NCAA Football Preview - U-S-C Trojans

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/21/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - 2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: The Trojans' reign over the Pac-10 continued last season, as Pete Carroll's powerhouse collected its fifth consecutive conference title. The Trojans marched into the '06 season the most vulnerable they'd been since taking over the league half a decade ago. Having to replace the likes of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and LenDale White was supposed to be an insurmountable task. However, Carroll's boys rose to the occasion and while it was not pretty at times the Trojans once again proved why they are the class of the Pac-10. The season began as usual, with the team posting dominating victories over Arkansas (50-14), Nebraska (28-10) and Arizona (20-3). The wins continued to roll in, but each victory was tougher than the next as Troy struggled to get past Washington State (28-22), Washington (26-20) and Arizona State (28-21). At 6-0, the Trojans were poised for another national title shot, however, all that would change when the indestructible force that is USC was penetrated by the Oregon State Beavers, 33-31. The Trojans regrouped quickly from and went on to win their next four contests, including a 44-24 victory over Notre Dame. With their fifth conference championship securely packed away, the Trojans were in the mix for the BCS title game, but a regular season finale loss to UCLA (13-9) left the Trojans out of the championship game and instead had to settle for a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Trojans were pitted against the very tough Michigan Wolverines and although some experts thought Michigan should be in the BCS title tilt, the Trojans had little trouble disposing of the Wolverines, 32-18. The Trojans entered the '06 season in rebuilding mode, but when the season came to a close the team was 11-2 with a Rose Bowl victory. Most teams only dream of seasons like that when they are at their best, but then again most teams are not Carroll's USC Trojans.

2007 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: Two years ago the Trojans lost their entire backfield, and this year the team will be without its top two receivers as Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith will now be catching passes in the NFL. With both gone, QB John David Booty will need to develop a relationship with a new corps of wideouts. Regardless of who is catching passes, Booty is expected to have a tad more trouble this season. In his first year as a starter, Booty threw for 3,347 yards and 29 touchdowns against just nine interceptions. Overall, the Trojans averaged 263.8 ypg through the air in '06 and hopefully the receivers can step up and help the unit duplicate those numbers. Patrick Turner has the most experience at the receiver position as the junior caught 29 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns last season. Other than Turner, there is no clear- cut second option for Booty, but look for sophomore Vidal Hazelton to step up and make a name for himself. Much like the receiving corps, the backfield for USC is up in the air as the season opener looms. Chauncey Washington and C.J. Gables both return, but neither were overly productive last season. As a collective unit, USC averaged just 128 ypg on the ground a year ago, and despite not having a legitimate feature back the team should improve in that area. Freshmen Joe McKnight and Marc Tyler are already being labeled as the next great USC backfield duo. McKnight has scary speed and great hands, while Tyler is a bruising back with some serious punch. Whoever takes the ball for USC will have an easy time running behind the likes of All-American tackle Sam Baker.

DEFENSE: Usually when people talk about USC it is all about the team's offensive prowess, however, this season the defense is what is garnering most of the headlines. The Trojans return all 11 starters from last year's team which held opponents to just 15.2 ppg and 295.8 total ypg. The linebacking trio of Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers is easily one of the best groups in the nation. Rivers and Maualuga led the team with 85 and 78 tackles, respectively, while Cushing posted a team-best 13.5 TFLs and posted 4.5 sacks. In the trenches, the biggest returning starter is Sedrick Ellis. Ellis collected eight TFLs and 4.5 sacks a year ago, and this season he is viewed as one of the most complete tackles in the country. Along with fellow DT Fili Moala and defensive end Lawrence Jackson, the Trojans have a tenacious front line and it could be even more devastating if incoming freshman Everson Griffen adjusts to the college game quickly. As for the secondary, the Trojans have all four starters back, however, the group only recorded 11 INTs a year ago, a number Carroll would love to see climb skyward.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The saddest part of the off-season for USC was the passing of kicker Mario Danelo. With the loss of Danelo, the Trojans will now turn to David Buehler, who only kicked one field goal a year ago. Greg Woidneck, who averaged 38.3 yards per punt, is back but the most important returning special teamer will be C.J. Gable. Gable ranked 15th in the nation a year ago with 27 yards per kick return.

OUTLOOK: The Trojans have all the ingredients for another title run as the team is chock full of impact players on both sides of the ball. Add Carroll to the mix and it's easy to see why USC is the team to beat. There are some small questions about the skill positions but with a slew of impressive newcomers the Trojans will certainly be a force to be reckoned with. If the team can get past its tough road schedule (Nebraska, Washington, Notre Dame, Oregon, Cal and Arizona State), then expect to see USC undefeated when the team reaches the BCS title game.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.