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BYU seeking independence?NCAA Football Betting Lines08/20/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are rumblings coming out of Provo, Utah. The chatter involves BYU's bid to become an independent in football, while moving from the Mountain West to the WAC for all other sports. The Cougars would like to fashion themselves as another Notre Dame, and with this proposed move, the university would take one step closer to completing the transformation. The Irish are obviously the model in terms of creating an independent product that garners national attention year-round, one that comes complete with a huge television deal and their own set of BCS rules (automatic acceptance into a BCS Bowl if the team finishes in the top eight). BYU and its non-BCS brethren have been trying to get the attention of the BCS for years, with little or no acknowledgement. While that sentiment has changed a little over the last few seasons, it is still a problem that rears its ugly head every December. Tired of waiting, other schools have made recent moves toward rectifying the situation. Boise State has left the WAC and will join the Mountain West next season. While that seems like a somewhat lateral move, it also seemingly moved the MWC closer to gaining access to the BCS party than the WAC, especially with a lineup that was to include BYU, Utah, Boise State and TCU. But the first domino that fell the wrong way for the Mountain West was Utah's move to a new 12-team Pac-10 (to be re-branded as the Pac-12), as BYU's main rival moved to the world of BCS riches. That couldn't have sat well on the BYU campus, nor throughout the fan base. BYU's potential move would seem to move the Mountain West farther from the BCS pot of gold. The league wasted no time when told of BYU's possible move, inviting both Fresno State and Nevada to join the conference. It was a necessity to do something, or everything gained by the young conference recently may have been for nothing. MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson is trying to make a positive out of a huge negative, but I'm not sure even he believes that adding the Bulldogs and Wolf Pack, while losing the Utes and Cougars, is a good thing for the conference. Neither of those new additions has the tradition or resources of the Utah-based behemoths. Meanwhile, there is perhaps a bigger picture for BYU, which is first and foremost a school that looks to promote the Mormon faith. In that vein, this move makes a lot of marketing sense. Reaching as many people around the country and the world is the main goal in Provo, and if the team follows the blueprint set by the Irish, independence could be a step in the right direction. BYU however, doesn't have a national television contract like Notre Dame has with NBC. BYU-TV is already in place, but needs the recognition and reach that will only come if the Cougars set themselves free of a conference schedule peppered with lesser competition. The school's ability to put together a killer, nationally-based schedule is the key here. Notre Dame plays powerhouses on a regular basis and lands those deals because of the network exposure and money involved. BYU doesn't generate that same type of appeal to opponents or to mainstream viewers, at least right now. SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten teams may think twice about taking on a dangerous BYU team, especially late in the season when they can see a shot at the national title within grasp. It's too risky on the field, and not beneficial enough off right now in terms of marketing or finances. BYU would like assurances from the BCS that the program, if independent, will gain automatic access to a BCS game if it meets certain criteria, much like Notre Dame. That could be the key here to the whole thing, though after sticking its neck out and threatening to leave the Mountain West, the university might be forced to adopt a "if we build it, they will come" mentality. If the Cougars can put together a tough schedule year-in and year-out and maintain success, the BCS will no longer be able to ignore them, regardless of any guarantees.
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2007 online football betting PreviewMy fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online." The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet. To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession. However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks. Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable. Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone. Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC. 2007 College Football Betting PreviewThere will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson. The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans. So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California. USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl. USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter. Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles. That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy. The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?" The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning. Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years. Las Vegas Sports LinesThe Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States. It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella." The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot. The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan. Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season. After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country. To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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