NCAAF Top 5: Best BCS bet-against teams
There have been some really lousy ATS performances by big-name schools the past few years.
Last season, Washington went 1-11 and Michigan went 1-10 against the number.
In 2007, Nick Saban?s first year at Alabama, the Crimson Tide went 2-9 ATS.
Those are just a few examples.
In the past 10 seasons, BCS conferences have been responsible for almost half (47 percent) of the worst single-season ATS marks in college football.
So which BCS teams are capable of producing lousy ATS marks this year? Try these five:
South Carolina Gamecocks
Steve Spurrier knows this year?s team is not nearly as talented as its predecessors.
He?s banking on sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia, who has had nearly as many off-the-field issues as touchdowns.
It won?t help that Garcia has no go-to receiver and no proven running back threat.
The new coaching staff has been scrambling to find ways to jumpstart the offense, which ranked last in the SEC in rushing last season.
But talk of possibly playing three quarterbacks is not a good sign.
Starting defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye is suspended for the first four games. That makes back-to-back road games at North Carolina State and at Georgia to open the season look more like confidence crushers than boosters.
If things go south early, Spurrier?s seat will heat up quickly and the Gamecocks could be in store for a difficult season.
Washington State Cougars
The Cougars opened the Paul Wulff era by going 2-11. They lost their first eight games against the spread, before covering as 41-point home underdogs against Arizona.
A 41-point home underdog to Arizona?
Don?t count the late-season 16-13 win over Washington as a sign of improvement. Squeaking out a win against the Huskies last year is nothing to be proud of.
Frankly, Wullf and the Cougars looked overmatched throughout the year. They were often unprepared and unable to compete athletically.
It?s tough to change that dramatically over one offseason and big-time recruits have not exactly been pouring into Pullman in recent years.
The Cougars still have quarterback problems. Senior Kevin Lopina threw 11 interceptions and no touchdowns last year. And he?s the leading candidate to start.
Boston College Eagles
Things went bad in the offseason for the Eagles, real bad.
Coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who won two ACC Atlantic Division titles in two years, was fired for flirting with the NFL.
Projected starting quarterback Dominique Davis was suspended and eventually transferred, leaving 25-year-old minor league baseball player David Shinskie as the default starter.
Starting linebacker and reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with cancer and was lost for the season. Another starting linebacker, defensive captain Mike McLaughlin, is trying to recover from a torn Achilles? suffered in the offseason.
Offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill put the expectations of the Eagles in perspective.
?We have a chance to be solid,? he told the Boston Globe.
Texas A&M Aggies
The Big 12 South is not kind to bad defenses.
That?s bad news for the Aggies, because what was once known as the vaunted ?Wrecking Crew? defense had turned into a gigantic wreck.
Last season, A&M was last in the Big 12 in points allowed and 11th in five other major defensive categories.
Early practice reports suggest little has changed.
This team really shut it down in a few games in coach Mike Sherman?s first season. They lost all four of their South Division games by a total score of 214-90.
Texas A&M draws the weaker half of the North Division, but its program simply isn?t in any better shape than Kansas State or Iowa State these days.
Kansas State Wildcats
Seventy-year-old Bill Synder resumed control of the Wildcats, forcing ex-coach Ron Prince out in an uncomfortable situation.
A mass exodus of at least 12 players followed, leaving Snyder with question marks all over the field.
In typical Kansas State form, the Wildcats play only one BCS team in non-conference play. They?ll travel to UCLA the third week of the season after opening against UMass and Louisiana.
Kansas State struggled to put away Louisiana last year at home and could be walking into an ambush down on the Bayou.
Under Snyder, the Wildcats were never a good road team so games at Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska seem like potential blowouts.
There have been some really lousy ATS performances by big-name schools the past few years.
Last season, Washington went 1-11 and Michigan went 1-10 against the number.
In 2007, Nick Saban?s first year at Alabama, the Crimson Tide went 2-9 ATS.
Those are just a few examples.
In the past 10 seasons, BCS conferences have been responsible for almost half (47 percent) of the worst single-season ATS marks in college football.
So which BCS teams are capable of producing lousy ATS marks this year? Try these five:
South Carolina Gamecocks
Steve Spurrier knows this year?s team is not nearly as talented as its predecessors.
He?s banking on sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia, who has had nearly as many off-the-field issues as touchdowns.
It won?t help that Garcia has no go-to receiver and no proven running back threat.
The new coaching staff has been scrambling to find ways to jumpstart the offense, which ranked last in the SEC in rushing last season.
But talk of possibly playing three quarterbacks is not a good sign.
Starting defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye is suspended for the first four games. That makes back-to-back road games at North Carolina State and at Georgia to open the season look more like confidence crushers than boosters.
If things go south early, Spurrier?s seat will heat up quickly and the Gamecocks could be in store for a difficult season.
Washington State Cougars
The Cougars opened the Paul Wulff era by going 2-11. They lost their first eight games against the spread, before covering as 41-point home underdogs against Arizona.
A 41-point home underdog to Arizona?
Don?t count the late-season 16-13 win over Washington as a sign of improvement. Squeaking out a win against the Huskies last year is nothing to be proud of.
Frankly, Wullf and the Cougars looked overmatched throughout the year. They were often unprepared and unable to compete athletically.
It?s tough to change that dramatically over one offseason and big-time recruits have not exactly been pouring into Pullman in recent years.
The Cougars still have quarterback problems. Senior Kevin Lopina threw 11 interceptions and no touchdowns last year. And he?s the leading candidate to start.
Boston College Eagles
Things went bad in the offseason for the Eagles, real bad.
Coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who won two ACC Atlantic Division titles in two years, was fired for flirting with the NFL.
Projected starting quarterback Dominique Davis was suspended and eventually transferred, leaving 25-year-old minor league baseball player David Shinskie as the default starter.
Starting linebacker and reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with cancer and was lost for the season. Another starting linebacker, defensive captain Mike McLaughlin, is trying to recover from a torn Achilles? suffered in the offseason.
Offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill put the expectations of the Eagles in perspective.
?We have a chance to be solid,? he told the Boston Globe.
Texas A&M Aggies
The Big 12 South is not kind to bad defenses.
That?s bad news for the Aggies, because what was once known as the vaunted ?Wrecking Crew? defense had turned into a gigantic wreck.
Last season, A&M was last in the Big 12 in points allowed and 11th in five other major defensive categories.
Early practice reports suggest little has changed.
This team really shut it down in a few games in coach Mike Sherman?s first season. They lost all four of their South Division games by a total score of 214-90.
Texas A&M draws the weaker half of the North Division, but its program simply isn?t in any better shape than Kansas State or Iowa State these days.
Kansas State Wildcats
Seventy-year-old Bill Synder resumed control of the Wildcats, forcing ex-coach Ron Prince out in an uncomfortable situation.
A mass exodus of at least 12 players followed, leaving Snyder with question marks all over the field.
In typical Kansas State form, the Wildcats play only one BCS team in non-conference play. They?ll travel to UCLA the third week of the season after opening against UMass and Louisiana.
Kansas State struggled to put away Louisiana last year at home and could be walking into an ambush down on the Bayou.
Under Snyder, the Wildcats were never a good road team so games at Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska seem like potential blowouts.
