Beyond the BCS: Who’s better — TCU or Boise State?
Each week Ben Burns and David Payne scour the non-BCS conferences looking for a hidden gem.
Life is tough in the MWC and WAC. Lose one game, and you go from a potential BCS bowl to the Humanitarian Bowl. That’s a mammoth pay cut, and a lot of pressure on the coaches from the non-BCS conferences.
North Texas quarterback Riley Dodge returns for the Mean Green this week against Middle Tennessee. Dodge sat out last week’s game at Alabama after separating his shoulder in an overtime loss against Ohio. But coach Todd Dodge told reporters that his son and quarterback will be at full strength against the Blue Raiders, who are coming off a win over Maryland.
Colorado State: Bettors would be wise to take notice of Rams’ coach Steve Fairchild. He’s a rising star, and it showed against rival Colorado Sunday.
Colorado State’s offense, featuring the most experienced offensive line in the nation, was balanced (208 passing, 168 rushing) and was a step ahead of the Buffalo defense throughout the first half.
The Rams’ defense shut down what is expected to be a good Buffalo rushing attack. Colorado averaged just 1.4 yards per carry and finished with 29 yards rushing.
Finding solid, updated information on Sun Belt football is not easy, for bettors or oddsmakers.
So spending time to dig deeper on these lesser-known squads can pay dividends.
“The way to win early in the year is to get a better handle on a team than the average guy on the street,” Francis Doyle, betting analyst for Sportsinteraction.com said.