2009 College Football Week 10 Point Spreads & Odds Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/03/2009 @ 1:20 pm) Along with a complete list of point spreads and odds for Week 10’s action in college football, here is a quick-hit look at some of the marquee matchups: No. 9 LSU at No. 3 Alabama, Saturday, 3:30PM ET After losing to Florida in Baton Rouge three weeks ago, LSU has rattled off two wins in impressive fashion. While Auburn and Tulane aren’t powerhouse opponents, the Tigers combined to score 73 points in those games and showed an offensive pulse. But can they do the same against a worthy defensive opponent like Alabama? The Tigers only mustered three points against the Gators and will certainly have their hands full trying to move the ball against a Tide defense that ranks No. 4 in the nation and should be well rested coming off a bye. Odds: Alabama –7.5. No. 8 Oregon at Stanford, Saturday, 3:30PM ET Oregon is one of the hottest teams in the nation right now, but will they suffer a letdown after beating No. 5 USC last week? Stanford has been solid at home this year, beating previously ranked Washington 34-14, UCLA 24-16 and a decent Arizona State team 33-14. They had defensive troubles in road losses to Oregon State and Arizona this season (and also lost to a pesky Wake Forest team earlier in the year), but otherwise the Cardinal has been competitive. The Ducks’ offensive attack is firing on all cylinders right now, but the game this week in Stanford is far from a gimmie. Odds: Oregon -6. No. 16 Ohio State at No. 11 Penn State, Saturday, 3:30PM ET If either of these teams wants to keep Iowa in their sites in the Big Ten, a win is a must this Saturday in University Park. Since his brutal display in Purdue three weeks ago, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor has looked better the past two weeks. But Minnesota and New Mexico State don’t have the kind of defensive prowess that Penn State has and Pryor could be in for a long day on Saturday. The Lions have been outstanding since their loss to Iowa in late September, rattling off five straight wins while beating opponents by a 176-43 margin. The Buckeyes’ defense should be up for the challenge, but will Pryor? Odds: Penn State –4. Read the rest of this entry » Couch Potato Alert: 11/21 Posted by Thomas Conroy (11/21/2008 @ 3:45 pm) Michigan vs. Ohio State It’s Michigan-Ohio State – a classic rivalry that unites strangers and divides friends once a year for three and half hours. The Buckeyes are 9-2 with dreams of a BCS bowl bid in their future, and a victory over the Wolverines will give them a share of their fourth consecutive Big Ten title. How bad is it for Michigan? Well, last week’s home loss to Northwestern officially stamped this season as the worst in school history. Never has a Wolverine team lost eight games in one season and Ohio State would love to lower the bar even further. National coverage begins Saturday at 12 PM on ABC. Click here for the official Michigan-Ohio State smack thread. Michigan State vs. Penn State A win for Joe Pa on Saturday could clinch Penn State’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1994, their second year competing in the Big Ten. If Michigan State running back Javon Ringer cannot run the football, the Spartans will have no chance of winning this game. It will be a difficult task, as the Nittany Lions are ranked first in the Big Ten and 10th in the country against the run. Michigan State’s last victory in Beaver Stadium was in 1965, the year before Joe Paterno became head coach of the program. Regional coverage begins Saturday at 3:30 PM on ABC. Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma A win in Norman on Saturday night would leave the Red Raiders two victories away from playing in the BCS national championship game. But an Oklahoma win will leave us with oh so many possibilities for our little bowl series come January. First off, we will have a three-way tie (Texas-Oklahoma-Texas Tech) for the top spot in the Big 12 South, and the conference has an interesting tie-breaker to determine the representative in the Big 12 title game against Missouri. The winner will be decided by which school has the highest ranking in the BCS bowl standing. So, Orwell’s big brother will have a vested interest in the outcome of this weekend’s game. National coverage begins Saturday at 8 PM on ABC. Click here for the official Texas Tech-Oklahoma smack thread. New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans Two of the hottest teams in AFC will square off this Sunday, as the New York Jets travel to Memphis to face the undefeated Tennessee Titans and the winner could emerged as the conference favorite to reach the Super Bowl. The East-leading Jets are riding a four-game winning streak into the game, while the Titans are looking to become the 13th team in league history to open a season with a 11-0 record. The media spotlight has shine brightest on quarterback Brett Favre, but the team’s turnaround can be contributed to the Jets running attack. New York has averaged over 160 yards per game and scored eight rushing touchdowns in its last five games. The Titans defense could welcome back two starters this week with defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) and cornerback Nick Harper (ankle) returning to the lineup. Regional coverage begins Sunday at 1 PM on Fox. Posted in: College Football, Couch Potato Alert, NFL, Television Tags: ABC, AFC, BCS, BCS national championship game, Beaver Stadium, Big 12, Big 12 South, Big Ten, Brett Favre, Buckeyes, Fox, Javon Ringer, Joe Pa, Joe Paterno, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Memphis, Michigan, Missouri, New York Jets, Nick Harper, Norman, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Rose Bowl, Spartans, Super Bowl, Tennessee Titans, Texas, Wolverines
Penn State vs. Texas Tech Posted by Gerardo Orlando (11/02/2008 @ 9:28 pm) If Alabama, Penn State and Texas Tech win out, we’ll be hearing plenty of arguments over who should be facing Alabama in the National Championship game. Call it this year’s BCS mess. In today’s BCS standings, Texas Tech has jumped Penn State to take the #2 spot, mostly due to better computer rankings even though Penn State is #2 in the polls. That’s not too surprising given Texas Tech’s win over Texas, tough that’s little consolation to Penn State fans. It’s hard to have much sympathy for Penn State, however, given their embarrassing non-conference schedule – Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, Syracuse and Temple. Would it kill Joe Paterno to schedule some national powers? But, Texas Tech’s non-conference schedule is even worse – Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU and Massachusetts. Pathetic. Of course, Texas Tech is playing in the Big-12, which has some very good teams this year, even if the entire conference seems to have forgotten how to play defense. In the end, playing in this conference will save Texas Tech. Or will it? They still have to face #9 Oklahoma State and #6 Oklahoma on the schedule, not to mention the Big-12 championship game. If they win out, they deserve to play for the BCS championship. It will be a tough road. Which brings us back to Penn State. If Joe Paterno and an undefeated Nittany Lions team get left out of the title game, it might be enough of an outrage to finally force a playoff format. Couch Potato Alert: 10/24 Posted by Thomas Conroy (10/24/2008 @ 2:00 pm) Oklahoma State vs. Texas Top-ranked Texas has won 10 straight games against OSU and have staged some incredible comeback victories during this streak. In 2004, Oklahoma State led 35-7 before surrendering 49 straight points to the Longhorns. In 2005, Texas trailed 28-9 late in the third quarter, only to rally and win. Last year, the Longhorns came back from a 35-14 deficit late in the fourth quarter to win on a field goal as time expired. This season, the Cowboys are 7-0 and are in the top 10 for the first time since 1988, but are they mature enough to finish a game against Texas? Regional coverage begins at 3:30 PM ET Saturday on ABC. Penn State vs. Ohio State A win on Saturday night could put Penn State in prime position to finish the season undefeated and earn no worse than their first Rose Bowl berth since the 1994 season. The best matchup on the field could be between the Nittany Lions offensive line vs. the Buckeyes defensive front. Penn State is the No. 1 rushing offense (235 yards per game) in the Big Ten, while Ohio State has the No. 1 rushing defense (97 yards per game) in the conference. And the Nittany Lions are trying to win in Columbus for the first time since 1978. Let the pushing and shoving begin. National coverage begins at 8:00 PM ET Saturday on ABC. Click here for the official Ohio State-Penn State smack thread. The World Series The World Series could become the wet series this weekend when it shifts to Philadelphia. The National Weather Service latest forecast predicts a 90 percent chance of rain on Saturday. Major League Baseball officials acknowledged that Philadelphia is going to get rain, but the main question for them is how long? Game Three is Saturday at 8 PM ET and Game Four is on Sunday at 8 PM ET; all World Series games are on Fox. New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers They first met as rookies in 2004, Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger have led their teams to Super Bowl victories and both appear to be in good shape for another title run this season. Roethlisberger developed faster at the quarterback position and led the Steelers to three straight road wins en route to a Super Bowl title in 2005. Two seasons later, Manning did the same, guiding the Giants to three road playoff wins before defeating the previous undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl last season. Manning’s New York Giants travel to Heinz Field to take on Big Ben’s Pittsburgh Steelers in a rare matchup of 5-1 teams this Sunday. Coverage begins at 4:15 PM ET on Fox. Posted in: College Football, Couch Potato Alert, General Sports, MLB, NFL, Television Tags: ABC, Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ten, Buckeyes, Columbus, Eli Manning, Fox Sports, Heinz Field, Longhorns, MLB, National Weather Service, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pittsburgh Steelers, Rose Bowl, Super Bowl, Texas, The World Series
Couch Potato Alert: 10/17 Posted by Thomas Conroy (10/17/2008 @ 3:01 pm) Ohio State vs. Michigan State Ohio State cannot afford to look past the Spartans this week in anticipation of their game against Penn State on October 25th. The Buckeyes will be back in the national title chase if they win their next two games, and who would have predicted that after their loss to Southern Cal? Michigan State has the ultimate workhorse Javon Ringer, an Ohio native that leads the nation in rushing with 1,112 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. He has quietly become a viable Heisman Trophy candidate. Regional coverage will begin Saturday at 3:30 PM ET on the ABC/ESPN family of networks. Missouri vs. Texas Texas is No. 1 in the polls during the regular season for the first time since 1984. But coach Mack Brown can remind his players that the 1984 squad went on to lose four of their last five games to finish 7-4-1 and out of the national title hunt. History is working against Missouri, as the Tigers are 0-10 lifetime vs. No.1 teams, and are winless in Austin since 1896. That’s right…1896. This game pits Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel trying to re-establish himself in the Heisman race against Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, who some believe is the Heisman front-runner. National coverage will begin Saturday at 8 PM ET on ABC. Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays Baseball fans have been lulled to sleep this post-season by uninspiring play, with no series going one game beyond the required number. And with nine outs remaining, Tampa’s bullpen fell apart and blew a seven-run lead in an 8-7 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game Five. We now have a series to watch. The never give-up Red Sox could force a Game Seven if struggling post-season ace Josh Beckett can muster a victory against James Shields in Tampa Bay. Game Six will begin Saturday at 8 PM ET and if necessary Game Seven will begin Sunday at 8 PM ET. Both games can be seen on TBS. Posted in: College Football, Couch Potato Alert, MLB, Television Tags: ABC, Austin, Boston Red Sox, Buckeyes, Chase Daniels, Colt McCoy, ESPN, Heisman Trophy, James Shields, Javon Ringer, Josh Beckett, Longhorns, Mack Brown, Missouri, Ohio State, Penn State, Southern Cal, Spartans, Tampa Bay Rays, TBS, Texas, Tigers
|