BCS National Championship Betting Information

Water coolers and sports talk radio hosts can rejoice once again this year, as the BCS system has people bemoaning the lack of a true playoff system in college ball.

The Alabama Crimson Tide pulled off a tidy upset of the #1 Florida Gators last Saturday, moving into the Championship game. Listed anywhere from as 5.5-point underdogs up to +7, ‘Bama was getting only about 30% of all the betting action by kick-off, according to online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com. Bettors took a hit when the Tide defense did a number on Gator QB Tim Tebow enroute to a 32-13 win.

Now Nick Saban and his team will prepare to play the Texas Longhorns, who were much less convincing in their BCS title berth showcase.

Coming into last week ranked No. 3 by the BCS, Texas were set for one of the national championship spots, facing the No. 22 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big 12 title game. Texas was in a “win and you’re in” scenario, kicking off as 14-point favorites.

It was hardly a convincing win, as Texas struggled throughout, but they did manage to eke out a 13-12 win to claim the conference championship. Texas bettors were never really in a spot to cover the two touchdowns all game and moneyline bettors were fortunate to get even the straight up win.

The near-loss to the ‘Huskers didn’t matter to the BCS selection committee though as the Longhorns were given a berth to the college football championship game in Pasadena to face the Crimson Tide.

Sunday night sportsbook opened Alabama as a 3.5-point fave. Money immediately flowed in on the Tide and by Monday morning the number moved to -5. It has since gone up to -5.5 as ‘Bama money continues to show up.

The total sites at 44.5, with about 65% of the action so far favoring a play on the “Under”. Bettors have clearly been impressed by this team’s defensive performance all year, but particularly in that matchup with the Gators in the SEC Championship game.

Let’s look at a few numbers for the big game.

Bowl Game Trends

– In the Crimson Tide’s last 10 games when favored by 6-points or less, they are 6-3-1 against the spread.

– In Texas’ last eight games when underdogs of 6-points or less, they are 6-2 straight up and ATS.

We’ll be breaking this game down and all the bowl games over the next few weeks, plus tracking all the betting action on the games.

The bowl lines are up and the betting has begun for what should be another exciting December and January of NCAA football action.

Texas vs. Ohio State | Fiesta Bowl Preview and Prediction

In what should be one of the better match ups this bowl season, the Texas Longhorns face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl on January 5.

Both teams come into the Fiesta Bowl with impressive records. Texas finished the regular season at 11-1, with the only loss coming from Texas Tech. Ohio State comes in at 10-2 after losses to USC early in the season, and Penn State in October.

With a tremendous amount of controversy regarding the BCS this year, the Fiesta Bowl has become a consolation prize for Texas, who barely missed going to the National Championship game against Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators. Archrival Oklahoma faces Florida on January 8.

The Fiesta Bowl gives Texas the perfect opportunity to rack up style points and state their case against the BCS. Texas has been a dominant team all season, and this dominance should continue against the Buckeyes.
With Heisman Contender Colt McCoy leading the offense, Texas has numerous weapons to slice through the Ohio State defense. The Texas passing offense, with Jordan Shipley and Quan Crosby, has racked up impressive stats this entire season. With no established running game, look for Texas to go to the air for the majority of the game. Without an effective Ohio State pass rush, Colt McCoy should have enough time to find Jordan Shipley and the rest of his receivers.

Ohio State needs a big defensive game if they are to stop the Longhorns passing attack. While Ohio state has been impressive in a relatively weak Big Ten this year, the Ohio State pass rush has not been impressive this year, and if they cannot put some pressure on Colt McCoy, it will be a long game for Malcolm Jenkins and the rest of the Ohio State secondary. However, the lack of a strong Longhorn running game should benefit the Buckeyes as they can focus primarily on stopping the pass.

Brian Orakpo and the Texas defense have played extremely well all season. Texas led the NCAA in sacks this year, which was especially impressive given the talent at the quarterback position throughout the Big 12. Against Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Texas needs to apply pressure and keep him from establishing a rhythm. With A powerful defensive line, this should not be too much of a problem. While Texas has not faced many quality-running teams, the Longhorn defensive line is extremely talented and should be able to hold Chris Wells and the Ohio State running game.

With a relatively weak secondary, the Texas defense can be exploited by Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State offense. While Pryor is still only a freshman, he has avoided mistakes for most of the season, and thrown for 1245 yards and 12 touchdowns. If the offensive line can keep Pryor safe, he will find his receivers. If not, it could be a long day for the Buckeyes.

After missing out on the BCS National Championship game through a flawed system, Texas has plenty to play for. Expect the Texas Longhorns to come out fast to establish a presence. It is imperative that Ohio State steps up. If the Buckeyes let themselves get pushed around, Texas will punish them. Texas needs to pressure Pryor early and often, otherwise this could turn into a shoot out. If Pryor cannot find his rhythm early, look for Texas to run away with this game.

Prediction: Texas is just too good with too much to prove. Texas Longhorns to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes, 35-14.

Sports Agent Corner: Gary Glick on Marlon Lucky, the policy of the Army, and the BCS

The Sports Agent Corner will be a bi-weekly feature here at Dallas Sports Fans featuring Dallas-based sports agent Gary Glick, who is the President and Founder of Synergy Sports Inc., and, at least this year, a profoundly sad Texas A&M fan. Gary Glick has worked recently with former Big 12 standouts Maurice Purify, Marcellus Rivers, and Dwayne Blakely.

We started the Sports Agent Corner over at Midwest Sports Fans, but now that DSF is up and running, it makes a lot more sense being here.

Dallas Sports Fans: Are you a proponent of the BCS or in favor of a playoff?

Gary Glick: Hell yes to a playoff.

This year more than any I recall seems to support a playoff. It’s a shame that part of the ranking system seems to be based on the timing of a team’s loss. There are some very good “1-loss” teams this year that will get no chance to play for a Championship including USC and the University of Texas (as an Aggie I cant believe I am saying that).

It might be different if EVERY other level of college football did not have a working playoff system. It also seems to make financial sense if you look at the success of the NCAA basketball playoffs (March Madness).

DSF: How has the new coaching staff at Nebraska, led by Bo Pellini, affected Marlon Lucky this season?

Gary Glick: The first thing to say is that Coach Pelini has made huge strides in his first season taking Nebraska to a Bowl game. From an outsider’s perspective, it didn’t seem that Marlon Lucky was utilized as well as his talents would have warranted. Marlon is a quick, tough RB with great hands out of the backfield. He definitely has NFL talent. I know it is tough for a good RB to alternate or to “ride the pine” because most say they have to get into a groove and actually get better as the game goes on and the defenses weaken.

On the other hand, at the end of the season, Marlon Lucky had an injury which may have contributed to the lack of playing time.

DSF: Do you think Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach made a good decision to stay at Texas Tech?

Gary Glick: From a personal standpoint, he is a coach I love to hate. He also gives some of the best interviews of any coach in the nation, so if he left he would be missed.

He is a hero in Lubbock and with the right contract, he may be satisfied to stay and try to make Tech into a National Champion; although recruiting in Washington would seem less competitive than competing for recruits against UT, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, etc…

DSF: What are your thoughts on the return of Pacman Jones to the Cowboys?

Gary Glick: I was against him going to the Cowboys in the first place and I was even more against his return. I remember the Cowboys as America’s Team and although not perfect, they had kind of a clean image. In any sport, but especially with the Cowboys, I hate to see the “win at all costs” mentality. As I have said in the past, I believe everyone deserves a second chance but Pacman has had 13 brushes with the law in the short time he has been in the NFL including the latest incident which got him suspended…AGAIN. If a team owner has to hire guards (babysitters) to make sure a player doesn’t get into trouble, that would seem to indicate a problem.

The Cowboys have a core of really good, clean players on defense. I have listened to them on various sports talk shows and they seem to be REAL people that stay out of trouble. I was hesitant about the decision the Cowboys made to sign Tank Johnson but he really seems to have turned it around. Pacman on the other hand has been given enough chances.

DSF: What are your thoughts on the army’s policy concerning players being forced to serve and not play upon graduation?

Gary Glick: First, I am a big proponent of the Army as my cousin in Alabama, Brent Williford, has served two tours in Iraq. Clearly, the players who are in the Army know the policies of the Army before they sign. It is a requirement to give a certain period of time as a commitment to the Army for paying for school, etc. All of that is understood and as long as the policy is consistent, there is no problem.

With that being said, as you know, I represent Owen Tolson, the Punter for Army who was sensational and invited to the NFL Combine. During the time we were working with Owen Tolson, we were informed by the Army that for these players, their “Army commitments” could be served during the off-season by serving as Army recruiters.

With this information, Owen trained every day, was successful in a College Senior All Star game, and was made offers by the Giants and the Lions and seemed to be headed for success. Likewise, Caleb Campbell, a Safety for Army, was signed by the Detroit Lions.

Apparently, during all of this, the Army changed the policy or interpreted it differently and required both players to serve out their two year commitments, thereby giving up any hopes of the NFL for at least 2 years.

Personally, I was outraged because these two young players had worked their butts off based on the Army’s representations they would be allowed to play. It seems like the fair thing to do was to “Grandfather” these players in and allow them to play and to serve the Army in the capacity they were told they’d be allowed to. The Army could then enforce the policy from 2008 forward.

What do you think?

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(If you would like to view past Sports Agent Corner posts with Gary Glick, hop on over to the Sports Agent Corner page at Midwest Sports Fans. Eventually we’ll get all of those posts over here.)