College Football Highlights, Week 13
by Joshua Fairbanks - 11/28/2006
Each week of the season Doc's Sports will look at some of the most important college football highlights that took place over the previous weekend. This is where to look to find out who covered in the big games, where the important line moved occurred as well as which teams were hot against the total.
Texas A&M Defeated No. 10 Texas Saturday, 12-7.
No, the final score is not a typo. This rivalry game was all about the defense and neither team cracked 300 total yards. Sports books, in contrast, believed this game was going to be all about the offense, making the total at a staggering 56 points. The bookies know that the public loves to bet Texas and the over. The Horns finished the season 5-6 against the total. The reason this stat suffers is due to the fact that the lines are always way too high as they have been shaded by the bookmakers. Another reason the over is suffering with the Longhorns is the fact that Texas has been performing poorly. During the last five weeks of the year Texas was 1-4 ATS. This season was disappointing not only for Texas, but for Longhorn gamblers as well.
No. 8 LSU Defeated No. 5 Arkansas Saturday, 31-26.
The line for this game showed some slight movement during the day before kickoff. The line started about even and by Saturday LSU was a two-point favorite. Either way, the Tigers covered the spread and won the game in impressive fashion. Although Arkansas is 10-2 this season, they are a poor 4-7 ATS. After a few unexpected losses, LSU found a way to battle back into a solid BCS standing. They finished the regular season 10-2 overall and 7-4 ATS. LSU's big bowl game may just find them as a favorite.
No.4 Florida Defeated Florida State Saturday, 21-14.
Florida pulled away in the first half of this game only to let Florida State roll back into it. Florida State had many opportunities to tie late but simply failed to get it done. Of course, when it comes to FSU this season, execution is not something that comes very easy. The Seminoles finished the season 5-7 ATS, finding themselves to be very inconsistent. During the course of the season, Florida State never had a three-game win streak. Florida also continued their betting trends. Once again, the Gators did not cover the spread leaving them at a horrible 3-8 ATS for the season.
No. 3 USC Defeated No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday, 44-24.
This game was USC's sole chance to prove to the BCS that they are a championship team. Not only did the Trojans dominate this game, they showed the world that Notre Dame is not a top 10 team. John David Booty tore apart the poor Notre dame secondary play after play. USC also shut down Quinn's potent offense proving that their defense is something to be reckoned with. Over the course of the past five weeks, USC is 5-0 ATS. Some bettors may have believed that laying nine points against Notre Dame was too many. If bettors couldn't pick a side, I think the stronger trend of this game was the total. Bettors must have figured that no matter who won the game, a lot of points would have to be put on the board to do so. Playing the over with the Trojans and Irish wont go wrong too often.
No. 25 Hawaii Defeated Purdue Saturday, 42-35.
Can you believe it? Hawaii was held under 50 points during this game for the first time in six weeks. Purdue entered the half of this game down by two touchdowns. Midway through the third quarter, the Boilermakers found a way to battle back to almost steal this game away. If you bet on Hawaii this season, you picked the right team. Hawaii finished the season 8-2 ATS and also finished 9-2 for the over. In many games Hawaii played in, they covered the over all by themselves. When a quarterback throws more than 60 touchdowns during a season, the over is money in the bank. I wonder if Hawaii will be able to push the total to 100 next year.