Mountain West, C-USA work on path to BCS

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/20/2010 -

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -The commissioners of the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA have spoken about staging a postseason game between their champions in hopes of securing an automatic berth to the Bowl Championship Series.

C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky issued a statement Friday confirming he had met the previous day in Colorado Springs with MWC chief Craig Thompson to discuss ``scheduling, television and postseason football.''

Neither league has an automatic BCS bid and would likely have to wait until the current BCS contracts expire in four years to broker a deal for one.

The talks follow the announcement earlier in the week that Nevada and Fresno State will move to the Mountain West from the Western Athletic Conference.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Jazzspots NCAA Football Betting News

<< Demichelis walks out on Bayern Munich
Mainz, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentina defender Martin Demichelis refused to attend Friday's Bundesliga season opener for club team Bayern Munich after being left out of the starting lineup. Bayern coach Luis van Gaal selected Daniel

<< Sadler takes Nationwide pole at Bristol
Bristol, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elliott Sadler will start on the pole for Friday's Food City 250 Nationwide Series race after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway. Sadler, who is driving the No.33 Chevr

<< Zvonareva ousts Clijsters in Montreal
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva upset U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters in Friday's quarterfinal action at the $2 million Rogers Cup, a hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up. The eighth-seeded Zvonareva came from be

<< Ankiel leads Braves to late win over Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Ankiel hit a bases-loaded triple off Carlos Marmol with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the Braves to a 5-3 win over the Cubs in the opener of a three-game series. Marmol (2-3) walked the b

<< Roddick, Fish into Cincy Masters
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick and a hot Mardy Fish were a pair of American quarterfinal winners Friday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a U.S. Open Series event. The ni

A's place Jackson back on DL, recall Larish >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have placed outfielder Conor Jackson on the 15-day disabled list with a lower abdominal strain. The 28-year-old outfielder was sidelined from July 1 through Sunday with a strained r

Snedeker ties Atwal for Wyndham lead >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion Brandt Snedeker carded a five-under 65 on Friday to tie Arjun Atwal for the 36-hole lead at the Wyndham Championship. Atwal, the first-round leader, had a 67 to match Snedeker at 12-under

Federer lands in Cincy SFs >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer was a straight-set quarterfinal winner Friday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a U.S. Open Series event. The third-seeded Federer got past sixth-seeded Russian Nikol

Penguins sign Asham away from divisional rival Flyers >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Arron Asham to a one-year, $700,000 contract. The 32-year-old posted 10 goals and 14 assists in 72 regular-season games for Philadelphia last season an

Favre to play Sunday vs. 49ers >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though he has officially been back for several days, Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre will play in the Vikings' preseason game Sunday at San Francisco. Vikings head coach Brad Childress said Frid

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.