Tag: College Sports

Rivals Rundown College Football Top 25 – Week 8

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Wisconsin v Ohio StateAfter taking a week off and enjoying some music at Austin City Limits, we here at the Rundown have pieced ourselves back together and are ready to get back to some College Football!  The Top 6 teams have stayed almost untouched for the first six weeks of the season.  Now that both Alabama and Oregon have faced true tests in Texas A&M and Washington and passed, that leaves Louisville as the only untested top 6 team.  We will give Louisville some props for avoiding the trap game against Rutgers and while Rutgers is a good team, they are nowhere near A&M or Washington.  Other notes…  We are still of the opinion that LSU has the best shot of making it to a National Championship game other then Oregon or Alabama at this time, even though we have them ranked at 7.  With the showdown between Florida State and Clemson looming, the loser will fall somewhere between LSU and Miami, thus giving everyone a dilemma, does the winner deserve to be 1,2 or 3…  That is going to be a huge choice, I think at this time it depends on who the winner is and how they looked.  But, it will be tough!  It’s too bad Stanford choked on Utah,  it hurts the overall street cred of the Pac12 and Washington.  Until that we would say that the Winner of Stanford vs Oregon would peg their ticket if they were undefeated and so was Clemson or Florida State but now the Ducks are going to have to be really impressive, not to mention games left against Stanford and Oregon State. (Oregon State is a whole different blog).  Even as we sit back and look at our rankings, UCLA and Baylor might be the most underrated teams and we’re not sold on Texas Tech and Auburn but the deserve the rankings for now.  Ok, no more rambling, here is our most recent installment of the Rivals Rundown Top 25 Teams, Week 8 Edition!

1 Alabama Crimson Tide
2 Oregon Ducks
3 Clemson Tigers
4 Ohio State Buckeyes
5 Louisville Cardinals
6 Florida State Seminoles
7 LSU Tigers
8 Texas A&M Aggies
9 Baylor Bears
10 UCLA Bruins
11 Miami Hurricans
12 South Carolina Gamecocks
13 Stanford Cardinal
14 Missouri Tigers
15 Virginia Tech Hokies
16 Georgia Bulldogs
17 Washington Huskies
18 Fresno State Bulldogs
19 Texas Tech Red Raiders
20 Northern Ill Huskies
21 Michigan Wolverines
22 Nebraska Huskers
23 Michigan State Spartans
24 Auburn Tigers
25 Oklahoma Sooners

(Stats via Espn.com; Picture via sbnation.com)

Rivals Rundown 2013 College Football Preseason Top 30 Teams

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Welcome to our inaugural Rivals Rundown Preseason Top 30 Teams!!!  We are excited to present this the morning of the 2013 College Football Season.  We have published our Top 5 teams for all of the BCS Conferences and this is the culmination of all that research.  This is not our prediction of how the season will end, this is where we rank the teams as of today.  Throughout the season we will visit our Top 30 and adjust as we see fit.  Sometimes the whole thing might get flipped upside down but that’s College Football.  Here is our Rivals Rundown 2013 College Football Preseason Top 30!!!

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Clemson Tigers
6. Louisville Cardinals
7. Texas Longhorns
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
9. Florida State Seminoles
10. Oklahoma State Cowboys
11. South Carolina Gamecocks
12. LSU Tigers
13. USC Trojans
14. Stanford Cardinal
15. Florida Gators
16. Texas A&M Aggies
17. Oregon State Beavers
18. TCU Horned Frogs
19. Boise State Broncos
20. Oklahoma Sooners
21. Michigan Wolverines
22. Northwestern Wildcats
23. Arizona State Sun Devils
24. Fresno State Bulldogs
25. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
26. Baylor Bears
27. Washington Huskies
28. Northern Illinois Huskies
29 Miami Hurricanes
30. Ohio Bobcats

Vegas Setting the Odds for Over/Under Wins for all of College Football!

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A big part of my preseason analysis of college football is trying to figure out how many wins each team is going to collect.  The preseason top 10 is pretty predictable, although, every now and then a team completely bombs, most recently Va Tech and Texas come to mind.  But let’s take a look at what 5dimeshas put together for us…

 

AIR FORCE: Over 6.5 (+120) Under 6.5 (-160)

AKRON: Over 2.5 (-140) Under 2.5 (EVEN)

ALABAMA: Over 11.5 (+140) Under 11.5 (-180)

ARIZONA: Over 7.5 (-120) Under 7.5 (-120)

ARIZONA STATE: Over 9.5 (+175) Under 9.5 (-245)

ARKANSAS: Over 5.5 (-140) Under 5.5 (EVEN)

ARKANSAS STATE: Over 7.5 (+160) Under 7.5 (-210)

ARMY: Over 4.5 (-110) Under 4.5 (-130)

AUBURN: Over 6.5 (+120) Under 6.5 (-160)

BALL STATE: Over 9.5 (+165) Under 9.5 (-215)

BAYLOR: Over 7.5 (-175) Under 7.5 (+135)

BOISE STATE: Over 10.5 (+120) Under 10.5 (-160)

BOSTON COLLEGE: Over 4.5 (+140) Under 4.5 (-180)

BOWLING GREEN: Over 8.5 (-150) Under 8.5 (+110)

BUFFALO: Over 5.5 (-140) Under 5.5 (EVEN)

BYU: Over 8.5 (+100) Under 8.5 (-140)

CALIFORNIA: Over 4.5 (+110) Under 4.5 (-150)

CENTRAL FLORIDA: Over 8.5 (+125) Under 8.5 (-165)

CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Over 4.5 (+130) Under 4.5 (-170)

CINCINNATI: Over 9.5 (+120) Under 9.5 (-160)

CLEMSON: Over 10.5 (+165) Under 10.5 (-215)

COLORADO: Over 3.5 (-160) Under 3.5 (+120)

COLORADO STATE: Over 5.5 (-195) Under 5.5 (+155)

CONNECTICUT: Over 5.5 (-140) Under 5.5 (+100)

DUKE: Over 5.5 (+120) Under 5.5 (-160)

EAST CAROLINA: Over 7.5 (-120) Under 7.5 (-120)

EASTERN MICHIGAN: Over 2.5 (+160) Under 2.5 (-210)

FLORIDA: Over 9.5 (+120) Under 9.5 (-160)

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Over 3.5 (+155) Under 3.5 (-195)

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL: Over 2.5 (-140) Under 2.5 (EVEN)

FLORIDA STATE: Over 10.5 (+110) Under 10.5 (-150)

FRESNO STATE: Over 10.5 (+120) Under 10.5 (-160)

GEORGIA: Over 9.5 (-195) Under 9.5 (+155)

GEORGIA STATE: Over 2.5 (+130) Under 2.5 (-170)

GEORGIA TECH: Over 8.5 (-120) Under 8.5 (-120)

HAWAII: Over 3.5 (-130) Under 3.5 (-110)

HOUSTON: Over 5.5 (+120) Under 5.5 (-160)

IDAHO: Over 1.5 (+220) Under 1.5 (-300)

ILLINOIS: Over 3.5 (-160) Under 3.5 (+120)

INDIANA: Over 5.5 (-190) Under 5.5 (+150)

IOWA: Over 5.5 (-120) Under 5.5 (-120)

IOWA STATE: Over 5.5 (+175) Under 5.5 (-245)

KANSAS: Over 3.5 (-120) Under 3.5 (-120)

KANSAS STATE: Over 8.5 (+155) Under 8.5 (-195)

KENTUCKY: Over 3.5 (-160) Under 3.5 (+120)

KENT STATE: Over 5.5 (-105) Under 5.5 (-135)

LOUISVILLE: Over 10.5 (-130) Under 10.5 (-110)

LOUISIANA TECH: Over 5.5 (-180) Under 5.5 (+140)

LSU: Over 9.5 (+120) Under 9.5 (-160)

MARSHALL: Over 9.5 (+125) Under 9.5 (-165)

MARYLAND: Over 6.5 (-140) Under 6.5 (EVEN)

MASSACHUSETTS: Over 1.5 (+155) Under 1.5 (-195)

MEMPHIS: Over 4.5 (-165) Under 4.5 (+125)

MIAMI: Over 9.5 (+150) Under 9.5 (-190)

MIAMI OHIO: Over 4.5 (+140) Under 4.5 (-180)

MICHIGAN: Over 9.5 (-155) Under 9.5 (+115)

MICHIGAN STATE: Over 8.5 (-120) Under 8.5 (-120)

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE: Over 5.5 (-150) Under 5.5 (+110)

MINNESOTA: Over 5.5 (-120) Under 5.5 (-120)

MISSISSIPPI: Over 8.5 (+120) Under 8.5 (-160)

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Over 5.5 (+140) Under 5.5 (-180)

MISSOURI: Over 5.5 (-180) Under 5.5 (+140)

NAVY: Over 6.5 (-120) Under 6.5 (-120)

NC STATE: Over 6.5 (-185) Under 6.5 (+145)

NEBRASKA: Over 9.5 (EVEN) Under 9.5 (-140)

NEVADA: Over 6.5 (+140) Under 6.5 (-180)

NEW MEXICO: Over 4.5 (+140) Under 4.5 (-180)

NEW MEXICO STATE: Over 2.5 (-120) Under 2.5 (-120)

NORTH CAROLINA: Over 9.5 (+170) Under 9.5 (-230)

NORTH TEXAS: Over 5.5 (+170) Under 5.5 (-230)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Over 9.5 (-175) Under 9.5 (+135)

NORTHWESTERN: Over 8.5 (-130) Under 8.5 (-110)

NOTRE DAME: Over 9.5 (-105) Under 9.5 (-135)

OHIO: Over 9.5 (+140) Under 9.5 (-180)

OHIO STATE: Over 11.5 (+160) Under 11.5 (-210)

OKLAHOMA: Over 9.5 (+160) Under 9.5 (-210)

OKLAHOMA STATE: Over 10.5 (+170) Under 10.5 (-230)

OREGON: Over 10.5 (-190) Under 10.5 (+150)

OREGON STATE: Over 8.5 (-210) Under 8.5 (+160)

PENN STATE: Over 8.5 (+150) Under 8.5 (-190)

PITTSBURGH: Over 5.5 (-110) Under 5.5 (-130)

PURDUE: Over 5.5 (+175) Under 5.5 (-245)

RICE: Over 7.5 (-190) Under 7.5 (+150)

RUTGERS: Over 6.5 (+110) Under 6.5 (-150)

SAN DIEGO STATE: Over 7.5 (+140) Under 7.5 (-180)

SAN JOSE STATE: Over 7.5 (+100) Under 7.5 (-140)

SMU: Over 5.5 (+140) Under 5.5 (-180)

SOUTH ALABAMA: Over 2.5 (-155) Under 2.5 (+115)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Over 9.5 (-195) Under 9.5 (+155)

SOUTH FLORIDA: Over 5.5 (-180) Under 5.5 (+140)

SOUTHERN MISS: Over 5.5 (-130) Under 5.5 (-110)

STANFORD: Over 9.5 (-120) Under 9.5 (-120)

SYRACUSE: Over 4.5 (-120) Under 4.5 (-120)

TCU: Over 9.5 (+180) Under 9.5 (-260)

TEMPLE: Over 4.5 (+130) Under 4.5 (-170)

TENNESSEE: Over 5.5 (-210) Under 5.5 (+160)

TEXAS: Over 9.5 (-150) Under 9.5 (+110)

TEXAS A&M: Over 9.5 (-180) Under 9.5 (+140)

TEXAS STATE: Over 5.5 (+125) Under 5.5 (-165)

TEXAS TECH: Over 7.5 (+145) Under 7.5 (-185)

TOLEDO: Over 8.5 (+130) Under 8.5 (-170)

TROY: Over 5.5 (-195) Under 5.5 (+155)

TULANE: Over 5.5 (EVEN) Under 5.5 (-140)

TULSA: Over 8.5 (-185) Under 8.5 (+145)

UAB: Over 5.5 (+140) Under 5.5 (-180)

UCLA: Over 8.5 (+180) Under 8.5 (-260)

UL LAFAYETTE: Over 8.5 (-180) Under 8.5 (+140)

UL MONROE: Over 7.5 (+110) Under 7.5 (-150)

UNLV: Over 4.5 (EVEN) Under 4.5 (-140)

USC: Over 10.5 (+165) Under 10.5 (-215)

UTAH: Over 5.5 (+145) Under 5.5 (-185)

UTAH STATE: Over 7.5 (-150) Under 7.5 (+110)

UTEP: Over 4.5 (+120) Under 4.5 (-160)

UTSA: Over 2.5 (+115) Under 2.5 (-155)

VANDERBILT: Over 7.5 (EVEN) Under 7.5 (-140)

VIRGINIA: Over 4.5 (-120) Under 4.5 (-120)

VIRGINIA TECH: Over 9.5 (+140) Under 9.5 (-180)

WAKE FOREST: Over 5.5 (-170) Under 5.5 (+130)

WASHINGTON: Over 7.5 (-120) Under 7.5 (-120)

WASHINGTON STATE: Over 4.5 (-130) Under 4.5 (-110)

WEST VIRGINIA: Over 5.5 (-210) Under 5.5 (+160)

WESTERN KENTUCKY: Over 6.5 (-195) Under 6.5 (+155)

WESTERN MICHIGAN: Over 5.5 (-150) Under 5.5 (+110)

WISCONSIN: Over 8.5 (-210) Under 8.5 (+160)

WYOMING: Over 5.5 (-175) Under 5.5 (+135)

[H/T: CBS Sports, via Beyond the Bets]

BCS National Championship 2013-2014 Odds

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ImageSo as you will learn the more I blog, I am regular watcher of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report…  There are a couple of notable things within both of these shows or regular “nicknames” they use for people within the media, my favorite being Stephen Colbert’s use of “Papa Bear” for Fox News host of The Factor with Bill O’Reilly.  So in that tradition, I will be using the name Godfather in reference for Phil Steele.  Incase you are unaware, Godfather, publishes a novel about pre-season college football every year around June, he also runs a website, blog and is active within social media.  Godfather is legit!  So to start our blog for the New Year here is a write up he did about the odds for winning the 2013-14 National Championship from Vegas, or as we will call it going forward, the Homeland (also an avid viewer of the show)-

Phil Steele

A couple of days ago, several casinos released their odds for the 2013-14 BCS National Championship. While PhilSteele.com does not affiliate itself with gambling, I do think it is interesting to see how Vegas is examining the upcoming season.

Here are the Top 10 Favorites to win the title this upcoming year courtesy of Bovada.

1. Alabama                  Odds: 4/1

Tough to go against a program that has won three out of the last four national championships including winning one this year with a team that many thought were a year away including its head coach Nick Saban. Next year’s team will return quarterback AJ McCarron, linebacker CJ Mosely and a boatload of other talented players. The schedule is manageable with two weeks to prepare for an early road trip to Texas A&M and they also have a home date against LSU. Also noteworthy is the fact that for a second straight year, the Crimson Tide avoid Florida, Georgia and South Carolina from the SEC East.

2. Ohio State               Odds: 8.5/1

At Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, Urban Meyer’s 2nd season was better than his first and the only thing that can top a 12-0 season, which the Buckeyes achieved in 2012 is to take home the crystal ball in 2013. Offensively, it starts with the return of quarterback Braxton Miller who figures to be one of the Heisman favorites and while they do lose their entire defensive line from last year, keep in mind Meyer’s top recruits last year were all on the DL. The schedule sets up nicely as the non-conference schedule is rather weak and in Big 10 play they get Wisconsin and Penn State at home while avoiding Nebraska and Michigan St. The biggest landmines are road trips to Northwestern and Michigan.

2. Oregon                    Odds: 8.5/1

The Ducks are off back-to-back BCS bowl wins and will return as many as 15 starters from last year’s 12-1 team that basically came one play away from playing in the national title game. The biggest return is head coach Chip Kelly who after yet another flirtation with the NFL looks to be here for the time being.  On offense quarterback Marcus Mariota and De’Anthony Thomas return and while the defense loses Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has proven to be one of the more underrated coordinators in the country. The schedule features a road test against Stanford which will probably not only decide the Pac-12 North but possibly who goes to Pasadena to play an SEC team for the national title.

4. Texas A&M              Odds: 10/1

The Aggies had arguably one of their best seasons in school history on and off the field in 2012 with a move to the SEC, a Heisman trophy winner, an upset of #1 Alabama on the road and won 11 games capped off by a dominating Cotton Bowl performance over Oklahoma. Next year’s team naturally will see the return of quarterback Johnny Manziel but they will lose several key players including wide receiver Ryan Swope and defensive end Damontre Moore. The schedule is manageable as the two games are a September 14th home game vs Alabama and a November 23rd road game at LSU, which the Aggies have two weeks to prepare for.

5. LSU                         Odds: 12:1

The Las Vegas odds for the Tigers here at least for now have to be based on their recent success of being a consistent top 5 program as they certainly have had a tough couple of weeks starting with the bowl loss to Clemson then followed by a max exodus of key players declaring early for the NFL Draft. Next year will see the return of quarterback Zach Mettenberger who figures to be improved in his second year and he will have several talented running backs to hand off too and a great wide receiver in Odell Beckham. Defense could be the bigger issue with the loss of arguably their six best players and the schedule is no walk in the park as they start with basically a road trip to TCU in the opener and they also have SEC road games at Alabama and at Georgia.

Early Odds To Win
2013-14 BCS National Championship

Rk Team Odds Rk Team Odds
1 Alabama 4/1 23 TCU 66/1
2 Ohio St 8.5/1 23 Virginia Tech 66/1
2 Oregon 8.5/1 26 Boise St 75/1
4 Texas A&M 10/1 26 Michigan St 75/1
5 LSU 12/1 26 North Carolina 75/1
6 Clemson 16/1 26 Oregon St 75/1
6 Florida 16/1 30 Arizona 100/1
6 Florida St 16/1 30 Arkansas 100/1
9 Georgia 20/1 30 Kansas St 100/1
10 Louisville 25/1 30 Rutgers 100/1
10 Notre Dame 25/1 30 Tennessee 100/1
10 Oklahoma 25/1 30 Washington 100/1
13 Miami, Fl 28/1 36 BYU 150/1
13 South Carolina 28/1 36 Cincinnati 150/1
13 Stanford 28/1 36 Pittsburgh 150/1
16 Texas 30/1 36 West Virginia 150/1
17 Michigan 33/1 40 Auburn 200/1
17 Nebraska 33/1 40 Georgia Tech 200/1
19 USC 35/1 40 Iowa 200/1
20 Oklahoma St 40/1 43 Missouri 250/1
21 UCLA 50/1 44 Boston College 300/1
21 Wisconsin 50/1 44 California 300/1
23 Mississippi St 66/1 44 USF 300/1

I will be reviewing and releasing my own list in the coming weeks as an out of the gate before spring practices begin.

Our 50 States of College Football

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We are now on the eve of the 2013 BCS Championship between two of the traditional football powers, The Golden Domers of Notre Dame and The Tide of Alabama.  In 24 hours we will close out the 2012 season and begin previews of the next year.  A goal of mine this year is to write about all the previews and outlooks that are put out there by the traditional media outlets to have a collection or resource of all the pre-season hype so when kick-off rolls around I can come back to this source to provide insight on how the season unfolds. I will begin this journey in adding my thoughts towards previewing the 2013 season and starting down the path paved with roses for the 2014 game is Pasadena. In the coming months my goal is: before kick off of the 2013 season I will to have one post about every team that has a chance to play in Pasadena, well maybe not a chance but every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision.