I woke up today with an extra spring in my step because I knew it was the first Saturday of the 2011 college football season. But what really got me going was knowing I would once again be providing quality fade material for bettors around the world.

It’s about people helping people, folks.

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU, 8:00PM ET
The last time Jarrett Lee opened a season as a starting quarterback was in 2006…for Brenham High School. LSU was going to have uncertainty at the quarterback position regardless of whether or not Lee or Jordan Jefferson was named the starter. But where the problem comes in is that Jefferson was assumed to be the starter for months. Now, just weeks before the season, they switch to Lee because of Jefferson’s off-field issues. It’s usually unwise to go against the SEC in a non-conference game but I’m not that bright so I’ll assume the risk. I think LSU’s outstanding defense will tire late in the second half after trying to keep up with Darron Thomas and LaMichael James for most of the game. The Tigers’ D figures to be on the field an awful lot tonight.
THE PICK: OREGON -3

No. 7 Boise State vs. No. 22 Georgia
All the talk in this one has revolved around Aaron Murray but I expect Kellen Moore to once again play mistake free. He has all new weapons this year but the Broncos’ offense rarely misses a beat from season to season. Never go against Boise State in their opener or in their bowl game. These types of games might as well be their freaking Super Bowl…
THE PICK: BOISE STATE -3

Minnesota @ USC, 3:30PM ET
I like the Jerry Kill hiring for Minnesota, although Tim Brewster didn’t leave him with a very stocked cupboard. We’ll see if his decision to shift MarQueis Gray from receiver to quarterback pans out but either way, I think Minnesota hangs with USC for a second straight year. The Golden Gophers are 5-1 against the spread in their last six road games and 5-1 ATS in their last six games as a road underdog. The Trojans, meanwhile, are 1-5 against the number in their last six home games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games as a home favorite.
THE PICK: MINNESOTA +24

San Jose State @ No. 6 Stanford, 5:00PM ET
Stanford has a ton of question marks heading into the season, specifically at receiver and along the offensive line. They also lost three players from its front seven on defense, although with Andrew Luck, Stepfan Taylor and a solid secondary, the Tree shouldn’t skip a beat from last season. Stanford is 5-0-1 against the spread in their last six games as a favorite and 4-0 ATS in their last four non-conference games. On the other side, the Spartans are 0-5 ATS in their last five games versus the Pac-12 and 3-12 ATS in their last 15 road games.
THE PICK: STANFORD -30

Here are five quick-hit thoughts about Auburn’s wild 22-19 win over Oregon in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.

1. In the end, it was a freshman and not a Heisman winner who won it for Auburn.
Cam Newton played a great game. He completed 20-of-34 pass attempts for 265 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for 65 yards on 22 carries. But he didn’t put together one of those special performances that Auburn fans were accustomed to seeing all year. His fourth quarter fumble set up LaMichael James’ touchdown run and Darron Thomas’ wild 2-point conversion pass to Jeff Maehl, which tied the game at 19-19 with 2:33 remaining. But in the end, Michael Dyer’s “controversial” 37-yard run set the Tigers up for Wes Byrum’s 19-yard game-winning field goal. I put “controversial” in quotation marks because it wasn’t really controversial, per se. He definitely wasn’t down and the refs never blew the whistle, but I’ve seen officials stop plays when a player’s forward momentum was less stopped than that. Still, credit Dyer for having the wherewithal to keep his knees off the ground when he was being tackled and the Auburn sideline for instinctively telling him to keep running when they saw he wasn’t down. The Tigers’ Heisman-winning quarterback played well but Dyer and Auburn’s defense were the main reasons the Tigers won their second national championship in school history. Seeing as how Dyer is only a freshman, Auburn’s backfield is set for the next couple of seasons.

2. Ted Roof defensive game plan was tremendous.
Roof will certainly sleep easy tonight. He had six weeks to figure out how to slow down Oregon’s explosive offense and that’s exactly what he did. This was an offense that led the nation in points per game (47.5) and was fifth in rushing yards per contest (290.1). Yet the Tigers held the Ducks to 19 points and 81 total rushing yards. That’s amazing. For weeks pundits debated whether or not Auburn’s defense would rise to the challenge and yet Roof’s squad made it look easy for most of the game. Even when the Ducks scored late to tie it at 19-all, Auburn didn’t make it easy for them around the goal line. And that drive was set up when Casey Matthews punched the ball out of Newton’s hands to give Oregon the ball at the 40-yard line, so Roof’s squad was put in a bad spot. What an incredible effort.

3. Nick Fairley is a monster.
I don’t want to excuse the bone-headed decision he made to shove LaMichael James’ helmet to the ground, because that was a stupid, dirty play. (I’m glad the refs caught it and threw a flag for unnecessary roughness.) But what a night this kid had. Fairley completely dominated the interior of Oregon’s offensive line and the Ducks had zero success running the ball up the middle the entire night. At one point, I literally started yelling at Chip Kelly from my couch to stop running those inside draw plays because Fairley would blow them up every time. He was the main reason Oregon’s offense never really got on track and the play he made at the goal line when he stopped James just short of the end zone was pure relentlessness. With Andrew Luck returning to Stanford, the Panthers may want to think long and hard about taking Fairley at No. 1 next April.

4. Third down conversion percentage proved to be the difference.
One team converted third downs in this game and one didn’t. The team that did, won. The didn’t that didn’t…well you get the point. Auburn was 9-for-17 on third down, while Oregon was just 5-for-15. There are a couple of stats that will haunt Chip Kelly this offseason and that’s one of them. Oregon receiver Jeff Maehl (nine receptions, 133 yards, one 2-point conversion reception) had a great game and made a couple of nice plays to keep drives alive, but Darron Thomas struggled most of the night on third down.

5. The Ducks’ defense did all it could.
The Oregon defense has nothing to hang its head about. For all the press that the Ducks’ offense received this season and leading up to this game, Auburn’s O was just as deserving of praise. Yet the Ducks held the Tigers to just 22 points, including only six in the final two quarters. As previously mentioned, Newton had a fine game but he really never took over like some expected. That was due in large part to Oregon stepped up at crucial times in the second half. And how about the play Casey Matthews made to pop the ball out of Newton’s hands when the Ducks needed a turnover to have one last shot of tying the game? I was convinced that the Ducks’ offense wouldn’t get the ball back after they punted and then all of a sudden, Matthews is popping the ball loose. Is football in that gene pool or what?

Date: Monday, January 10, 2011
Time: 8:30PM ET
TV: ESPN

Why Watch: You mean, besides the fact that it’s the biggest college football game of the year and that the NCAA will get to crown a mythical national champion? With the way both of these offenses can light up a scoreboard, fans should get the shootout they expect. This matchup features two of the nation’s best players in Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and Heisman finalist LaMichael James. If the game comes down to defense, Oregon ranks 14th in the nation in scoring and Auburn is 54th. But as teams like South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia found out this season, Newton often saves his best for the fourth quarter. This should be quite a game and one that lives up to its hype.

Game Facts: The Tigers are 20-13-2 overall in bowl games, which ranks them as one of the best programs in the nation when it comes to postseason play. They rank 16th in all-time bowl appearances with 35, are 13th all-time in bowl wins at 20, and are tied for 22nd in all-time bowl win percentage at .600. They’ve won three straight bowl games and six out of their last seven, which includes a wild 38-35 win over Northwestern in last year’s Outback Bowl. During Mike Bellotti’s tenure as head coach between 1995 and 2008, the Ducks went to bowl games every year except the ’96 and ’04 seasons. In 2010, Oregon fell to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which dropped them to 1-4 all-time in Rose bowl appearances.

Key Player: Craig Stevens, Auburn.
We know that Nick Fairley can get the job done in the middle, and that Auburn can be very tough to run on because of his stout play. But Oregon attacks you on the edges and Stevens, an outside linebacker, will play a huge role in trying to stop the Ducks’ potent offense. If he can keep contain, Oregon might be in for a long day. But if he can’t, LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner will spend a lot of time running through the Auburn secondary.

Odds: Auburn -3
Auburn opened as a 2.5-point favorite but the line immediately moved to 3. Bettors tend to side with the team from the better conference and seeing as how the Tigers made it through a tough SEC schedule unscathed, it makes sense that the public would back them in the title game. But don’t count out a late push for Oregon, which will get plenty of backing closer to kickoff. Auburn has escaped more than a handful of close calls this year, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the line dropped to 2 or even 1 as bettors start to buy into an outright win for the Ducks. The over/under total opened at 74.5 and while it did drop to 74, don’t expect it to drop any further. Oddsmakers know both teams have the potential to score a combined 100 points.

How Auburn can win: By forcing Darron Thomas to throw the football. We know Newton will point points on the board – it’s just a matter of whether or not Auburn can slow down Oregon enough so that this doesn’t turn into a “whoever gets the ball last wins” type of game. Thomas is a very capable quarterback, but he and the Ducks aren’t going to win a national championship with his arm. If Auburn can slow the Ducks’ rushing attack or build a big early lead, that will force Thomas into obvious passing situations and the Oregon offense all of the sudden becomes a lot easier to defend. If that happens, the SEC will be celebrating its fifth straight national title.

Why Oregon will win: Conditioning. The Ducks represent the new way of wearing a team down. We’re used to it being a big offensive line leaning on a team and tiring them out, but not in Oregon’s case. This team simply runs you ragged. While Auburn runs an uptempo offense, and the Tigers will surely do all they can to prepare for the break-neck pace Oregon plays at, it’s impossible to simulate what the Ducks do in practice. Expect this one to be a shootout, but also expect the Auburn defense to tire as the game wears on, and the Oregon defense to still be going relatively strong. They’re used to playing 30-40 minutes a game, and it hasn’t bothered them yet.

Prediction: Oregon 48, Auburn 45

Contributors: Anthony Stalter and Paul Costanzo

Looking for a college football bowl game schedule? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let The Scores Report be your one-stop shopping experience for all things bowl game schedule.

BCS National Championship: Auburn vs. Oregon, January 10, 8:30PM ET
In the end, there really wasn’t any debate to which teams should play for the national title. The Tigers beat six teams this year that finished in the top 25 of the BCS standings and went 13-0 on the year. Their 56-17 pounding of South Carolina in the SEC championship game left no doubt about their spot atop the BCS rankings. On the other side, Oregon blew out Tennessee earlier in the year, but the Ducks’ made their best statement in a 52-31 thrashing of Stanford. They outscored opponents by nearly 31 points a game this year, with only one team (Cal) coming within single digits of Darron Thomas and Co.

Sugar Bowl: Ohio State vs. Arkansas, Tuesday, January 4, 8:30PM ET
The Buckeyes have another shot to end their woes against the SEC when they take on the Hogs on January 4. If Terrelle Pryor plays as well against Arkansas as he did against Oregon in the Rose Bowl last year, then OSU will be fine. But the Buckeyes will certainly have their hands full with Ryan Mallett and the Hogs’ explosive offense. Arkansas has a chance to win 11 games in a season for the first time since 1977.

Orange Bowl: Stanford vs. Virginia Tech, January 3, 8:30PM ET
This is a great matchup but it’ll be overshadowed by the persisting rumors that Jim Harbaugh will be coaching elsewhere next season. Stanford’s defense will have its hands full with VA Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who took the ACC title game over against Florida State. But the Hokies will need more than Taylor to defeat a Stanford team that is arguably the best one-loss teams in the country. Andrew Luck can further cement his status as the No. 1 pick in April’s draft with a great performance.

Fiesta Bowl: Connecticut vs. Oklahoma, January 1, 8:30PM ET
The Huskies stumbled to a 3-4 record while losing their first two Big East conference games, but they rebounded to go 5-0 down the stretch and their reward is that they get to take on Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The Sooners will be heavy favorites against Connecticut but remember that Oklahoma is on a five-game BCS bowl losing streak that include three national title losses and a pair of Fiesta Bowls. Statue of Liberty, anyone?

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. TCU, January 1, 5:00PM ET
This may be the most underrated matchup of the five BCS bowl games. Wisconsin won its final seven regular-season games and did so by averaging 48.3 points per contest over that span. They also combined for 201 points in their final three games and now take on a TCU team that owns the top-ranked defense in the country. That’s impressive considering they lost Jerry Hughes and Daryl Washington (their top defenders from a season ago) to the NFL last April.

2010 College Football Bowl Schedule:

Saturday, Dec. 18

New Mexico Bowl
UTEP (6-6) vs. BYU (6-6), 2 p.m. (ESPN)

Humanitarian Bowl
Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Fresno State (8-4), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)

New Orleans Bowl
Ohio (8-4) vs. Troy (7-5), 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, Dec. 21

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl
Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Mississippi (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, Dec. 22

MAACO Bowl
Utah (10-2) vs. Boise State (11-1), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Dec. 23

Poinsettia Bowl
San Diego State (8-4) vs. Navy (8-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, Dec. 24

Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii (10-3) vs. Tulsa (9-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, Dec. 26

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, Dec. 27

Independence Bowl
Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. Air Force (8-4), 5 p.m. (ESPN2)

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Champs Sports Bowl
North Carolina State (8-4) vs. West Virginia (9-3), 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Insight Bowl
Missouri (10-2) vs. Iowa (7-5), 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, Dec. 29

Military Bowl
East Carolina (6-6) vs. Maryland (8-4), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Texas Bowl
Baylor (7-5) vs. Illinois (6-6), 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Alamo Bowl
Arizona (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (10-2), 9:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Dec. 30

Armed Forces Bowl
SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5), Noon (ESPN)

Pinstripe Bowl
Syracuse (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Music City Bowl
North Carolina (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6), 6:40 p.m. (ESPN)

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska (10-3) vs. Washington (6-6), 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, Dec. 31

Meineke Bowl
Clemson (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5), Noon (ESPN)

Sun Bowl
Notre Dame (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5), 2 p.m. (CBS)

Liberty Bowl
Georgia (6-6) vs. UCF (10-3), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Chick-fil-A Bowl
South Carolina (9-4) vs. Florida State (9-4), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, Jan. 1
TicketCity Bowl
Northwestern (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-5), Noon (ESPNU)

Capital One Bowl
Michigan State (11-1) vs. Alabama (9-3), 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Outback Bowl
Florida (7-5) vs. Penn State (7-5), 1 p.m. (ABC)

Gator Bowl
Michigan (7-5) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Rose Bowl
TCU (12-0) -3 vs. Wisconsin (11-1), 5 p.m. (ESPN)

Fiesta Bowl
Connecticut (8-4) +17.5 vs. Oklahoma (11-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, Jan. 3

Orange Bowl
Stanford (11-1) -3 vs. Virginia Tech (11-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, Jan. 4

Sugar Bowl
Ohio State (11-1) -3 vs. Arkansas (10-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Jan. 6

GoDaddy.com Bowl
Miami (Ohio) (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee (6-6), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, Jan. 7

Cotton Bowl
Texas A&M (9-3) vs. LSU (10-2), 8 p.m. (FOX)

Saturday, Jan. 8

BBVA Compass Bowl
Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6), Noon (ESPN)

Sunday, Jan. 9

Fight Hunger Bowl
Boston College (7-5) vs. Nevada (12-1), 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, Jan. 10

BCS National Championship
Auburn (13-0) -3 vs. Oregon (12-0), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)