2002 Top Ten against the spread (not including bowl games - with a month off or even more to prepare, bowl games are a whole other phenomenon):
1. WEST VIRGINIA (9-2)
2. UCONN (9-2)
3. NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-2)
4. GEORGIA (9-2)
5. KANSAS ST (8-2)
6. SOUTH FLORIDA (7-2)
7. NOTRE DAME (8-2)
8. BOISE ST (9-3)
9. IOWA (9-3)
10. AUBURN, TULANE, DUKE (8-3)
Who will again surprise from this list? UCONN, N. Illinois, W. Virginia, Duke, and S. Florida all were relative unknowns to the betting public last year and will continue to be this year. Kansas State, ND, Iowa and Auburn all have a lot of notoriety coming into this season - they are all over-hyped (spread wise) and thus will have a lot of public money placed on them early on (in Iowa's case they simply have lost too many seniors to match last year's success).
2002 Bottom Ten against the spread:
1. BAYLOR (1-10)
2. KENT (1-9)
3. E MICHIGAN (2-8)
4. SO MISS (2-8-1)
5. UL-LAFAYETTE (2-7)
6. E CAROLINA (3-9)
7. MICHIGAN ST (3-9)
8. UNLV (3-9)
9. MISSISSIPPI ST (3-8)
10. MICHIGAN (3-8)
A couple teams I expect to remain on this list (or near it) are Michigan and Baylor. Michigan is rated highly in preaseason rankings (as high as 4 or 5 in some publications) but I still see a team that has trouble scoring. They will continue to win their fair share of games straight up, but they are a team to pound on against the spread because John Navarre is far too inconsistent. Baylor simply has no business being in the loaded Big 12, no matter how many points they receive, they cannot hang around with the heavy favorites who want to impress the pollsters with lopsided wins.
Teams that will surely improve from last year's mediocrity are Kent State, Michigan State, and Southern Miss. Kent has an unbelievable athlete in QB Josh Cribbs (first freshman in NCAA history to pass and rush for 1000 yards each as a frosh), with a year of seasoning behind him and the departure of some other MAC stars (Byron Leftwich most notably) I think Kent can really surprise some teams this year and are sure to receive a lot of points early on in the non-conference schedule (a dog I predict will have a lot of bite this year). Michigan State was a train wreck last year - this team gave up on their coach after the first month of the season. Lost in all the controversy was the fact they played fairly tough the last couple games of the year. I expect this team to be forgotten about by the linesmakers and be a fairly intriguing dog in the Big Ten this year.
SLEEPERS
Sleeper teams to watch this year: Oklahoma State, LSU, Tennessee (last year's weak team was a fluke), Texas A&M (bet on them in conference as underdog), Oregon State (this team will pile on points - overs aplenty), Virginia (they were kids last year, this year coach Al Groh turns them into men), Cincinnati (this team looked very strong early - almost beat Ohio State! - but ultimately their inexperience at qb did them in late, expect them to be much improved this year on offense), and Central Florida (this team only recently joined the MAC and believed they could waltz in and take the title last year, this year they actually do it with Marshall looking to be down this year).
DUDS
Duds to keep your money off of: Michigan (lol - time to be a homer - why would anyone root for or bet on that cesspool team?), Iowa, Washington State, NC State (not as good as they are being hyped up to be - take the points and bet against them early and often), Pac-10. I fully expect a down year from the Pac-10, this is a league that plays zero defense and has lost a lot of its offensive stars from last year (Carson Palmer and Onterrio Smith quickly come to mind). Bet against them in non-conference games and again when Bowl season arrives in December.
I'm an Ohio State alum and die-hard fan so I follow this team with a passion. Here's my attempt at an unbiased look at betting the Buckeyes ATS this year. I personally can't bet against my favorite team, but it doesn't mean I can't recommend others doing it when the opportunity is right. I also won't make straight up predictions as a I believe they could again go undefeated this year if the core pieces stay healthy.
Ohio State - when to bet on or against them in 2003.
August 30 Washington - BET ON (Washington with new coach and in front of 100,000+ at the Horseshoe in a rare night game - the Buckeyes will cover this game for any spread less than 17)
September 6 San Diego State - BET ON (Bucks will build an early lead and get time for their 2nd & 3rd stringers - usually a bad sign for the spread but with OSU's depth those 2nd and 3rd stringers will run up the score to impress the coaches)
September 13 North Carolina State - BET ON (NC State overrated)
September 20 Bowling Green - BET AGAINST (Bucks have let Ohio teams hang around the last couple of years - this spread will be huge so take the points here)
September 27 Northwestern - BET ON (NU played very well against OSU last year, Bucks will look to put them away this year at home)
October 4 Bye Week
October 11 at Wisconsin - UNDER (night game on ESPN on the road, good place to bet the under as Bucks will play VERY conservative in their first road game)
October 18 Iowa - BET ON (no brainer here, everyone and their mom wanted to see this matchup last year. a year later and this will be no contest - Bucks in a romp)
October 25 at Indiana - BET ON (poor IU is the Big Ten's whipping boy)
November 1 at Penn State - BET AGAINST (JoePa has enough talent to challenge OSU, this game scares me as a fan)
November 8 Michigan State - BET AGAINST (MSU has had great success against Ohio State at the Horseshoe)
November 15 Purdue - UNDER (two stud defenses, Tressel has no problem grinding out low scoring games when he has to)
November 22 at Michigan - BET ON (spread will be a non-factor in this game, OSU simply has more talent on offense and has the experience to win big games)
Big Ten projected 2003 finish
1. Ohio State
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. Penn State
5. Purdue
6. Iowa
7. Michigan State
8. Minnesota
9. Illinois
10. Indiana
11. Nortwestern
Opinions on sleepers/duds? These previews should really help point out teams to keep an eye on when trying to pick out games to bet on those long Saturday cards. Good luck to all this college football season and don't forget about the underdog! Last year in both college and the NFL, betting all underdogs would have made you a good chunk of change. As sports betting gets bigger and bigger in this country I feel a lot more people (Joe Public) are betting the favorites and thus lines are starting to sway more and more in favor of the dogs!
Oh ya & your National Champion WILL be....... KANSAS STATE !!!
1. WEST VIRGINIA (9-2)
2. UCONN (9-2)
3. NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-2)
4. GEORGIA (9-2)
5. KANSAS ST (8-2)
6. SOUTH FLORIDA (7-2)
7. NOTRE DAME (8-2)
8. BOISE ST (9-3)
9. IOWA (9-3)
10. AUBURN, TULANE, DUKE (8-3)
Who will again surprise from this list? UCONN, N. Illinois, W. Virginia, Duke, and S. Florida all were relative unknowns to the betting public last year and will continue to be this year. Kansas State, ND, Iowa and Auburn all have a lot of notoriety coming into this season - they are all over-hyped (spread wise) and thus will have a lot of public money placed on them early on (in Iowa's case they simply have lost too many seniors to match last year's success).
2002 Bottom Ten against the spread:
1. BAYLOR (1-10)
2. KENT (1-9)
3. E MICHIGAN (2-8)
4. SO MISS (2-8-1)
5. UL-LAFAYETTE (2-7)
6. E CAROLINA (3-9)
7. MICHIGAN ST (3-9)
8. UNLV (3-9)
9. MISSISSIPPI ST (3-8)
10. MICHIGAN (3-8)
A couple teams I expect to remain on this list (or near it) are Michigan and Baylor. Michigan is rated highly in preaseason rankings (as high as 4 or 5 in some publications) but I still see a team that has trouble scoring. They will continue to win their fair share of games straight up, but they are a team to pound on against the spread because John Navarre is far too inconsistent. Baylor simply has no business being in the loaded Big 12, no matter how many points they receive, they cannot hang around with the heavy favorites who want to impress the pollsters with lopsided wins.
Teams that will surely improve from last year's mediocrity are Kent State, Michigan State, and Southern Miss. Kent has an unbelievable athlete in QB Josh Cribbs (first freshman in NCAA history to pass and rush for 1000 yards each as a frosh), with a year of seasoning behind him and the departure of some other MAC stars (Byron Leftwich most notably) I think Kent can really surprise some teams this year and are sure to receive a lot of points early on in the non-conference schedule (a dog I predict will have a lot of bite this year). Michigan State was a train wreck last year - this team gave up on their coach after the first month of the season. Lost in all the controversy was the fact they played fairly tough the last couple games of the year. I expect this team to be forgotten about by the linesmakers and be a fairly intriguing dog in the Big Ten this year.
SLEEPERS
Sleeper teams to watch this year: Oklahoma State, LSU, Tennessee (last year's weak team was a fluke), Texas A&M (bet on them in conference as underdog), Oregon State (this team will pile on points - overs aplenty), Virginia (they were kids last year, this year coach Al Groh turns them into men), Cincinnati (this team looked very strong early - almost beat Ohio State! - but ultimately their inexperience at qb did them in late, expect them to be much improved this year on offense), and Central Florida (this team only recently joined the MAC and believed they could waltz in and take the title last year, this year they actually do it with Marshall looking to be down this year).
DUDS
Duds to keep your money off of: Michigan (lol - time to be a homer - why would anyone root for or bet on that cesspool team?), Iowa, Washington State, NC State (not as good as they are being hyped up to be - take the points and bet against them early and often), Pac-10. I fully expect a down year from the Pac-10, this is a league that plays zero defense and has lost a lot of its offensive stars from last year (Carson Palmer and Onterrio Smith quickly come to mind). Bet against them in non-conference games and again when Bowl season arrives in December.
I'm an Ohio State alum and die-hard fan so I follow this team with a passion. Here's my attempt at an unbiased look at betting the Buckeyes ATS this year. I personally can't bet against my favorite team, but it doesn't mean I can't recommend others doing it when the opportunity is right. I also won't make straight up predictions as a I believe they could again go undefeated this year if the core pieces stay healthy.
Ohio State - when to bet on or against them in 2003.
August 30 Washington - BET ON (Washington with new coach and in front of 100,000+ at the Horseshoe in a rare night game - the Buckeyes will cover this game for any spread less than 17)
September 6 San Diego State - BET ON (Bucks will build an early lead and get time for their 2nd & 3rd stringers - usually a bad sign for the spread but with OSU's depth those 2nd and 3rd stringers will run up the score to impress the coaches)
September 13 North Carolina State - BET ON (NC State overrated)
September 20 Bowling Green - BET AGAINST (Bucks have let Ohio teams hang around the last couple of years - this spread will be huge so take the points here)
September 27 Northwestern - BET ON (NU played very well against OSU last year, Bucks will look to put them away this year at home)
October 4 Bye Week
October 11 at Wisconsin - UNDER (night game on ESPN on the road, good place to bet the under as Bucks will play VERY conservative in their first road game)
October 18 Iowa - BET ON (no brainer here, everyone and their mom wanted to see this matchup last year. a year later and this will be no contest - Bucks in a romp)
October 25 at Indiana - BET ON (poor IU is the Big Ten's whipping boy)
November 1 at Penn State - BET AGAINST (JoePa has enough talent to challenge OSU, this game scares me as a fan)
November 8 Michigan State - BET AGAINST (MSU has had great success against Ohio State at the Horseshoe)
November 15 Purdue - UNDER (two stud defenses, Tressel has no problem grinding out low scoring games when he has to)
November 22 at Michigan - BET ON (spread will be a non-factor in this game, OSU simply has more talent on offense and has the experience to win big games)
Big Ten projected 2003 finish
1. Ohio State
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. Penn State
5. Purdue
6. Iowa
7. Michigan State
8. Minnesota
9. Illinois
10. Indiana
11. Nortwestern
Opinions on sleepers/duds? These previews should really help point out teams to keep an eye on when trying to pick out games to bet on those long Saturday cards. Good luck to all this college football season and don't forget about the underdog! Last year in both college and the NFL, betting all underdogs would have made you a good chunk of change. As sports betting gets bigger and bigger in this country I feel a lot more people (Joe Public) are betting the favorites and thus lines are starting to sway more and more in favor of the dogs!
Oh ya & your National Champion WILL be....... KANSAS STATE !!!
