It’s South Carolina vs. Southern Miss to start Bodog betting previews.  Don’t worry about fantasy football as the fantasy football rankings and NFL draft guide is done.

The Gamecocks as 14-point favorites. And with this game being shown on ESPN, there will be live betting available on NCAA Football Odds

It’s hard to bet against Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier tonight. South Carolina is undefeated in season openers under Spurrier, and the Ol’ Ball Coach is 19-1 in openers in his career. The Gamecocks also have won six straight non-conference home games dating back to the 2008 season opener.

South Carolina could be a bit short-handed tonight, however. For sure suspended senior tight end Weslye Saunders will not play. Saunders was interviewed earlier this summer by NCAA investigators regarding a trip he took to Miami and whether it was funded by agents. He’s also one of at least nine South Carolina players who was living at a hotel, which has come under NCAA scrutiny. Spurrier said Saunders was suspended for violating team rules, adding that his suspension was not tied to the NCAA investigation. But the Gamecocks may sit those eight other players who are still being looked at by the NCAA, including starting safety Akeem Auguste, starting offensive tackle Jarriel King, starting offensive guard Terrence Campbell and starting defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboy.

Spurrier is back to his normal ways with quarterbacks as well. He has been riding presumed starter Stephen Garcia all summer, and while Garcia will start tonight true freshman Connor Shaw also will play. Spurrier said Shaw has outperformed Garcia, the Gamecocks’ starter last season, in team scrimmages and that both would play in the first quarter and then he’d go from there. Sophomore running back Kenny Miles will start over true freshman Marcus Lattimore, arguably the nation’s top recruit in the Class of 2010.

Meanwhile, Southern Miss is 2-0 in openers under coach Larry Fedora. The Golden Eagles have opened against an SEC team 15 times and have won just three of those – all 15 have come on the road. Southern Miss has lost eight in a row overall against SEC clubs. USM’s star is WR DeAndre Brown, who helped lead the team to the Conference USA title game last year by finishing with 785 yards receiving and nine touchdowns to lead the team. Those numbers are even more impressive considering he was slowed by recovering from a broken leg.

Be a player and bet at Bodog on whether Spurrier can win yet another season opener.

Get your NCAA Football Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook!

Now they peek at Marshall-Ohio State.

The biggest outlaw book in the southeast is “Catfish Parker”. He also is in constant contact with his colleagues from around the nation. Nobody has a better pulse on where “outlaw money” is going. At 4:03 ET he says there is big, big time local strong “local” money (not tracked by offshore or Vegas books) on the Pittsburgh-Utah national TV side.

The LateInfo Line is now another part of OffshoreInsiders.  Formally part of the FreeScoreboard scorephone days, since 2001 LateInfo is 70-80 percent in each and every sport, broken down college and pro separately. LateInfo has the Panthers-Utes betting bombshell now.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are big 28-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA odds for tonight’s season opener against Marshall, but a few factors might point to the Thundering Herd being able to cover the spread. This game will be shown on the Big Ten Network.

First off, OSU has struggled in season openers against fellow Division I teams in recent years. For example, in last year’s opener, the Buckeyes struggled with Navy’s option in a win that went down to the final minutes. In 2008, OSU beat MAC team Ohio by only a score of 26-14. And in 2007 the Buckeyes won an ugly 20-2 affair against Akron. Still, OSU is 9-0 in season openers under Coach Jim Tressel. OSU has not lost a home opener in 32 years.

Secondly, Ohio State plans to be a bit vanilla tonight because the Buckeyes have a huge date with Miami (Fla.) next weekend. Still, the Buckeyes are the preseason favorites to win the Big Ten, are ranked No. 2 in the major polls and feature one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Terrell Pryor, who remains the Bodog betting favorite to win the 2010 Heisman.

The second-ranked are the second-highest ranked team Marshall has ever played at the FBS level. Marshall has faced 14 Top 25 opponents since moving to the FBS level in 1997 and has an overall record of 2-12 in those games. Marshall is 0-13 against BCS opponents since 2005. Tonight’s game marks the debut of new coach Doc Holliday. Returning starting QB Brian Anderson struggled with inconsistency last season. He threw for 2,646 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, but he also threw 13 interceptions. And he’ll face a Buckeye defense that was one of the best in the nation in 2009.

Ohio State and Marshall have met just once before on Sept. 11, 2004, with the Buckeyes prevailing, 24-21, on a last-second field goal. OSU has lost just once in its history to current Conference USA teams.

A college football betting odds alert has just been issued on the battle between Florida Atlantic and Alabama-Birmingham or for those who prefer acronyms FAU vs. UAB.

Currently the best available line on the underdog Owls is SportsBook +14 +105. Meanwhile, the best shop to bet the favorite is BetUs where the Blazers are -14 -105.

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread): Owls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games and 1-4 their last five in September.

Over/under trends: Over is 5-1 in Owls last 6 road games. Under is 15-7 in Blazers last 22 non-conference games.

One of the reasons for this alert is that the power ratings for NCAAFB say that the line should be Alabama-Birmingham -12, giving Florida Atlantic an edge.

Top expert pick on this game: Well it’s actually on the over/under odds. A well-known WJOX in Birmingham sports host who is very strong with his Bona-fide plays. He is the No. 1 ranked radio handicapper in the world in college football. First Bona-fide play of year on UAB-Florida Atlantic over/under and it’s part of the MasterLockLine.

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ESPN college football live scores start tonight as Southern Mississippi vs. South Carolina kicks it off.

Las Vegas betting odds are up for NCAA football picks and predictions. The bookmaker’s point spread is South Carolina -14.

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread):  The Golden Eagles are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 road games, but 2-6 ATS in their last 8 vs. SEC. Gamecocks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Thursday games.

The posted online sportsbook’s total is Southern Miss-USC at 45.

Over/under trends: Under is 8-3 in Golden Eagles last 11 games on grass and under the same rate to SEC. Under is 8-3 in Gamecocks last 11 non-conference games and they’ve gone under 11-of-16 at home.

Collegiate football betting power ratings say that the Gamecocks should be -13.5. Because the live odds land on a key number, that gives a modest edge to Southern Miss.

Top expert pick on this game: It’s the first and only NCAA pick so far from the No. 1 totals handicapper ever Stevie Vincent. Get four huge winners in football including Level 5 pro football. Get two pro baseball Level 5. The Great One Stevie Vincent sweeps the board with Level 5 in the Mets under and San Diego under. Stevie is 23-7 with Level 5 plays and 30-14 overall. Get Level 5 NY Jets/Eagles, Level 4 Redskins/Cardinals, plus Level 3s in Cardinals/Redskins and Southern Miss/South Carolina. Also get two in pro baseball, one day, on night. Click now to purchase Stevie Vincent’s entire card.

Before Brandon Lang left that syndicated network of sports picks, their only winning handicapper went to the top football handicapping site. Tonight he has a nicer set of winners than Meghan McCain,

Matt Rivers, who was the winningest handicapper ever—nobody came close—on a large network of sites.

Your comp winner for Thursday is on Marshall.

Sure Terrelle Pryor is a Heisman Trophy candidate and Ohio State is by ridiculous proportions the superior team on the field today but why are the Buckeyes all of a sudden being deemed as the next coming? Jim Tressel certainly can coach and has a lot of talent but it’s not like this Ohio State squad has exactly been a dominant juggernaut of an offense. Will they win today? Of course they will but Marshall is far from being a cupcake and is a team that is not that bad. I have watched plenty of Marshall’s coming into the Horseshoe over the past few seasons and compete until late with Ohio a few seasons ago being a great example.

The Thundering Herd are a major program as we see the likes of Randy Moss, Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington and many others in the NFL. No they can’t compare to today’s opponent but they have some blue chip athletes and I’m not all that sold on the Buckeyes. That Rose Bowl victory over Oregon was impressive as Pryor really came into his own but it was only one game. I saw this team last year stink up the joint a lot of times including that debacle in Bloomington against Indiana. One solid win doesn’t make a program, it just doesn’t.

The world seems to be crowing OSU as the best team this year right there with the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide. I’m just not so sure that is the case. Tressel’s team is still more of a plodding run type team and without being sold on Pryor’s ability to throw all that great I can’t fathom OSU just going out there and winning by four touchdowns plus.

Doc Holliday has already said that they will try and keep Pryor in the pocket limiting his ability to run and make plays on the outside. I like that strategy because the guy is a gazelle who is more dangerous with his feet than his arm. If that plan comes to fruition and Pryor is forced to throw then I am just fine with this play. If not I will still take my chances getting back this much any day of the week.

Matt Rivers pick: OSU wins 31-13 but Marshall covers the point spread

For more information: The pigskin can’t be here soon enough. I’m running the gamut today and giving away the farm. College football, pro football and baseball for one low low price. Four plays as I have to have this day, I just have to. The year has been great. If you’re in it for the long haul I’m your man.

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It’s betting info hotter than Laura Michelle Prestin for Labor Day Weekend college football.

You can never do too much homework before you bet on NCAA football odds. We’ve covered some of the action for Week 1; let’s continue with the afternoon games on Saturday.  Don’t forget the video tip sheet with news and notes galor on this weekend’s college football games.

Colorado vs Colorado State

Colorado has plenty of football betting trends in its favor when it visits Colorado State on Saturday. The Buffaloes are 7-3 in their last 10 games against the spread. Meanwhile, Colorado State is 0-6 ATS over its last six games. The road team has beaten the spread in five of the last six meetings between these two teams.

New Mexico vs (11) Oregon

Both New Mexico and Oregon are trending hot against the spread entering this matchup. New Mexico has beaten four of its last five spreads and Oregon is 15-7 ATS over its last 22 games. The better bet may be the OVER, which is 10-2-1 in the Ducks’ last 13 home games and 4-1 in the Lobos’ last five road games.

(4) Texas vs Rice

This matchup could be a blowout no matter how you look at it – straight up or against the spread. Texas is 4-0 ATS over its last four against Rice and the Longhorns are 8-2 ATS over their last 10 against Conference USA teams. The Owls tend to get blown out in non-conference games (7-19 ATS over their last 26).

UCLA vs Kansas State

Here’s another betting matchup with very distinct non-conference trends. UCLA is 5-0 ATS over its last five non-conference games whereas the Kansas State Wildcats are 5-17 over their last 22 non-conference affairs. Then again, Kansas State is also 4-1 ATS over its last five at home.

North Texas vs Clemson

Think hard about betting the OVER when North Texas visits Clemson. The over is 5-1 in Clemson’s last six overall and 4-1 over North Texas’ last five road games. The Tigers like to win big at home; they’re 8-3 over their last 11 there ATS. Meanwhile, North Texas spooks easily early in the season. The Mean Green are just 7-19 ATS over their last 26 September games.

Connecticut vs Michigan

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more sportsbook friendly team than the Connecticut Huskies right now. Amazingly, they’re 12-2 ATS over their last 14 games. They’ve also beaten their last seven spreads on the road. Meanwhile, the Michigan Wolverines have lost against the spread five times in a row.

It’s the first day of ESPN college football picks but there is still plenty of money to be made against the sportsbooks in the NFL. Here is an actual premium NFL pick from ScoresOddsPicks, part of the OffshoreInsiders.com Network.

New York Jets at Philadelphia Eagles (-1.5) – Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET

The Eagles improved to 2-1 in the preseason after last week’s 20-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. NFL betting fans have been anxious for a peak at new Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb and, so far, the results haven’t been pretty. Kolb hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass yet and went just 11-25 for 103 yards and a pick against the Chiefs. Now Philly will probably rely on its back ups for most of this game and send Kolb into the regular season after three poor exhibition efforts.

The Jets lost 16-11 to Washington last week, dropping them to 1-2 during the preseason. Nobody is panicking quite yet, but New York has mustered just 36 points through three games. Considering quarterback Mark Sanchez was team’s weak link last year, it’s not exactly inspiring him to play average at best—and usually much worse than that—so far. Like Kolb, he probably won’t see much action on Thursday.

These are two similar teams—young, struggling quarterbacks who have their respective fan bases feeling a little nervous as the regular season approaches. New York can take solace in one thing, though: the defense is already in midseason form. From top to bottom, the Jets’ “D” has looked good. ScoresOddsPicks official bet and premium play: Expect more of the same and a New York cover on Thursday.

For more information: Professional gamblers are not going to let up. Get the first two of many NCAAF winners already up for the Thursday card. The pro bettors have also added two NFLX for Thursday. It includes the ESPN Best Bet, yes a “named play” USC/Hawaii. The biggest pick is the ESPN Best Bet USC-Hawaii from ScoresOddsPicks.