Articles by Cappers Picks related to online NCAA Football betting, and handicapping live CFB matchups.
The 2014 season was a bit of a nightmare for the Big 12. The conference had two teams emerge as candidates for the inaugural College Football Playoff, but that left the conference brass in a pickle when it came to naming a conference champion as both finished with identical 11-1 records.
The New Mexico Lobos enter the 2015 NCAA Football Season coming off a 4-8 campaign in 2014. They’ll look to take advantage of a favorable schedule in their search for a Bowl Game.
Other than new member Navy there is probably not a program as rich in football history as the SMU Mustangs. It may be a long time ago but the Mustangs used have players like Eric Dickerson and Craig Jameson campus in the days of the Pony Express. Sure it led to the death penalty but it was also one hell of a ride.
For what seemed like an entire decade, the USC Trojans were the dominant force in the Pac-12 during the early 2000s. But since that reign of terror from the Southern California institution, the conference has seen the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinal win the past six titles dating back to 2009.
The Buffalo Bulls have a new head coach in Lance Leipold. Leipold had tons of success at Wisconsin Whitewater. He hopes to bring some of that success to a Buffalo program that hasn’t been very good in recent years despite having some high level players (Khalil Mack and Branden Oliver). Will it take time or will he win right away?
A few short years ago, Miami (Ohio) was one of the MAC powers, but that seems so long ago. Miami went 0-12 in 2013 and 2-10 last year. They return only four starters on offense and eight starters on defense, though that could be considered a good thing since the team has been so bad in recent years. Can Chuck Martin get this team going in the right direction?
The Kent State Golden Flashes had a season to forget in 2014, but they do deserve credit for fighting right up until the end. They spoiled Akron’s season by winning over the Zips in the last game of the regular season. Coach Haynes and his staff are hoping that win can build some momentum for the team going into this season.
The Akron Zips started the season 4-2 last year before falling off and losing five of their last six games. The Zips had expected to get to a bowl game, but their rivals from Kent State upset them in their final game to keep them out of bowl eligibility. Expectations are even higher entering the 2015 NCAA Football Season for an Akron team with a lot of veterans at key spots.
The UMass Minutemen weren’t expected to be as competitive as they were a year ago. They went 1-11 in 2012 and 2013. They had a season win total of 1.5 last year. The Minutemen picked up 3 wins. UMass now returns 19 starters (most in the MAC), including star quarterback Blake Frohnapfel.
The San Jose State Spartans are hoping to take a decent leap in the right direction in head coach Ron Caragher’s third season at the helm. The team contains a solid amount of young talent, but the question is whether or not the coaching staff can get the most out of the youth, turning potential into production at this point in the process.
The Ohio Bobcats return 10 starters on offense and 8 starters on defense. They were up and down all through the 2014 season. They’ll try to improve back to the level they were at a few years ago when they went 10-4 and 9-4 in 2011 and 2012.
The Bowling Green Falcons won eight games in Dino Babers’ first season with the team. The Falcons had problems with inconsistency last year. They couldn’t seem to seal the deal in key situations. They lost their last three regular season games before closing the season with a bowl win over South Alabama.
I think it is safe to say the Temple Owls are trying to figure out exactly what they are on the football field. It seems they have found a conference home in the American and now they need to figure out how to be one of those programs that nobody wants to play, sort of like the basketball squad.
They had things pointed in the right direction for a while but losing program builder Al Golden and then his replacement Steve Addazio has limited their consistency. Now under coach Matt Rhule they seem to have things pointed in the right direction again.
The UNLV Rebels have made a huge coaching gamble. The team has hired Tony Sanchez from Bishop Gorman.
That’s right. Bishop Gorman — the high school.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors‘ head coach Norm Chow has basically been seated on the hot seat ever since his arrival at the program. It hasn’t always been pretty, but the 2015 NCAA Football Season seems to feature his most talented roster to date since arriving on the island.
A whole lot went right for the Auburn Tigers during the team’s 2013 run to the national title game. The team enjoyed two of the greatest and most memorable plays in the history of college football along the way – Ricardo Louis’s catch against Georgia, and Chris Davis’s return against Alabama.
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SEC Lines
Southeastern Conference 2015 College Football Preview – Auburn Tigers
Head Coach: Gus Malzahn
2014 Record: 8-5
Auburn Odds to win the SEC: 3-1
The 2014 edition of the Tigers didn’t catch those same breaks. Auburn was 7-1 through its first eight games of 2014, but lost four of five down the stretch – with that lone win coming in a cupcake matchup against Samford – culminating in an overtime loss in their bowl game.
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The team’s offense wasn’t what it was a year prior, but the group was still pretty impressive in the grand scheme of things. The Auburn rushing attack finished 13th in the nation, and the offense ranked eighth in passing efficiency. Now the offensive line is expected to be even better, and the quarterback situation shifts from Nick Marshall to Jeremy Johnson, and that, too, may be an improvement.
The Tigers landed the two biggest fish in the pond when it comes to defensive additions this past offseason. First, the team reeled in former Florida head coach Will Muschamp, who instantly joins the ranks of the top defensive coordinator.
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Then the team added the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2015 class in defensive end Byron Cowart. Any production the team gets out of him in year one will be huge. But marrying Muschamp and Cowart seems like a match made in heaven for both individuals, even if it takes the Tigers some time to get a return on their investment.
Nick Marshall is gone, but junior quarterback Jeremy Johnson could be the next breakout star in college football. He’s been with the program long enough to know the system inside and out, and while the Cam Newton comparisons may be a bit premature, he appears to have all the physical tools to get the job done. He’s going to be the guy that determines whether this is a double-digit win team or won that wins eight games for the second year in a row.
Penalties were a major issue at Auburn in 2014. The Tigers were flagged just 70 times in 14 games in 2013, with 19 of those penalties coming in two games. The 2014 edition was hit with 92 penalties in just 13 games. The team needs much better discipline in that regard.
The team’s passing issue was also a major work in progress last season. They’ll need top cornerback Jonathan Jones to really shut down the opposition’s top receiver. He’s entering his senior season, but is coming off a foot injury.
The Auburn game at the end of the regular season is always the game to watch, but Auburn gets a very tricky start to its SEC schedule, having to go into Death Valley to face LSU on Sept. 19. There are three cupcake matchups and three trickier ones in the Tigers’ first six games, but that trip to Baton Rouge will be by far the toughest of the bunch.
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Louisville’s a good non-conference matchup, but the others – Jacksonville State, San Jose State, and Idaho – are all just money-makers. Interestingly enough, two of those cake walks come before the toughest games on the schedule. The other comes before the only mid-week contest on tap.
9/5 Louisville*
9/12 Jacksonville State
9/19 at LSU
9/26 Mississippi State
10/3 San Jose State
10/15 at Kentucky
10/24 at Arkansas
10/31 Ole Miss
11/7 at Texas A&M
11/14 Georgia
11/21 Idaho
11/28 Alabama
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The 2015 College futures betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on NCAA football, you are in the best possible place for online betting. CappersPicks.com has NCAAF odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find College football lines up for early games as well.
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