This Week in College Football Betting by the Numbers
by Aaron Smith - 11/15/2012
If you hadn’t heard of Johnny Manziel before last weekend, chances are you have heard of him by now. “Johnny Football,” as many now call him, led the Texas A&M Aggies to a huge upset of the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa last weekend. Manziel was born in Tyler, Texas, and he was a high school football legend for Tivy High School. Now, Manziel is being talked about in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy. Some fans might get tired of it, but expect to hear a lot more about Manziel in the coming weeks!
It may seem like it, but the Alabama loss wasn’t the only thing that happened in college football last weekend. Kansas State, Oregon, and Notre Dame all kept their unbeaten seasons alive. The current thinking by many experts is that Notre Dame could end up being the team on the outside if all three go unbeaten this year, but remember that all three of these teams have dangerous games between now and the end of the regular season. The only other unbeaten team left in college football is Ohio State. You better believe that the Buckeyes are wishing they had declared themselves ineligible for the postseason last season, because they would likely be well on their way to a major BCS bowl this year.
The regular season is winding down, and the games are becoming even more important. Here are some important numbers to consider when betting on college football this weekend.
0- The number of SEC teams in line to play in the national title this year. It’s hard to imagine a representative from the conference likely won’t be a part of the big festivities this year, but it was bound to happen at some point. The SEC has won the BCS Championship six straight years.
1- There are plenty of firsts taking place in Manhattan, Kansas, this year. Kansas State is ranked first in the nation in this week’s BCS Standings, which is the first time that has happened in program history. Collin Klein graced the cover of Sports Illustrated this week as well, which marks the first time a Kansas State player has ever been on the front of that distinguished magazine. Now, Wildcats fans are hoping that the dreaded Sports Illustrated curse doesn’t bite Klein!
1- We have one coach who says he will stop at nothing to try to help persuade voters to give his team a chance to win a national title. Brian Kelly said this week he wouldn’t be campaigning during the regular season, but he made it clear that once the season is over, he definitely won’t be above campaigning. He said, “If we get to the point after USC that we’re undefeated, I’ll go on Oprah if I have to.” “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ended production in 2011, and that’s a shame, because I would have loved to see Kelly on Oprah pleading for voters to select the Fighting Irish.
4- Oregon is in the fourth spot in this week’s computer rankings. The Ducks are first in the AP and USA Today Top 25, but they haven’t been getting much love from the computers this year. If they win out, it probably won’t matter now that Alabama was knocked out of the top spot.
13- Kansas State is favored by 13 points as they travel to take on the Baylor Bears this week. Baylor may only be 4-5, but it’s never an easy win when you must go up against a team (Baylor) that averages 564 yards per game. Baylor beat Kansas State by five two years ago, while Kansas State squeaked out a one-point victory last year. The Bears did have RG3 in those two games, though, and we all know that makes a huge difference!
31- Florida State is a 31-point favorite at Maryland this weekend. That is the biggest pointspread on the board this week. It’s hard to not feel bad for the Terrapins, who will be starting their fifth-string quarterback again in this one. Maryland had just 41 passing yards last week against Clemson. On the bright side, Maryland will be sporting their sweet new Under Armour designed “Black Ops” uniforms in this game! At least if they lose, they’ll be going down in style!
145- Don’t overlook the big battle in the MAC East this weekend. Kent State will take on Bowling Green in a game that will likely decide the representative from the MAC East in this year’s MAC title game. According to odds from 5Dimes, Bowling Green is currently listed as a -145 favorite. Bowling Green’s defense hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in any of their last six games.
577- Louisiana Tech is first in the nation in total offense, averaging 577 yards of offense per game this season. Need more evidence of how terrific this offense has been this year? The Bulldogs have scored more than 50 points in eight of their 10 games this year.
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