West Virginia opens 2010 campaign against FCS foe Coastal Carolina

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The West Virginia Mountaineers try to prove they are worthy of being ranked 25th in the nation as they open the 2010 season with a home date against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon.

Last year WVU, which finished with a ranking of 25th in the final AP poll, kicked off against Liberty at home and that meeting wasn't as easy as some would have expected, the Mountaineers slipping by with a 33-20 victory. The team won six of its first seven games of the season, but setbacks to USF and Cincinnati in Big East Conference action didn't help matters and the squad was left to take part in the Gator Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles and former WVU head coach Bobby Bowden in his final game. The 'Noles prevailed in a 33-21 decision, marking the sixth straight game in which the Mountaineers had been held to 24 points or less. Nevertheless WVU, at 9-4 overall, finished in the AP's Top-25 for the fifth straight season, marking the longest streak in school history, and it was also the second straight year in the final rankings for second-year head coach Bill Stewart, making him the first coach in program history to achieve the feat.

The Chanticleers, who play their football at the Football Championship Subdivision level, went through a difficult time in 2009 as they had to change significant pieces to the offense, but head coach David Bennett kept it together as best he could and turned in a 5-6 record overall and a 3-3 mark versus the rest of the Big South Conference. The team lost all six games on the road and was perfect at home, beating the likes of Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, VMI, Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian, although most of those encounters were a bit too close for comfort.

As far as an all-time series between these two programs is concerned, this is the first-ever meeting on the gridiron. This is also one of three new opponents on the schedule for the Mountaineers this season, with LSU and UNLV also appearing on the slate in back-to-back games for WVU.

Coastal Carolina is far from a football powerhouse, having just started up the program in 2003, yet the squad still boasts a 50-29 record since that time for coach Bennett. From an offensive standpoint, the team had some trouble getting in gear last year with an average of just 18.5 ppg, but on a positive note the squad welcomes back three starters along the offensive line, serving as protectors for QB Zach MacDowall for another year. Last season, MacDowell had an efficiency rating of 119.4, even though he had more interceptions (11) than he did TD passes (nine). He completed 55 percent of his attempts as the passing attack accounted for 178.9 ypg, but clearly the group functioned more soundly on the ground with 153 ypg.

Unfortunately, the leading rusher is now gone and that leaves Eric O'Neal to take his place. Luckily, MacDowall will enjoy having Brandon Whitley back at receiver after he caught 31 balls for 483 yards and four scores, despite having started just six of 11 games in 2009.

At first glance the run defense for the Chanticleers was rather weak last season, allowing 176.9 ypg to rank 95th out of 118 FCS programs, but take away the one game in which Liberty rolled up 300 yards and scored six touchdowns on the ground and it makes a little more sense.

Despite losing Phillip Oboh, who logged a team-best 6.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss, the Chanticleers still have a formidable group on the defensive side of the ball, at least in terms of the caliber of play at the FCS level. E.J. Brown should certainly raise his game from the 58 tackles and three sacks he logged a year ago, considering he started just three of 11 outings.

Another key performer to keep an eye on is junior cornerback Josh Norman who not only recorded eight interceptions for the program, but also came up with a pair of blocked kicks, so he can be anywhere and everywhere once the ball is snapped. For his efforts, Norman was named a First Team All-Big South performer and claimed a spot on the AP's All-America Third Team as well.

For the second straight season the Mountaineers are having to go to war with a new quarterback at the helm. Last year it was Jarrett Brown and this time around head coach Bill Stewart is giving sophomore Geno Smith control of the spread option offense.

"I want Geno to play fearless and I want him to lead," says coach Stewart. "I want him to get in that huddle and command that respect. That is what all great quarterbacks do - they commanded that presence."

Should Smith not take the bull by the horns, coach Stewart has a couple of true freshmen in Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson willing to take a shot at starting.

Needless to say, whomever gets the nod under center for the Mountaineers from here on out, he'll need running back Noel Devine to be as good, if not better, than he's been since joining the program. Devine enters 2010 on the watch list for the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards, as well as the Walter Camp Player of the Year. Devine was a bulldog for the squad last season as he ran for 1,465 yards and 13 touchdowns, the team ranking first in the Big East and 24th in the nation in rushing overall with a collective average of 186.4 ypg.

Last season, linebacker Pat Lazear logged a team-best 78 tackles and made six of his stops behind the line of scrimmage to keep opponents on their toes, but as far as this season opener is concerned he might not be at full strength given that he is nursing a bone bruise.

If Lazear isn't up to speed for the meeting with Coastal Carolina, expect fellow linebacker J.T. Thomas to pick up some of the slack. Last season, Thomas finished a close second to Lazear on the tackles list with 76 and also managed to come up with a pair of interceptions while in coverage. The Chanticleers will also have to keep a close eye on defensive end Julian Miller who was an absolute beast in terms of chasing down the opposition in the backfield. Miller made 14 of his 53 stops behind the line of scrimmage and was easily tops on the team in sacks with nine, for a loss of 61 yards.

"We learned last season that you need to finish the deal and that I-AA football, where I coached, is not bad football," coach Stewart recognizes after his team failed to dominate Liberty in the opener in 2009. "If you guys can just think back a few years ago when that bunch out of Boone, N.C., went up north. They had a pretty good day up there if I remember correctly."

Chances are there won't be any upsets on the level of Appalachian State taking down once mighty Michigan, but the Mountaineers are taking no chances as they suit up for another wild and wonderful year of college football.

Wwwbetgameday NCAA Football Betting News

<< Leinart on his way out of Arizona?
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has yet to decide whether Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson will be the starting quarterback for the defending NFC West champions in the wake of Kurt Warner's retirement, but

<< AP Source: Big Ten will announce divisions tonight
A person familiar with the discussions says the Big Ten plans to announce Wednesday night how it will break up into two divisions.The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the conference hasn't released the

<< Manny grounds out in 1st at-bat for White Sox
CLEVELAND (AP) -Manny Ramirez's debut with Chicago has started with a groundout.Leading off the second inning, Ramirez fell behind 0-2 in the count against Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco, fouled off a few pitches and then hit a grounder to shortstop We

<< Braves' Hanson hopes to end winless drought versus Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A matchup at home versus the struggling New York Mets should translate into Tommy Hanson's first victory in nearly two months, but things just haven't gone the right-hander's way as of late. Hanson will look to halt his wi

<< Surging Reds ready brooms for visiting Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati is already getting playoff fever, but the city now has to deal with "Chapmania" as well. The highly-regarded Aroldis Chapman is coming off an electric debut and could get a chance tonight to help the first-place

Auburn opens at home against Arkansas State >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference kick off the 2010 season with a home game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference. Arkansas State posted just a 4-8 record la

Rattlers battle Hurricanes in Sunshine State showdown >>
Miami Gardens, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes appear to be one of the best teams in the ACC heading into the 2010 season, and they will have a chance to show off their skill in Thursday's opener against the Flori

Buckeyes begin season of hope against Thundering Herd >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes enter the 2010 season with tangible chance of winning the national title, and the first step of the process will be knocking off Marshall in Thursday's opener. The Thunder

Bulldogs open 2010 season against visiting Cajuns >>
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs have won eight or more games in 13 consecutive season, and the road to extending that streak begins on Saturday afternoon in Athens against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Head coac

Broncos and Hokies square off on Labor Day >>
Landover, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The most anticipated season-opener on the docket in 2010 takes place on Labor Day in Landover, as the third-ranked Boise State Broncos set out to prove their lofty ranking is warranted, as they take on the 10th-r

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.