College Football Week 11 Recap
Ohio State Smells Roses While Oregon Take a Step Towards Pasadena
Going into their game with the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Ohio State Buckeyes knew that they had an advantage. Hawkeye quarterback Richard Stanzi wasn’t going to play and Iowa was coming off of their first loss of the season to the Northwestern Wildcats.
Oh, yes, the Buckeyes were also playing at home in Columbus. It all added up to Ohio State being a huge 16 ½ point favorite in the NCAAF online sports betting to beat down the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes, however, had other plans as it took a field goal in overtime for the Buckeyes to secure a 27 to 24 victory. Even though the Buckeyes didn’t cover against the spread, their victory was incredibly important, and with it, Ohio State secured a spot in the 2010 Rose Bowl.
Even if the Buckeyes lose to Michigan in their final game of the season, and that’s a big if, the fact that they have beaten Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin, the only three teams that are within a game of Ohio State for the Big Ten Conference, means that the Buckeyes are the champions of the Big Ten.
The Michigan Wolverines, by the way, lost their 4th straight in a row when the Wisconsin Badgers thumped them 45 to 24. It was Michigan’s 6th loss in their last 7 games. It was also the Wolverines 4th straight loss against the spread.
The Michigan vs. Ohio State rivalry certainly doesn’t look like it will have the same spark this year as it has in year’s past. The only real drama surrounding the Big Ten now is which team is going to represent the Pac 10 in the Rose Bowl.
Oregon Looks to Be Pac 10’s Best
The Oregon Ducks beat up on Arizona State 44 to 21 to not only cover a 21 point college football betting line but also to take a step closer to a Rose Bowl berth. With two games to go the Oregon Ducks control their destiny. Win out and they win the Pac 10. It won’t be easy, though.
The Ducks face the unlucky Arizona Wildcats who lost to the California Golden Bears 24 to 16 this past Saturday when, down 18 to 16, ‘Cats quarterback Nick Foles committed an infraction that took Arizona out of field goal range. Arizona has a shot to get into the Rose Bowl as well, although it’s an outside shot, and should be fired up to beat the Ducks. The game is in Tucson where the ‘Cats have been strong this season.
Then, after playing Arizona next Saturday, the Ducks end their regular season against rival Oregon State. The Beavers are 5 and 2 in the Pac 10 and get a free square when they play the Washington State Cougars next Saturday. Oregon State covered a 13 ½ point spread when beating the Washington Huskies on Saturday.
One team that the rest of the Pac 10 needs to worry about is the Stanford Cardinal who absolutely demolished the USC Trojans 55 to 21 on Saturday as 10 ½ point underdogs. The Cardinal plays California next week before ending their regular season against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It’s Florida vs. Alabama in the SEC Championship
The SEC Championship game was set this past Saturday when the Florida Gators beat South Carolina 24 to 14. The Gators didn’t come close to covering the 17 ½ point wagering spread, but that’s nothing new. Florida is 4 and 5 ATS in 2009.
Even though the Gators have two more regular season games on their schedule, against Florida International and Florida State, they are three games ahead in the SEC East Division and don’t play another SEC opponent.
Alabama has two more games on their schedule as well. The first, against Chattanooga, is just warm-up for the Crimson Tide’s yearly battle against their top rivals, the Auburn Tigers. Even if ‘Bama loses to Auburn, they are assured a spot in the SEC Championship game as their 31 to 3 destruction of Mississippi State on Saturday as 10 ½ point underdogs put them two games ahead of the LSU Tigers in the SEC West Division.
So it will be ‘Bama vs. Florida again in the SEC Championship with the winner going on to the BCS Championship and the loser going to the Sugar Bowl.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Are On a Collision Course for the Big East Title
The Cincinnati Bearcats are 10 and 0 overall, 6 and 0 in the Big East, ranked #5 in the nation and 6 and 4 against the spread.
The Pittsburgh Panthers are 9 and 1 straight-up, 5 and 0 in the Big East and ranked #9 in the nation and are 6 and 3 ATS.
The two best teams in the Big East Conference are on schedule for a championship type game on Dec. 5th when the Panthers visit the Bearcats. Of course, Pitt will have to get past the West Virginia Mountaineers who were oh so close to upsetting Cincinnati as 9 ½ point underdogs when losing 24 to 21 this past Thursday.
Pittsburgh beat Notre Dame 27 to 22 as 5 ½ point underdogs in their game. The Panthers will need to be careful not to look past West Virginia this weekend. If they do, then their dreams of beating the Cincinnati Bearcats for the Big East Title will go up in smoke.
Some things have been decided but a lot of things are still up in the air in this NCAAF college football season!
