Alabama vs. Auburn, Oregon State vs. Boise State, South Carolina vs. Auburn are all big NCAA football picks and the top offshore sportsbook takes a betting look.
Bodog says that easily the game of the day Saturday in college football is in Fayetteville in one of the Arkansas program’s biggest games ever as the No. 10 Hogs host defending national champion and top-ranked Alabama. The Tide are 7.5-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA Football Odds and there is live betting available.
This game marks the first time two Top-10 teams have met in Fayetteville since 1979 and it’s the start of an incredibly brutal stretch for the Tide, with games against current Top 12 teams Florida and South Carolina to follow. But first things first, and that’s dealing with Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, who would probably jump into the Heisman lead with a big game. And Mallett no doubt wants to make amends for last year’s 35-7 loss to Alabama in which he entered leading the nation in passing efficiency but went just 12-for-35 for 160 yards, one touchdown and one interception. This season Mallett enters third in passer rating and leads the country with 1,081 yards through the air. However, the Alabama defense ranks second in the nation in pass-efficiency defense, although the Tide really haven’t played anyone yet – obviously Penn State is solid but the Nittany Lions started a true freshman QB.
While Alabama’s defense still might be a bit of a question mark in replacing nine starters from last year, the offense has been clicking. The Tide are fourth nationally in total offense, ninth in scoring offense and have produced 24 plays of 20 yards or longer, which is tops in the nation. And reigning Heisman winner Mark Ingram is healthy, as he showed by rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries last week against Duke in his season debut. The Hogs’ defense is 10th nationally and appears leaps and bounds better than last year’s unit.
Arkansas is 4-11 all-time against the nation’s top-ranked team, but two of those wins have come against an SEC team in Fayetteville, where Alabama is just 3-4 all-time.
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Now one of the few sportsbooks to get the most prestigious honor of the all, “Sportsbook of the Year” by OffshoreInsiders.com takes a look at today’s top betting action.
Also sharing spotlight during the afternoon Saturday, South Carolina and Auburn meet in an equally important conference game between ranked foes on Saturday night. What a day for football fans in Alabama! Auburn is a 3-point favorite on Bodog’s NCAA odds for this one and there will be live betting available.
This game features three of the most exciting first-year players in the country in South Carolina freshman running back Marcus Lattimore and Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton and freshman running back Michael Dyer.
Lattimore, a true freshman who was arguably the top recruit in the country this past spring, has carried 77 times for 333 yards and five touchdowns so far. His 111.0 yards per game average ranks second in the SEC. Lattimore wasn’t even the starter in Week 1 but then stamped himself a future superstar by carrying the ball 37 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia two weeks ago. QB Stephen Garcia has also been good, completing more than 68 percent of his passes for 508 yards and is second on the team with 68 yards rushing with two TDs. But Garcia is 1-6 away from home as a starter in his career.
Newton is a former backup to Tim Tebow who then went to junior college before transferring to Auburn. He ranks fourth in the country in passer rating and is fifth in the SEC in rushing at 103 yards per game. Dyer, a true freshman himself and also a top recruit this past spring, has rushed for 202 yards and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Auburn leads the SEC in rushing while South Carolina is No. 1 against the run.
These two schools have only met nine times and South Carolina has just one victory. They have played just four times since the Gamecocks joined the SEC and Auburn is 4-0. This is the first matchup between the two when both are ranked – and Auburn has proven tough to beat in home night games against ranked opponents, with the Tigers going 4-1 in the past five.
Unfortunately for Boise State, it not only has to win out to possibly play in a national championship game, it has to win out and be impressive doing it. And that goes double for Saturday night’s game against Oregon State because the Beavers are the last ranked and BCS conference team left on Boise’s schedule. The Broncos are 18-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA odds.
Oregon State has already flunked one test against a non-BCS conference powerhouse as it was beaten 30-21 by TCU in the opener. Thus a win tonight would actually help Boise just by dinging TCU’s strength of schedule because the Frogs have national title hopes as well. To prepare for the infamous blue turf, Oregon State actually painted its practice field blue this week.
Boise State is 26-0 at home under coach Chris Petersen, it has beaten the Beavers the last two times they visited Boise and it hasn’t lost a regular-season game since 2007. The Broncos are 4-0 against ranked BCS teams under Petersen and have actually won 56 straight regular-season games at home. QB Kellen Moore, a leading Heisman contender, is a stupid 28-1 in his career. Oregon State’s pass defense hasn’t been good this year and the Beavers are awful at sacking the QB (two sacks so far this year).
It’s probably not wise to expect much from Oregon State quarterback Ryan Katz as he makes his first true road start (that TCU game was at a neutral site). Katz has been good at not turning the ball over but is completing just 47.1 percent of his passes and hasn’t topped 159 yards in his two starts. Thus the Beavers will rely heavily on Heisman Trophy candidate Jacquizz Rodgers, who ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns last week in a win over Louisville. TCU held him pretty well in check with 75 yards rushing. OSU has won 20 of its past 22 when a player runs for 100 yards. However, Boise State is No. 2 in the nation against the run, allowing just 53.5 yards per game and 1.49 yards per carry.
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