BCS Title Game Review
By Bodog
Another year of college football betting is behind us. And if you had your hard-earned cash on the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the national championship, you're feeling pretty good right now. But it didn't come without a nervous moment or two.
Thursday's BCS Championship Game between Alabama and the Texas Longhorns (+5 at the close of betting) had "anti-climactic" written all over it after Texas QB Colt McCoy went down in the opening drive with an injured shoulder. Freshman Garrett Gilbert took over; Gilbert was one of the top high school players in the country in 2008, but only threw 26 passes for the Longhorns in 2009 before being thrust into the spotlight.
He played like it, too. In his first series, Gilbert was unable to get Texas into the end zone with a 1st-and-Goal at the Alabama 1-yard line. Texas immediately recovered the following kick-off, but again had to settle for a field goal. Then everything went sour for Longhorns fans. The Tide racked up 24 points in the second quarter, closing the half with a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcell Dareus. Gilbert ended the half 1-of-10 with two picks. The rout was on.
Except it wasn't. The Texas defense held down the fort, limiting the Tide to a combined zero yards on its next three drives, and Gilbert connected with stud WR Jordan Shipley on a 44-yard pass to cut the Alabama lead to 24-13. Then Gilbert found Shipley again in the fourth quarter, and after a 2-point conversion, Texas suddenly trailed, 24-21. The Longhorns were in a position to defy the football odds and win the game outright with a little over three minutes left on the clock.
The euphoria lasted exactly one play. Gilbert was drilled in the back by linebacker Eryk Anders, fumbled the ball, and Alabama recovered on the Longhorns 7-yard line. It was academic from there. 'Bama scored to push the game 'over' the posted total of 46, then picked off Gilbert twice more and added another major to make the give the Tide a 37-21 victory. Alabama finishes the season at 14-0 SU and 9-5 ATS; Texas bows out at 13-1 SU and 5-8-1 ATS.
The Crimson Tide may be the national champions, but as far as handicappers are concerned, the big winners this season were the Connecticut Huskies at 7-5 SU and 10-2 ATS. No other team was as profitable this year as UConn. In fact, there were 14 teams that finished with better ATS records than Alabama. As usual, most of the big money was in the mid-majors and lower, with teams like Central Florida (9-2 ATS) and Central Michigan (9-3 ATS) dialing up the cash. But big-name programs like Ohio State (9-3 ATS) and Georgia Tech (8-4 ATS) also paid out handsomely.
At the other end of the spectrum, it was doom and gloom for two of the most storied teams in college football history. The USC Trojans and the Florida State Seminoles each finished the season at 3-9 ATS, and longtime FSU coach Bobby Bowden was effectively pushed out the door, announcing his retirement at the age of 80. The least profitable team in the nation, though, was San Jose State at an appalling 2-10 SU and ATS. And that's only if you count the Spartans' 19-9 victory over Cal Poly SLO from the FCS.
The betting trends for the full season show that life was good for the road 'dogs. They barked their way to a record of 111-392 SU and 268-230-5 ATS, or 53.8 percent. From a totals perspective, the 'under' barely missed making a profit at 397-361, or 52.37 percent. The break-even mark including the standard -110 chalk is 52.38 percent. Better luck next time.
Here are the final results from each of the four major bowl games and the BCS Championship:
Rose Bowl: Ohio State 26, Oregon 17 (Ohio State +4 ?)
Sugar Bowl: Florida 51, Cincinnati 23 (Florida -12)
Fiesta Bowl: Boise State 17, Texas Christian 10 (Boise State +7)
Orange Bowl: Iowa 24, Georgia Tech 14 (Iowa +6)
BCS Championship: Alabama 37, Texas 21 (Alabama -5)
By Bodog
Another year of college football betting is behind us. And if you had your hard-earned cash on the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the national championship, you're feeling pretty good right now. But it didn't come without a nervous moment or two.
Thursday's BCS Championship Game between Alabama and the Texas Longhorns (+5 at the close of betting) had "anti-climactic" written all over it after Texas QB Colt McCoy went down in the opening drive with an injured shoulder. Freshman Garrett Gilbert took over; Gilbert was one of the top high school players in the country in 2008, but only threw 26 passes for the Longhorns in 2009 before being thrust into the spotlight.
He played like it, too. In his first series, Gilbert was unable to get Texas into the end zone with a 1st-and-Goal at the Alabama 1-yard line. Texas immediately recovered the following kick-off, but again had to settle for a field goal. Then everything went sour for Longhorns fans. The Tide racked up 24 points in the second quarter, closing the half with a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcell Dareus. Gilbert ended the half 1-of-10 with two picks. The rout was on.
Except it wasn't. The Texas defense held down the fort, limiting the Tide to a combined zero yards on its next three drives, and Gilbert connected with stud WR Jordan Shipley on a 44-yard pass to cut the Alabama lead to 24-13. Then Gilbert found Shipley again in the fourth quarter, and after a 2-point conversion, Texas suddenly trailed, 24-21. The Longhorns were in a position to defy the football odds and win the game outright with a little over three minutes left on the clock.
The euphoria lasted exactly one play. Gilbert was drilled in the back by linebacker Eryk Anders, fumbled the ball, and Alabama recovered on the Longhorns 7-yard line. It was academic from there. 'Bama scored to push the game 'over' the posted total of 46, then picked off Gilbert twice more and added another major to make the give the Tide a 37-21 victory. Alabama finishes the season at 14-0 SU and 9-5 ATS; Texas bows out at 13-1 SU and 5-8-1 ATS.
The Crimson Tide may be the national champions, but as far as handicappers are concerned, the big winners this season were the Connecticut Huskies at 7-5 SU and 10-2 ATS. No other team was as profitable this year as UConn. In fact, there were 14 teams that finished with better ATS records than Alabama. As usual, most of the big money was in the mid-majors and lower, with teams like Central Florida (9-2 ATS) and Central Michigan (9-3 ATS) dialing up the cash. But big-name programs like Ohio State (9-3 ATS) and Georgia Tech (8-4 ATS) also paid out handsomely.
At the other end of the spectrum, it was doom and gloom for two of the most storied teams in college football history. The USC Trojans and the Florida State Seminoles each finished the season at 3-9 ATS, and longtime FSU coach Bobby Bowden was effectively pushed out the door, announcing his retirement at the age of 80. The least profitable team in the nation, though, was San Jose State at an appalling 2-10 SU and ATS. And that's only if you count the Spartans' 19-9 victory over Cal Poly SLO from the FCS.
The betting trends for the full season show that life was good for the road 'dogs. They barked their way to a record of 111-392 SU and 268-230-5 ATS, or 53.8 percent. From a totals perspective, the 'under' barely missed making a profit at 397-361, or 52.37 percent. The break-even mark including the standard -110 chalk is 52.38 percent. Better luck next time.
Here are the final results from each of the four major bowl games and the BCS Championship:
Rose Bowl: Ohio State 26, Oregon 17 (Ohio State +4 ?)
Sugar Bowl: Florida 51, Cincinnati 23 (Florida -12)
Fiesta Bowl: Boise State 17, Texas Christian 10 (Boise State +7)
Orange Bowl: Iowa 24, Georgia Tech 14 (Iowa +6)
BCS Championship: Alabama 37, Texas 21 (Alabama -5)
