NCAAF: ODDSMAKERS STILL FAVOR GATORS
The national title picture remains cloudy but Sportsbook.com oddsmakers have the Florida Gators as the leading candidate to win the BCS Championship.
Fourth-ranked Florida is listed at 3:2 odds to win the Championship, ahead of conference foe and #1 Alabama Crimson Tide, listed at 5:2 odds. The other team at the top of the pile is #3 Oklahoma. At 3:1 odds, oddsmakers expect Oklahoma to emerge from the Big 12 and play for the national title.
The title picture should become clearer after this week’s huge slate of games. Sportsbook.com has just released the Week 14 early lines and with games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday you’ll want to check all the odds and get your bets in before the lines move.
The first big contest is a Thanksgiving night contest with Texas a whopping 34-point favorite at home over Texas A&M. The Longhorns currently sit ahead of Oklahoma in the BCS Standings at #2, but they need a decisive win to keep the voters in their favor.
Oklahoma is third in the BCS after demolishing Texas Tech 65-21 but they have a very tough game at #12 Oklahoma State on Saturday as 7 ½-point chCalk. Most experts feel that the Sooners will leap ahead of Texas in the BCS Standings with a win, even though they lost to the Longhorns on a neutral field earlier this year.
Texas Tech is the third of three Big 12 South teams tied at 10-1 (6-1 in the conference). They were embarrassed last week but if they beat Baylor at home as 20-point favorites, and Oklahoma losses, they will be in the Big 12 Championship game due to the fact they beat Texas.
The winner of the Big 12 South will play Missouri, and should find themselves playing for the national championship if they can win the Big 12.
Florida and Alabama will meet in the SEC title game but they each need to win this week to keep their national title hopes alive.
Florida is playing like the best team in the country right now, but they always have their hands full when they play at in-state rival Florida State. The Gators are 15 ½-point favorites but note the home team is 11-3 ATS in the last 14 meetings.
Alabama is still ranked #1 in the BCS and they are coming off a bye-week. Their rivalry game this week is a home contest against Auburn. The Crimson Tide are giving 14-points in what has been a very down year for the Tigers.
There are also several other games with conference title ramifications. The first is in the Big East where Cincinnati just has to beat Syracuse as 22-point home favorites to take the crown. That sounds easy, but the Orangemen are coming off a big win at Notre Dame.
If Cincinnati does lose somehow, West Virginia can take the title if they win at Pittsburgh as 3 ½-point chalk this week and then beat South Florida next week.
Oregon State (BCS #17) can wrap up the Pac-10 and the Rose Bowl with a home win over Oregon. The Beavers are giving 3 ½-points and this would be their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1965.
USC has a vested interest in the game as they are still alive for the Pac-10 and even a national title berth, although they need some breaks for the latter to happen. The #5 Trojans welcome the Fighting Irish this week and they are 29-point favorites over Charlie Weis’ struggling squad.
Also note there are two undefeated teams playing and that is significant even though undefeated Utah will probably be the only smaller conference school to make a BCS Bowl game.
First off is #15 Ball State as they try to finish 12-0 by beating Western Michigan as 11-point favorites on Tuesday night while #9 Boise State can finish 12-0 by beating Fresno State. The Broncos are laying out 20-points at home.
