Earlier this season I mentioned I might post the Las Vegas Oddsmakers top 30 College Football poll. It’s interesting to see who’s really considered the best teams in the country by those that make a living setting the betting lines. The poll is generated by Kenny White. He used to be part of Las Vegas Sports Consultants. The link here is to VegasInsider.com. The commentary from Chris David is of course from a gambler’s perspective, and it gives you some great insight as to the strengths of certain teams and match-ups.
Oh and by the way…….The #1 team in the country according to the poll – TCU
Here’s a quick summary of who they like and the link:
http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/story.cfm/story/1060494
1) TCU
2) Oregon
3) Boise State
4) Ohio State
5) Alabama
6) Auburn
7) Nebraska
8) Stanford
9) Arkansas
10) Iowa
11) LSU
12) Oklahoma
13) Virginia Tech
14) Wisconsin
15) Utah
16) Michigan State
17) South Carolina
18) Arizona
19) Oklahoma State
20) Pittsburgh
21) Florida
22) Georgia
23) Florida State
24) Texas A&M
25) Missouri
26) Mississippi State
27) Baylor
28) Oregon State
29) Nevada
30) Miami
On to the Inter-Mountain match-ups for the weekend:
I don’t expect the Utes to experience any type of hang-over from the TCU debacle last week in their game against Notre Dame tomorrow. Though I don’t think Jordan Wynn will ever be considered an All-American QB, I think the Utes will find their rhythm again offensively. A big part of that will be their ability to run the ball consistently again and set up the pass. Not falling behind by 3 touchdowns will make this possible.
As well, although Notre Dame is not really Notre Dame any more, a win for
Utah in
South Bend would be a big win for the program. Kind of like when they beat
Michigan in the Big House a few years ago early in their Sugar Bowl season. The Wolverines went on to have a terrible year but it was a great confidence builder for
Utah as they were still fighting for respect. Last week aside, most national pundits will not be surprised if
Utah goes in to Notre Stadium and handles the Irish by a couple touchdowns tomorrow. It’s indicative of how much respect
Utah has earned and a win tomorrow in South Bend will just galvanize the fact even more.
BYU
Though I don’t expect a 55-7 win like last week, the Cougars should be able to handle
Colorado
State. This would be BYU’s first win on the road this year. If BYU is able to string together consistent offensive output again, they will be square on the road to recovery.
TCU
The Horned Frogs should have their way with San Diego Sate. It should be noted that the Aztecs are greatly improved at 7-2 this year, but they are still no match for TCU.
TCU’s biggest concern is whether reporters in the South can dig up a paper trail of receipts from
Auburn donors to Old Man Newton’s church. This story is not going away and though it will be hard to prove any facts before the end of the year, the real question is what it will do to
Auburn‘s focus. Might they stumble or might the voters in the human polls downgrade their ranking and open the door just enough for TCU?
The Broncos play
Idaho tonight and it should be a massacre.
The Vandals had a great run last year and won a very entertaining Humanitarian Bowl. Check out the video of their coach, Robb Akey, from that game. In terms of entertainment value he is right up there with Les Miles of LSU.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4785310Idaho is not as good this year and the only likely intrigue to this rivalry game will be the verbal jabs that were exchanged this past summer when it was announced that
Boise
State would be leaving the WAC for the MWC next year.
“It’s a culture that is nasty, inebriated…”
Matt Nielson has been writing about the college sports landscape in Utah and the Intermountain West since 2010. When he’s not pretending to be a professional blogger, he works full time as a residential real estate agent and house flipper. Matt graduated from Brigham Young University in 2000. He and his family reside in Salt Lake City, UT.
