There was no shortage of excitement in college football’s opening weekend. Upsets, however, were at a premium. The biggest shock was Ole Miss falling at home to FCS school Jacksonville State. I firmly believe this was due to the school not being able to get Admiral Ackbar as their new mascot.
Regardless of oddly dressed person on the sidelines, the Rebels could very well be set for a surprising letdown. That means we are in line for some positive chances for the underdogs to be barking. Let’s look at a few games that fall into this category.
What a Rebel Hell…
How many folks at Ole Miss are wishing that Jeremiah Masoli was denied his appeal to play last week? That might be a bit far fetched but that’s all Rebels fans can think of after losing 49-48 in double overtime to Jacksonville State last Saturday.
Mississippi was strong on the attack with 479 total yards on offense and wasn’t penalized once during the game. Yet they coughed up the ball three times (four with the turnover on downs) to the Gamecocks, which led to 14 points. Plus, the Rebs couldn’t stop JSU drives short as they were 8-of-17 on third downs.
The betting shops aren’t too worried about that loss as they’ve made Ole Miss a 20 ½-point road favorite against the Green Wave.
It’s awfully hard to think that Tulane will push Houston Nutt into drinking some Black Label on the sideline, but there is a chance it can happen. The Green Wave are coming off of a 27-21 home win over Southeastern Louisiana. That win doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the first time Tulane has won a season opener since 2002.
The Green Wave were quite balanced on the attack last week (123 rushing yards, 129 passing yards), which could give Ole Miss some fits. But that all depends on how well Nutt gets his team to bounce back this week.
Pirates on a High…
Out of all the excitement of last weekend’s action, the biggest of the bunch was East Carolina’s 51-49 win as a seven-point home pup over the Golden Hurricane on a Hail Mary pass to Justin Jones as time expired. Not a bad way for Ruffin McNeill to open his career as a head coach at his alma mater.
Most sportsbooks have no doubt parlayed that finish into making the Pirates 12 ½-point home favorites against Memphis.
You can’t fault the betting shops for setting the line as they did in this game. ECU took quickly to Lincoln Riley’s offense, gaining 538 of total offense. And they are taking on a Tigers squad that was decimated 49-7 at Mississippi State last weekend.
So why would you take a stab with the Tigers, a team that hasn’t beaten East Carolina since 2005 and covered against them since 2000?
It can happen if you have a first-year coach and a first-year offensive coordinator taking care of an offense that brought back just five starters. This team could easily find itself confused by a passing attack that only gained 196 yards through the air, but were 20-of-32 on pass attempts. Not a bad number considering that the Bulldogs are an up-and-coming team in the SEC.
Sleeping Huskies…
Jake Locker has been tabbed as the next top pick in the next NFL Draft. As far as Washington fans are concerned, he was the reason they lost 23-17 to the Cougars. Now the Huskies come home to face off with Syracuse as 13 ½-point favorites this Saturday.
So why would this game be a problem for Huskies? Well, losing a game that they could have easily won in Provo last week is a tough pill to swallow. But Washington has the Cornhuskers coming to town on Sept. 18. That’s a Top 10 team coming into the Pacific Northwest. How can you keep your eyes on the lowly Orange?
They should keep their eyes on Syracuse for this game because they’re not as bad as they had once been. The Orange are coming off of a 29-3 win at Akron last week eight-point road faves for their first season opening win since Paul Pasqualoni was roaming the sidelines on 2003. This is a tough test for the ‘Cuse as they’re practically traveling the entire length of the country. But bettors can take heart in the fact that the Orange are 6-12 SU and 11-7 ATS as a road pup against non-conference teams since 1998. Adding a little a fuel to the fire is the fact that Washington is 4-1 SU and 1-4 ATS in its last five games as a home “chalk” against non-conference teams.
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
