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Bettors Backing The Trojans Big
By 5dimes.com
9/15/07
If youre 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 youre on), when you hit Memorial Stadium, youll 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 Nebraskas 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.
Its 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, theres been nothing equal about this marquee matchup.
Heading into the weekends NCAA Schedule, as might be expected, this Nebraska USC matchup has garnered the most wagering action of any Game by far, and its 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 didnt look sharp as a 45-point favorite vs. Idaho opening weekend. Theres plenty of speculation that Nebraska has a team that can make a real run at the victory in this one. Itll 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 havent 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 dont appear comfortable laying the big wood with a Texas team that has only looked good in small doses so far. In fact, its not so much they dont 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 weekends 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 theyve 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 theyve 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 weekends football action at 5dimes.com
Good luck.