NCAA Football

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Don't know if anyone bets on college football in the US, but a couple of tips from a friend look good. Want to research a bit before posting them, so I'm just putting one up for now and will hopefully post more tomorrow. Bet365.com Boise State vs Georgia, 3rd September. Boise State +7.5 @ 1.90 AP has Boise ranked 18 nationally, Georgia ranked 13. USA Today coaches poll has Boise 19, Georgia 13. Boise may be inexperienced though, they have just 10 seniors on their 106 man roster, with just 3 of them down as full time starters. Boise quarterback, Jared Zabransky, is excellent, coming top in a poll of the WAC league media as to who would be named Offensive Player of the Year for the league. ESPN ranked him as the 30th best player in college ball, and the 7th best quarterback. Offensive tackle Daryn Colledge, also of Boise, was ranked 34th best player and third in his position. Head coach Dan Hawkins has won 44 of his 51 games in his first four years in charge of the Broncos - the third best record ever over a coach's first four years in college ball. Since Mark Richt has been coaching them, Georgia have won 17 and only lost 1 of their games against non-conference foes. Starting quarterback is likely to be DJ Shockley, a senior who has played 26 games but never started, having been kept out of the team for the past 3 years by David Greene, the winningest quarterback in NCAA history - now graduated and playing for the Seahawks. He's said to be more athletic than Greene, and is much more of an unknown quality, but I think he may need time to settle in as a starter. Senior Kedric Golston is expected to anchor the defense alongside Gerald Anderson this season, but has been given a one game ban so will miss this contest. I like the chances of Boise to put up a good fight here, certainly to keep it within 7 points.

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Re: NCAA Football All at Bet365.com Buffalo at Connecticut 2nd Sept, 00:30 These teams met in the Buffalo Bulls season finale last time around, with UCONN Huskies winning 29-0. Dan Orlovsky, Huskies QB, has moved up to the NFL, but Matt Bonislawki should be a good replacement. Bulls had just a 2-9 record last season. They've returned most of their top guys, including 9 starters in defense, but will surely struggle against the Huskies. Hard to see past a comfortable Huskies win here, covering the spread of 17.5 without too many problems. Conn - 17.5 @ 1.90 Eastern Michigan at Cincinnati 2nd Sept, 00:00 Cincy Bearcats have just six returning starters, and 53 players who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen, or sophomores. One of the youngest teams in the nation, a recent Big East media poll picked them to finish last in the conference. Dustin Grutza comes in at QB for Gino Guidugli, who graduated last year. The redshirt freshman was strong in spring camp, throwing 12 out of 15 for 2 touchdowns and 151 yards. Brent Celek, second team all-conference USA tight end last year, got 8 touchdowns, catching 22 passes for 254 yards. There are a few other strong players, but the Bearcats defense looked weak last year, giving up 48 points to Army and 70 to Louisville. With just one senior starter there this year, conceding a lot again looks likely. Eastern Michigan were another team with a poor defense, giving away 469.7 yards per game on average, but averaged 427.9 yards on offense. Senior quarterback Matt Bohnet and junior receiver Eric Deslauriers were a lethal combination, Deslauriers grabbing 13 touchdowns and receiving for a total on 1252 yards. Defense has no starting linebackers who've played at 1-A before, which is obviously a worry. I'm actually tempted by Eastern Michigan on the money line @ 4.5, but the best bet here looks to be over 60 points at 1.9 Over 60 points at 1.90 UCF at South Carolina 2nd Sept, 00:30 Steve Spurrier's return to coaching with the SC Gamecocks has got this game moved to primetime Thursday night. UCF finished 117th in the polls last year - out of 117 teams. SC managed only 4-7 against the spread last year, and averaged just 22.1 points per game. The likelihood of South Carolina covering a 21 point spread with that offense looks very slim, especially with their new quarterback Blake Mitchell apparently looking less than sharp. UCF were 113th in the nation in scoring last time around, failing to win a game, but surely they can pick up a few points and keep a poor SC attack down to under 25. UCF + 21 @ 1.90 Temple at Arizona State 2nd Sept, 3:00 Temple are 19-60 over the last seven seasons, and just 2-9 last year. They're playing in a much hotter place than they're used to, and opponents the Sun Devils are ranked 20th. Problems with academics for Temple leave them without five starters who've been suspended for the season, including top RB Tim Brown. Mike McGann, their quarterback, needs to be on the very top of his game, and it still might not be enough. Sun Devils look strong and Sam Keller, the quarterback, is talking up their chances of a national title. The only way they come close to losing this is if they're looking ahead to next week's LSU game instead of concetrating on tonight. As long as they don't make that mistake, they cover a big spread of 31 points easily. Arizona State -31 @ 1.90 4 picks there for tonight, am covering doubles and upwards, level stakes.