Rich — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:05:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, NCAA FB Gambling, NCAA FB Media Watch, Kentucky Football

As the Kentucky Wildcats get ready for the severely depleted Florida State Seminoles in the Music City Bowl, Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks apparently isn't above pointing out a major difference between his program and the eldest Bowden's. His team has no players declared academically ineligible.

Considering what's been going on this bowl season at Florida State and other programs, Coach Brooks said that's a bigger deal than it might seem.
...
So when Brooks told the media that his team had a clean bill of academic health, he added a kicker.

"That isn't what I'm seeing on the ESPN ticker at night for a lot of other people playing bowl games," he said. "Hats off to my players for taking care of business."

That has been an amusing, and occasionally disturbing, addition to the ESPN ticker. Anything to get and keep people interested in watching the host of program filler bowl games that will be on ESPN for the two week period. That or they are trying to cater to the gambling aspect of the games without being too obvious.

Rich Brooks Is Happy to Report All Kentucky Players Are Bowl Eligible originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Neuheisel Interested in Duke? You Bet!

Ian Cohen — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:47:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Gambling, NCAA FB Rumors, NCAA FB Coaching, Duke Football

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! After a couple of meh retread hires, Duke may have found themselves a retread hire with the kinda Q rating that will raise eyebrows not only in the ACC, but nationwide as well. No small feat considering...well, when was the last time you saw Duke play on TV? Do you even know what their uniforms look like these days?

That's right, everyone's go-to March Madness punchline Rick Neuheisel is interested in the Duke vacancy that's pulled in the likes of Karl Dorrell, Chan Gailey and Bobby Johnson as of late. And while all of them certainly have their experience with the sort of 5-7 win seasons that Duke would, I dunno, choke out Steve Wojochieowski to obtain, neither of them have the success of Rick Neuheisel...when he's been successful. Really, this would be a good fit, because really- was the tournament pool that bad? Moreover, Duke has the institutional credibility to take a shot at him, at least moreso than SMU (which has been the recipient of interest from Damaged Goods counterpart Gary Barnett)- also a fine academic school, but forever clouded by that whole "death penalty" thing.

And the fans seem to be on board, going to the lengths of making a "Sign Rick Neuheisel" petition. Hopefully this one works out better than the last petition associated with Duke athletics.

Neuheisel Interested in Duke? You Bet! originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dink & Dunk: A Gentlemen's Wager

Brian Stouffer — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:03:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame Football, USC Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Fans, NCAA FB Gambling, The Word

I'm sure all of you, at one point or another, have made a friendly wager with a rival fan about the outcome of a game. Even in a game as hopeless as last week's Notre Dame-USC game, it's hard to resist the urge to put it on the line and show some faith in your squad. Unfortunately, come Sunday morning, you have to pay the piper. For some, it's a few bucks or a round of beers, but for Dink this week, the price is much, much higher.

Dink & Dunk: A Gentlemen's Wager originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Are They Smoking In Vegas?

Tom Fornelli — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:37:00 EST

Filed under: Wisconsin Football, Big 10, NCAA FB Gambling, Illinois Football

Sometimes in life, you're caught completely off guard. Like when you meet a girl out at a bar, and when you get back to her place and see her in the light, that's when you notice she has an Adam's apple (I'm looking at you, Pam Ward).

You aren't ready for it, and you're not quite sure how to react, but eventually your brain says run and out the door you go. I had a very similar experience this morning. You see, I'm in a college football pick em pool as I'm sure many of you are, and I was making my picks this morning when I saw something I swore had to be a mistake.

Illinois is favored by 2.5 over Wisconsin this weekend? It couldn't be right, so I left Yahoo and went to a couple of online betting sights.

Sure enough, Illinois is favored everywhere I look, with point spreads ranging between two and three points.

When did this happen? Was Illinois' victory last week against Penn State a big one for the program? Of course it was, but suddenly that makes them better than Wisconsin?

Isn't this the same Illinois team that lost to Missouri earlier this season, struggled against Western Illinois, and scored road wins over Indiana and Syracuse. Two teams that aren't exactly members of college football's elite.

I don't want to encourage gambling, or tell you what to do, but if I were you I might be calling my bookie today or going to an online betting site and putting some money down on the Badgers.

You won't be sorry.

What Are They Smoking In Vegas? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Don't) Place Your Bets! Revels in Mediocrity

Andy Katzer — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: NCAA FB Gambling

(Dont) Place Your Bets! is weekly college football betting advice, and it's free! Of course, you get what you pay for... and it comes from a guy who doesn't gamble. Ha! Figure that one out.

Back at it again despite last week's 3-4 record, which brings the season total to 10-11. One game under .500 is more frustrating than being ten games under because, well, mediocrity is boring. It's not funny like "Notre Dame is terrible" humor, and it's certainly nothing to celebrate. So while I'm stuck in the muck of the totally average, why not use that as a theme for this week's games. All of the following picks, except one, involve teams which, when all's said and done, just pretty average. Which one's the exception? Why, the one involving your favorite team, of course (especially if your favorite team is Oklahoma). Now, on with it...

Mississippi State (+14) @ South Carolina

Trends: State is 7-0-1 ATS on the road, and an underdog for most of those.

Gut: Another game where the trends aren't real strong, but consider that MSU has already pulled out a big road win this year (at Auburn). Plus, very, very quietly, the Bulldogs have gotten themselves within three wins of a bowl game. Meanwhile, Carolina is struggling to find what they are on offense -- Blake Mitchell was benched this week for Chris Smelley -- and the Cocks lost perhaps their best defensive player, Jasper Brinkley, for the season.

(Non) Bettor man says: Take the surging MSU team (did I really just say that?) to at least cover in this one.

Oklahoma (-23) @ Colorado

Trends: Oklahoma is 9-1 ATS in their last 10 on the road. Colorado is 2-9 ATS in their last eleven Big 12 games. Wacky trends of the week: OU is 4-0 ATS after allowing more than 280 yards passing in the game before, and the Buffaloes are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games after gaining more than 450 total yards the previous week.

Gut: Oklahoma has steamrolled everybody they've played this year, scoring no less than 51 points every time out. Colorado, to their credit, hasn't given up a ton of points so far. But, they haven't seen an offense this good, either. The bests the Buffs have seen is Arizona State, and they did give up 33 to the Sun Devils.

(Non) Bettor man says: Ride the Sooner Schooner until somebody proves they can stop it.

Georgia Tech (+4.5) vs. Clemson

Trends: Clemson is 2-6 against the spread in their last eight games and 1-6 in their last seven as a favorite. The underdog is 11-1 ATS in this series.

Gut: The underdog trend might cover a few too many years to be relevant for this game. Still, with a #13 ranking and an offense clicking on all cylinders, things are going well for Clemson... maybe a little too well. This is the perfect time for the Tigers to go through their yearly implosion.

(Non) Bettor man says: A year ago, Georgia Tech had no answer for Clemson's CJ Spiller and James Davis. Bet the Yellow Jackets have spent much of their offseason studying and fixing what went wrong. GT might not win this game, but they can keep it close at home.

UTEP (+1) @ SMU

Trends: Pay no attention to the trends here, which say UTEP is 2-9 ATS in conference games while SMU is 9-3 in that same situation.

Gut: SMU is terrible. UTEP might not be much better, but they're better enough to win this game.

(Non) Bettor man says: The reason to ignore the trends is that SMU is usually a heavy dog, and this game is pretty much a pick-em. In that situation, I'll take almost anybody over SMU, even if the Mustangs are the home squad.

Others to consider:

Purdue (-21) vs. Notre Dame: Sort of the anti-Oklahoma. Until the Irish cover a spread, ride them into the dirt.

Hawaii @ Idaho (over 76.5): That's an insane amount of points to cover, but Hawaii should get almost all of them on their own.

Cincinnati (-14.5) @ San Diego State: Cincy is 10-2-1 ATS in the last 13, probably due to the fact that they've been largely undervalued. It's harder to undervalue

(Don't) Place Your Bets! Revels in Mediocrity originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Don't) Place Your Bets! Surviving a Market Correction

Andy Katzer — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:45:00 EST

Filed under: NCAA FB Gambling

(Dont) Place Your Bets! is weekly college football betting advice, and it's free! Of course, you get what you pay for... and it comes from a guy who doesn't gamble. Ha! Figure that one out.

Fascinating... I don't even have to put money on games to jinx myself. Just a little bragging about moderate success sends my picks in the tank. A 2-5 record last weekend evens the season slate to 7-7. And that's OK, I've never turned down a little seven and seven before, so why start now. Lucky number seven, seven come eleven, and all that. Besides, these are the time when true gamblers show their grit... and the rest of us hide from the collections man. Now on to the terrible advice:

Wisconsin (-7) vs. Iowa

Why take it: The Badgers are 13-4 against the spread at home, and Iowa is just 2-7 ATS on the road. Plus the Hawkeyes lost to Iowa State last week, they still have to be reeling from humiliation, right? Or at lest still feel uncomfortable pain somewhere.

Why stay away: Wisconsin has looked, um, average so far, to put it nicely. Fortunately for them, the fans weren't expected to be sober, so maybe nobody noticed (kinda like the voters who keep them in the top 10). But now sobriety is king in Madison, so hearing "dude, last week, I was so wasted I thought we struggled against The Citadel" won't fly anymore.

(Non) Bettor man says: As Bruce Ciskie pointed out, Wisconsin's offense is vastly better than Iowa State's, and Iowa couldn't handle the Cyclones, so take Wisconsin here.

Arkansas State (+19.5) @ Tennessee

Why take it: Tennessee is the worst team ever (sorry, I'm a Vol fan still reeling from last weekend). But really, Tennessee is like the worst team ever at covering the spread at home: just 9-28 ATS in the last 37 games at Neyland. Arkansas State is 9-3 ATS against SEC teams, took Texas into the fourth quarter earlier in the year, and has a spread offense the likes of which got UT beaten about the head and shoulders by Florida. I think I'm going to be sick.

Why stay away: The Vols have to be looking to take out some frustration from the Florida beatdown, right? Tennessee can't possibly let little Arkansas State hang around, right? Right?

(Non) Bettor man says: This is the kind of game that Tennessee should win in a rout, but won't. Vols win, but Indians cover the 19.5.

Kent State (-2) @ Akron

Why take it: The Zips are 2-6 of late ATS, while the Golden Flashes are 7-2 ATS on the road.

Why stay away: Because unless you live in Ohio -- and probably even then -- you don't know enough about either of these teams to have any business putting money on them.

(Non) Bettor man says: Forget the fact that most of us couldn't name five starters off these two teams combined -- sometimes cold indifference makes for the best bets. Take Kent and lay the points.

Purdue -13.5 @ Minnesota

Why take it: Minnesota is 3-7-1 ATS against teams with a winning record, while Purdue is 6-2 vs. losing teams. The Boilermakers are also 7-1 ATS against Minnesota the last eight years.

Why stay away: Purdue is 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games when they've scored more than 40 the game before. And that's a reach. Really, I got nothing, Minnesota's terrible.

(Non) Bettor man says: Purdue has been scoring in spades this year, and the Gophers lost to one of those acronym teams from south Florida last week. Take Purdue.

Others to consider:

Memphis @ Central Florida (under 58): The under is 18-5-1 for these teams combined on grass (though I hate condiotional bets like that). Also, only one of the four games either team has played this year has hit 58 points, and only one game in their history against each other has reached that total (and it was in 1990)

Kansas (-30) vs. Florida International: FIU is not the aforementioned "acronym team from south Florida," and they're awful, while Kansas is better than you'd think. Plus the Jayhawks score a ton. But if you want a trend: FIU is 2-7 as an underdog and KU is 4-0 as a favorite.

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma State (over 73.5): Neither team has a defense. Both teams have an offense. You figure it out. Score score score.

(Don't) Place Your Bets! Surviving a Market Correction originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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