This season the Pac-10 is wasting no time. They have 2 in-conference battles here in week one as Washington takes on Oregon and then the game we are going talk about as Oregon St takes on Stanford.
Last season, the Beavers shocked most of the Pac-10 by finishing third going 9-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play. This year they won’t be able to sneak up on teams. It won’t be easy to repeat their 2007 season. Even though they return both of their QBs from last year in Lyle Moevao and Sean Canfield along with 2006 Pac-10 leading receiver Sammy Stroughter, he missed all but 3 games last year do to injuries, they have to replace their entire front seven on defense.
Stanford struggled though most of Jim Harbaugh’s first coaching season last year going just 4-8 and 3-6 in the Pac-10. But that was an improvement from 1-11 the year before. They also had a huge upset victory over highly ranked USC, which was a tremendous building block for the Harbaugh regime. This year, the Cardinal will have to continue to improve on both sides of the ball, especially on defense, where they ranked dead last in the conference giving up over 435 yards per game.
With the inexperience of the Oregon St defense and the way the Stanford D played last year, I expect to see points to be put up here in this one. As a winner this week take the Oregon St/Stanford game OVER the total of 46.
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The wait is over, the NFL Pre-Season is into their final week and the College season is here. So what do we have to look forward to here in the first week of College Football? Well we only have two match-ups between Top-25 teams this week as #20 Illinois takes on #6 Missouri and #9 Clemson hosts #24 Alabama. This will be the first test by Chase Daniels and the Tigers. Was last season’s Cinderella season was a fluke or for real? Illinois will give them a tough test. Juice Williams and Eddie McGee make up a very dangerous double-headed QB tandem. They both give the Illini offense a lot of versatility. Last year, Missouri stepped into the Top-10 for the first time in most Tiger fans lifetimes. They did it with Daniels, Jeremy Maclin and company on offense. This season the defense will look to step things up on defense with 10 starters returning.
The other Top-25 match-up has the ACC versus the SEC. Alabama and Nick Saban are in their second season together. The end of last season started to show signs for the Tide and this could be the year that Alabama gets back in the national spotlight. Their first test will be a tough one though. Clemson is currently ranked #9 and the top scoring offense in the ACC last season returns 7 starters including the 3 top vote getters for ACC Player of the Year quarterback Cullen Harper and tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller.
Though there are only two Top-25 match-ups, there are also a couple of other interesting match-ups. #5 Florida and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow takes on high-scoring, high-flying Hawaii, without record breaking QB Colt Brennan, who is now playing on Sundays. Defending National Champion LSU takes their #7 ranking and goes up against Division 1-AA Champion Appalachian St. Last year as everyone remembers, Appalachian St pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history early in the year by knocking off Michigan in the “Big House”.
A couple of others that should be worth tuning in for a while will be #3 USC and Virginia, Washington at #21 Oregon, Michigan St versus California, and #18 Tennessee traveling across country to take on UCLA on Monday night.
Next week we will return to take a look at what we saw here in week one of College Football, along with what to expect in week #2. We also will have the start of the NFL’s regular season next week. As a free winner for this week take the Memphis and Mississippi game UNDER the total of 55.
Make sure you go to www.freeplays.com and click on the Vegas Steam Line each and every day for more great free winners.
An underrated rivalry hits the big stage on Sunday as Colorado and Colorado State lock horns. Colorado comes in as a double-digit favorite and rightfully so. Colorado’s offense looks strong, with a deep, talented offensive line leading the way. But the offense does appear to lack playmakers, unless superman freshman running back Darrell Scott busts onto the scene in a hurry. The defense will also suffer from mediocre-itis unless playmakers step up to take the place of departed standouts Jordan Dizon and Terrence Wheatly. Defensive tackle George Hypolite has a chance to be that kind of player, so watch for him. All in all, Colorado looks like a good bet to repeat their .500 season from a year ago, and possibly step things up one notch. They have a good enough team to keep them in a game for the long haul, but they lack the playmakers to put away inferior competition.
The real reason Colorado is a double-digit favorite is the possibility of a completely inept team showing up on the other side of the field. Colorado State is in a complete rebuilding faze after last year’s 3-9 campaign. A strong running game will need to pick up the offensive slack, as the passing game is inexperienced. The Colorado State defense could possibly be one of the very worst units in all of college football. Expect major points to be put up against this defense all year long, starting on Sunday. Colorado State has a chance to match those points, though, as Colorado attempts to feel out what they can do defensively.
Free winner from Dark Horse Sports: Look for a shootout on Sunday and an easy winner on Colorado and Colorado State over the total of 60.
Newly named, “the most powerful coach in sports”, Nick Saban, in his second year at Alabama, take his #24 ranked squad to the Georgia Dome to take on the Clemson Tigers in the Chick-Fil-A College Kickoff. Whether or not you agree with the Forbes Magazine assessment of Saban, the fact is he can coach, he can recruit and he turns out winning teams and Clemson will need to be at the top of their game to upend the Crimson Tide.
The Tide will once again have QB John Parker Wilson (3rd year) directing the offense with his third offensive coordinator in three years. Whether his inconsistent play is a product of the carousel of coaches or just because he’s an average player, experience against top notch talent should have prepared him for almost everything he sees this season. Junior RB Glen Coffee has replaced last year’s top ground gainter Terry Grant as the #1 back and should get the bulk of the carries. LT Andre Smith and C Antoine Caldwell are both Outland Trophy candidates and ‘Bama is expected to produce a hard-hitting rushing attack that’s been missing for years. The Tide lost it’s three top receivers from a year ago and heralded recruit, Julio Jone will show his wares against the ACC’s #1 ranked pass defense from last year. That’s a tough assignment for anyone and especially for someone playing in his first college games. The Tide will have to control the trenches if they hope to upset the Tigers.
Defensively, Alabama has a couple of studs in All American S Rashad Johnson and LB Rolando McClain. Big questions remain about it’s interior defensive line play and inexperienced cornerbacks. Clemson has the weapons to attack on the ground and in the air and will give this unit a good test for the upcoming season.
Saban’s team lost six games last season, all by less than a touchdown per game. I dont’ think they will lose six games this season however, on paper, Clemson appears to have the edge.
The underchieving Clemson Tigers are picked by many to be be the top team in a weakened Atlantic Coast Conference and the first Saturday of college football will give us an indication if they are up to making a run at the conference title. Head Coach Tommy Bowden remains in charge despite late season collapses in 2000 and 2006. I’m not sure the Clemson faithful will cut him any slack if this years team underachieves again. Clemson returns some big names on offense including RB’s James Davis and CJ Spiller along with 2007 ACC Player of the Year, QB Cullen Harper. Clemson returns seven starters from last years offense but, there are questions if the offensive line can gel into a cohesive unit.
Clemson’s defense, ranked in the top 10 nationally last year, should once again be top notch despite having to replace half of its linebacking corps. The defensive line is deep and the Tigers rotate players to remain fresh. The matchup of DE Ricky Sapp against All American Tide LT Andre Smith will showcase a couple of future NFLers.
Preseason rankings have the Tigers around #9 and a victory over the Saban’s Crimson Tide may just provide the momentum for the Tigers to reach their potential. Bowden also produced one of his best recruiting classes as the Clemson head coach so expectations are high for this team. To play for the ACC title may just keep Bowden as the head coach at Clemson for a while longer.
If you are looking for a play on this games total, look under the 47½ currently posted
By Mike Wynn Sports
After the great success of both these teams last season this game Saturday becomes very important to both ball clubs. Illinois and Missouri both ranked in the polls to start the season and both teams are expecting big things this season. Missouri is hoping to compete for a national championship and this team should have some attitude after being shunned for a BCS bowl bid last season. Illinois hopes to compete for a Big 10 title this season and follow up on last year’s successes. So let’s take a look at this match up Saturday and we’ll start with the Fighting Illini of Illinois.
College football gets underway with a full board this week and directly out of the gate is a very nice Thursday card. Our well earned Vegas strip reputation as ‘The College Football Gurus’ has the sportsbooks dreading our excitement but players from coast to coast giddy with future profit pleasure and the wait is over as it starts with a bang on Thursday!
Kentucky at Louisville, August 31, 2008
The Wildcats of Kentucky and Cardinals of Louisville open up their seasons in the Governors’ Cup. While Kentucky is returning 15 starters, they will rely on a new QB in sophomore Mike Hartline who has thrown a total of 6 passes in his collegiate career. Hartline has four strong RBs to help carry the load in Tony Dixon, Alfonso Smith, Derrick Locke and Moncell Allen.
Louisville has had more than it’s share of problems over the last year. After limping through a 6-6 campaign last year it is yet to be seen if the Cardinals have the talent to return to elite status. While QB Hunter Cantwell is a NFL prospect, he will be throwing to a pair of sophomore receivers in Troy Pascley and Doug Beaumont, who do not have a career reception between them. On defense Louisville will start 3 LBs who have not played a down for the Cardinals.
With all of the new faces in Louisville, I do not believe they will be able to get off to a good start. I look for Kentucky to get the outright win. Take Kentucky +3.5 over Louisville.
By Dr. Vegas
USC vs Virginia
3:30pm ET, Saturday August 30, 2008
Scott Stadium, Charlottesville Virginia
Someone has to face USC in their season opener. The dubious honor belongs to the Virginia Cavaliers, who openly admit their chances are slim.
After last year’s successful season, USC needed little on which to improve. They did work in the offseason to improve their offensive line. It can be said that some improvement has been made, but it remains a weak link in the Trojan armor. At least as “weak” as you can describe anything about USC. QB Mark Sanchez appears in good health after a knee injury in early August, but good health does not mean good conditioning. He lost valuable lead-in time to mend his knee, and is perhaps a step behind where he should be. Coach Pete Carroll said it could be mid-September before Sanchez is 100% again.
By Spike Measer, Big Time Sports
Vandy @ Miami Ohio (Thurs 8/28)- SEC team makes rare trip to MAC home turf…Vandy brings 2 mobile upper-classmen at QB position…Commodores 10-3 as road dog last three seasons…Redhawks 0-6 ATS as favorite ‘06-’07, including 0-4 in Oxford
Temple @ Army (Fri 8/29)- Black Knights of the Hudson no bargain, but hesitate to lay wood on the road with a Temple squad that has won just 2 of last 30 games as visitor. Coach Golden has had positive impact on downtrodden program, but this game seems closer to “pick” than the Owls being a full TD favorite.
Memphis @ Mississippi (Sat 8/29)- New regime for Ole Miss with Houston Nutt taking charge…underdog series, as pooch has covered last 5 (Tigers 4-0, Rebs 1-0)…last four meetings decided by 7 points or less…Memphis junior wideouts Calhoun (6′4″) and Singleton (6′8″) own huge size advantage on Miss corners (all 5′11″ or shorter)
OK, OK, everyone knows how good we are when it comes to handicapping (Especially when it comes to the football). Between our regular locks and our High Roller Total, our clients made millions last year. And that’s not an exaggeration. However, something that hasn’t been made public is how good we are with our fantasy football. We’ve won three of our last four fantasy football leagues. So as far as our scouting, ranking, and strategy we’d say we know what we’re doing. We’d like to share some of those tips to winning fantasy football.
A couple of rules we follow: The number one rule we follow, hands down the most important rule– take a running back in the first two rounds of the draft. Period! Even if you have a chance to take a Tom Brady or Payton Manning with the fifth or sixth pick overall, it’s not worth it. In the long run, you’ll score more fantasy points with a two stud RB’s and a Romo, Brees, Palmer, (A third or fourth round pick). Than a Brady/Manning, stud RB and a starting RB splitting time. Remember, a great QB will single handily win weeks, running backs will win fantasy titles.
By Tom Hatfield, Razor Sharp Sports
Every year when I go to write this article, the first thing that I do is come up with a list of potential players that could emerge to be the top college player in the country. Most years there are a couple of players that jump out at you from what they have done in the past, but I always have to go digging to find those young players that will step up their game. This year, coming up with a list was the easy part. Narrowing down the list to come up with a Top-5 was the hard part. Of course, when you have a returning winner, you have to put him on top or near the top of the list. When Tim Tebow won the award last year, the first sophomore to ever win it, it opened the door to many other underclassmen to go after the award. Lets take a look at who may take home the hardware this season.
The wait is over! The football season is finally here. It is everyone’s favorite time of the year. Join us each and every week here in the Vegas Steam Lines Sports Blog as we take a look at the past weeks action along with what is coming up the next week. Starting in September we will update our blog weekly and give you some added insight that you may not have caught from the past weeks action and give you the little advantage you may need for the upcoming weeks games. Right now lets just take a look at the upcoming College and Pro Football season.
This college football season, I am expecting a big season out of the big programs. Teams that you may be sick of hearing about, you will again be hearing about. USC, Ohio St, Oklahoma, Texas & Florida will be near the top of the rankings again. The one team that has been near the top, but might not be as big of a name would be the Georgia Bulldogs. Mark Richt and the Bulldogs have had a real solid program, but this may be the year that they break it open and get out of the shadows of the rest of the teams in the SEC. Knowshawn Moreno will be a household name at running back by mid-season. Teams that may surprise you this year will be Arizona St and BYU. The Pac-10 may be a little down this season and the Sun Devils could take advantage of a weak schedule. BYU could be your mid-major that makes a run at an undefeated schedule. Also don’t count out the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. I expect much improvement from last year. Teams that may have a tough time following up a great year last year would be LSU & Kansas. Both teams will have a tough schedule this season. LSU lost quite a bit to the NFl, along with the season long suspension of QB Ryan Perillouix. Kansas won’t be able to play the cinderella roll this year. Teams will be ready and the Big-12 has a bunch of talent this year.
By Dark Horse Sports
Christmas comes early this year, as we are bringing you our annual Dark Horse NFL regular season projections. Mind and gut are weighed equally to bring you a series of sleeper teams, over-hyped duds, and the occasional slam-dunk team, whether they be good or bad. Below you will find our projected finish of each team, sorted by division, along with a recommended futures bet based on Vegas’ current regular season over/under numbers. Recommended bets are based on a 5-star scale. To read this article in its entirety, visit us at Dark Horse Sports.
AFC East
1. New England (12-4) - The Patriots will end a long-standing streak of Super Bowl runner-ups who fail to make the postseason the following year. Tom Brady is the only answer you need when it comes to that question. Well, Tom Brady to Randy Moss is the definitive answer. They are the cream of the AFC East crop and are primed for another deep playoff run. They combine a flashy offense, playmaking linebackers, and great trench play into one well-oiled machine. Vegas has their projected win total at 12.5. With a tough schedule and a bull’s-eye on their back, put a 2-star bet on the under. This is a Super Bowl caliber team, but 13 wins will be hard to come by.
2. New York Jets (9-7) - We usually associate off-season free agent spending sprees with front office ineptitude and desperation; but now that the dust has settled we like what the Jets have done. They are a team that will surprise many and make a wildcard push if the quarterback situation sorts itself out, which we think will happen to a degree based on the simple fact that both Pennington and Clemens have the ability to succeed. They have both shown flashes of being good quarterbacks. Odds are that one of the two will step up. Running back Thomas Jones will have a good year running behind a strong, young offensive line. The defense looks rejuvenated and relatively weakness free, despite the loss of Jonathon Vilma. Put a 3-star bet on the resurgent Jets over the total of 7 wins.
By Computer Sports
#1 LaDainian Tomlinson
The league’s premier running back is now 29 and has showed little siqn of slowing down other than last years playoff knee injury. In 7 seasons LT has amassed a mind numbing 10,600 yds rushing and 115 TDS. But, what makes LT even more dangerous is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. 7 straight seasons with 50+catches makes the Chargers play action one of the leagues best. Paired with one the the top O-lines Thomlinson has the record books in his sights and more than anyone can dominate a game and slowly run the opposition into submission.
#2 Randy Moss
A new start and one of the games premiers QB’S elavated Moss’s game last season. The Patriots resurrected Moss from the QB abyss that is Oakland and were rewarded with nearly 1500 yds receiving and a whopping 23 TDS from the extemely gifted towering wide out. 124 career TDS and 12,000 receiving yds rank Moss as one of the best. With his size and QB Tom Brady to get him the ball,when healthy Moss is nearly uncoverable when he is focused and ready to win.
2008 NFL Sneak Peek – AFC West
By TD at Totals 4 You
Welcome to the eighth and final edition of your 8-week series taking an off-season look at each of the National Football League’s divisions. This week we chase the setting sun west and drop in one of the most lopsided groups where the bottom three were outscored by an average of 6.52 points per game in 2007. Can any of these crews stop the Bolts?