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Bettors Backing The Trojans Big

By 5dimes.com

9/15/07

If you’re looking for the center of the college football universe this weekend, head to the middle of the country and take a left (or right, depending on which Interstate you’re on), when you hit Memorial Stadium, you’ll be there.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are hosting the number one ranked team in the nation, as those cool kids from Southern California head to middle America, and for the first time in years, the Huskers are playing a home Game that has National Championship implications.

For the last two weeks, Husker-fans and USC-fans have been relentless in their attacks on each other on the Jim Rome show and other syndicated talk radio programs.

The exchanges relied heavily on the obvious stereotypes each has for the other, with Nebraska’s faithful liberally referencing Botox, sushi, two-pound dogs, blonde bimbos and silicon, while the SoCal crew stuck pretty close to the agricultural grab-bag of insults (farm accidents and veiled references about bestiality), sprinkling in shots about chewing tobacco, obesity, etc.

It’s been a pretty even tête-à-tête on the airwaves, with both giving as good as the other, but when it comes to the betting public, there’s been nothing equal about this marquee matchup.

Heading into the weekend’s NCAA Schedule, as might be expected, this Nebraska – USC matchup has garnered the most wagering action of any Game by far, and it’s been a very one-sided affair.

The bettors at 5dimes.com are heavily backing the always popular Trojans, as 85% of the wagers are on the 10-point favorite road team.

This is going to be a real test for a USC program that didn’t look sharp as a 45-point favorite vs. Idaho opening weekend. There’s plenty of speculation that Nebraska has a team that can make a real run at the victory in this one. It’ll be a great day of college ball, and who knows, we could see a number one unseated when the smoke clears Saturday night.

Worth noting is the fact the USC Trojans have covered the pointspread the last six years in their first Game as a visitor, and they haven’t lost to a non-Conference team in the regular season since back in 2002.

Big Dog With Bite?

One of the big underdogs getting a lot of early attention is Central Florida. They host the #6 ranked team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns are sitting as a 19-point favorite, but bettors don’t appear comfortable laying the big wood with a Texas team that has only looked good in small doses so far. In fact, it’s not so much they don’t feel comfortable backing them at this number, but rather sports bettors are targeting them as a “go-against” in this battle. Central Florida is getting a ton of attention, as a little over 70% of the tickets being written on this one are on the home underdog.

NCAA Notables:

Here are a few numbers for this weekend’s matchups that you might want to keep an eye on:

– Auburn faces Mississippi State this weekend as a 13-point favorite. They have played the Bulldogs in each of the last five season, and they’ve covered the spread in all five of those contests.

– In a Game that might not be on many bettors’ radar, Eastern Michigan is a 14.5-point underdog at Northern Illinois, but they’ve fared well in this spot in the past, covering the spread the last three times they have traveled to play the Huskies.

– A Game that is attracting quite a bit of attention from the betting public is the in-state rivalry matchup between Iowa and Iowa State (with Iowa getting 75% of the early betting action). The Hawkeyes from Iowa are 17.5-point favorites, but they struggle to cover the number in this yearly battle, posting a money-losing 1-8 mark against the spread the last nine years.

Check out all the lines for this weekend’s football action at 5dimes.com

Good luck.