Who said there was no college football this weekend? Our Top 10 gridiron stats and factoids will visit the two FCS semifinal games and the Division II championship, all three of which are being shown on the Worldwide Leader with betting lines attached.
Who says we need a college football playoff system? Thanks to millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship, we have two new bowl games to bet on this year, bringing the total to 34. That’s more than double what any namby-pamby eight-team elimination format would provide.
The Big 12 title game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Missouri Tigers feels like there is almost a third team involved, the Texas Longhorns.
The Tigers are the opponent that will take the field, but the Longhorns have just as much vested interest in the outcome. You see, it is assumed that if the Sooners fall, Texas will slip into the other spot in the national title game in January.
The winner of the game between the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon will punch their ticket to the national championship game.
Strangely, oddsmakers give Florida a huge edge, installing the Gators as 10-point favorites over the unbeaten Tide. Players at Sportsbook.com agree, with 62% backing the chalk. CBS will have the broadcast at 4 pm ET.
Black Friday (and its online counterpart, Cyber Monday) signaled the start of yet another holiday shopping season. The handicapping world is also in overdrive this month. We’ve got pro and college football, pro and college hoops, and a healthy dose of hockey to get us through December – not to mention the latest superfight from the boxing ring. These are our Top 5 betting games of the week (all times Eastern; for current lines, visit Bodog’s online sportsbook).
If you’re an NFL player, you can’t just wolf down whatever you like this holiday season. That cranberry sauce might cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The league suspended six players on Tuesday for violating the league’s steroid policy – three of them from the New Orleans Saints, including running back Deuce McAllister. The accused claim their positive test for Bumetanide (a diuretic that can be used as a masking agent) came from a weight-loss pill called StarCaps that did not list that ingredient on the label. Tough noogies, says the NFL. All six are out for the remainder of the regular season.
What song will Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band open with during the Super Bowl halftime show?
That’s just one of the crazy proposition bets that you’ll find as the football season draws to a close. The market is fairly quiet right now – on the board at press time is the race for the 2008 Heisman Trophy, plus the usual championship futures odds on the BCS, the Super Bowl and the NFL’s two conferences. As we get closer to the big games, betting interest will soar, and so will the number of wagers available. About half the Super Bowl betting handle (which is estimated at $6-10 billion worldwide, or $100 million in Nevada) will come in the form of prop bets.
Week 13 opens with a special trifecta of Turkey Day games on Thursday, starting with what will surely be a barnburner between Tennessee and Detroit (+11, 44.5). Take the opportunity to sit down at the table and eat while that gongshow transpires at Ford Field.
Missing baseball season when your only alternative was the CFL or the WNBA? Didn’t think so. With NBA and college hoops now in full swing, the good times are rolling for bettors. Here’s a look at our Top 5 betting matchups of the week (all times Eastern; visit Bodog Sportsbook. for latest odds):
Coming off its toughest game, the unbeaten Ball State Cardinals will try to overcome one last obstacle to winning the MAC West when it hosts the Western Michigan Broncos tonight.
Sportsbook.com has Ball State as 10 ½-point favorites with a Total of 53.5. It will be broadcast on ESPN2 starting at 7 pm ET.
Sportsbook.com members love the second-ranked team in the nation in an underdog role on Saturday night.
A healthy 70% of the action for Saturday’s Big 12 collision between the #2 Texas Tech Red Raiders and #5 Oklahoma Sooners is on the visiting Raiders as these two powerhouses meet in an epic battle with conference and national title implications.
You’ve probably heard by now that last week’s 11-10 win by the Steelers over the Jaguars was one for the history books – the first ever NFL game to end in that score. But according to the folks at Football Reference, there have been seven other “first-ever” scores this season, most recently the Jets beating the Rams 47-3 in Week 10.
Weather could ground the high-powered Ball State Cardinals offense in Wednesday’s Mid-American Conference game against the Central Michigan Chippewas.
A 25-degree forecast that includes wind and snow could create adverse conditions and make the total a great Under bet.
Scratch one more sport off the betting list. Jimmie Johnson has won NASCAR’s top prize for the third year in a row, taking the Sprint Cup in somewhat anticlimactic fashion by finishing 15th at Sunday’s Ford 400. Johnson only needed to place 36th or better to clinch the title. Cale Yarborough (1976-77-78) is the only other driver to pull off the three-peat.
It was two years ago in this same spot that South Carolina (7-3, 5-3-1 ATS) almost derailed Florida’s national championship dreams, losing 17-16 as 13-point road underdogs.
That’s not carrying much weight this week as South Carolina is a 22 ½-point underdog this Saturday in Gainesville.
Sportsbook.com has Cincinnati favored by four points with a Total of 47.5. ESPN2 will broadcast this Big East encounter starting at 8 pm ET.
The Cincinnati Bearcats have cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season, but to stay there, they will need to defeat an old nemesis, the Louisville Cardinals.
