Iowa at Penn State (8:00 PM ET, ABC)
The Big Ten kicks off its conference slate this week with a full set of matchups. The highlight contest is in State College, Pennsylvania, and the ESPN Game Day Crew and ABC will be on hand for the battle of unbeatens, Iowa and Penn State. Kickoff time is set for 8:00 PM ET, and Penn State is a near double-digit favorite at Sportsbook.com. Several interesting trends suggest the game might be much closer though.
Missouri at Nevada (9:00 PM ET, ESPN)
Nevada finally opens its home schedule, but the assignment will be anything but easy. The opponent is Missouri, who is off to a 3-0 start despite having to move on this season without several of its major offensive stars that graduated last spring. Not surprisingly, the Tigers are the 7.5-point favorite in this battle of undefeated vs. winless clubs. Over 90% of bettors at Sportsbook.com aren’t afraid to lay the points either.
Payback could be coming on Saturday for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
After the Raiders late-game heroics ended the Texas Longhorns’ chances at the BCS Championship last year, a loaded and hungry Texas team hosts Texas Tech on Saturday night.
Oddsmakers expect a big win by the Longhorns, listing them as 17 ½-point favorites and almost 80% of bettors expect an even bigger blowout.
The ABC Saturday night college football schedule starts out with a doozy of a game between Alabama and Virginia Tech, a pair of top 10 teams in most polls. The Crimson Tide come off their best season in many years, as they started 12-0 in 2008 before dropping their final two games. They are a 6-point favorite over a Hokies’ team that is expected to reign over the ACC in ’09.
