Myles Valentin writes for Nick Parsons
1. Alabama -22.00
Alabama play their last scrimmage of the season against Duke before the SEC grind begins. The rich get richer with DE Marcell Dareus and Heisman winner Mark Ingram returning.
2. Ohio State -20.00
Ohio and Eastern Michigan probably won’t pull off upsets against Ohio State, however both teams are better than their records indicate and could present some value. They won’t admit it, but the Buckeyes are looking ahead to Big 10 play in October.
3. Oregon -19.00
Oregon came into SEC country and dominated. And how could you not a love a team that prevents a backdoor cover. The Ducks outscored Tennessee 21-0 in the 4th quarter.
4. Oklahoma -18.50
They struggled against Utah State but bounced back with a 30 point win over Florida State. Landry Jones has already thrown for 597 yards and 6 TD's. However the 18 point spread against Air Force will be no easy task.
5. Texas -18.00
Texas gets a drop here, simply because they are terrible ATS in September. The Wyoming game marked the 5th time in the last 6 games in September, that the Longhorns failed to cover. They are only 4 points favorites vs Texas Tech.
6. TCU -17.50
21 point favorites vs Baylor! Are we overvaluing TCU here or undervaluing Baylor? Maybe a little bit of both. You have to love Gary Patterson’s reaction though after their 62-7 victory, "We made too many mistakes. It doesn't matter what the score is.”
7. Boise -17.25
Boise’s drop is a result of Oregon, Oklahoma, and the bye week more than Virginia Tech’s loss to James Madison. This is still a quality team, but now blowout wins are a necessity. This is good news for Boise bettors.
8. Florida -17.00
OC Steve Addazio still hasn’t found an offensive identity for this team which could be a problem during SEC play which begins this week with Tennessee.
9. Nebraska -16.00
Nebraska had 5 interceptions against NFL talent Nathan Enderle. It will be interesting to see how well the offense does against an effective spy team. QB Taylor Martinez had his 2nd 100 yard rush game with 157 yards and 2 TD's.
10. Iowa -15.00
Iowa has outscored both their opponents 72-14 and they head to Tucson for the game of the week. I still feel that Stanzi is underrated and an impressive performance against Arizona’s secondary should add to his brand.
11 Wisconsin -14.00
Up 17-0 Wisconsin lost some focus with David Gilreath having to be carried out by an ambulance after a helmet to helmet hit. Next game already has line movement with early money coming in on Arizona State.
12. Auburn -13.00
There really is no difference here between 12-14 (all SEC teams) ... yet. Auburn played a tough road game and now they enter a tough two game stretch against Clemson and South Carolina. Luckily both games are at home.
13. Arkansas -13.00
He hasn’t faced any tough competition, but Arkansas fans can’t complain with Ryan Mallet throwing for 701 yards and 6 TDs. His Heisman campaign will be defined in the next two games: a trip to Athens on Saturday, which is then followed by a home game with Alabama.
14. South Carolina -13.00
We didn’t give South Carolina any credit last week. They probably should have been 20 instead of 25. But holding Georgia to 6 points proved us wrong. Furman is up next, which should be a good prep for their road game against Auburn.
15. Utah -12.5
Some thought the 20 point spread against UNLV was a bit too high, but the Utes worked off their momentum from the Pittsburgh win and won 38-10. TCU is 6 weeks away, but this looks like a team that will stay focused, even against cupcakes.
16. Michigan -12.00
Denard Xavier “Shoelace” Robinson already has 885 yards of total offense, but the defense needs to improve. They rank 104th in the nation giving up over 500 yards in their last game against Notre Dame.
17. Miami -11.00
We’ll see the true character of this team if they can bounce back from the Ohio State loss with two tough road games. The Hurricanes have a bye this week, but then it’s a road game against Pittsburgh, followed by a trip to Clemson.
18. LSU -10.50
It's tough to tell how good or bad this team is. Vanderbilt isn’t a legitimate threat and they probably should have lost that game against North Carolina. However if they continue to win, expect them to move further up.
19. Penn State -10.00
Glass half full: they only gave up 7 points against Alabama in the 2nd half. Glass half empty: they only scored 3 points the entire game. True Freshman QB Robert Bolden will have time to recover from his two INT performance with Kent State on Saturday.
20. USC -9.50
USC barely got by Virginia ... at home! Barkley and top wideout Ronald Johnson simply do not have any chemistry. That 13.5 point spread against Minnesota will be tough to cover if those two don’t click.
21. West Virginia -9.00
Don’t read too much into the boxscore in their recent three point win over Marshall. Head coach Doc Holliday worked with WVU for 20 years and pretty much knew their entire playbook.
22. Arizona -8.50
The Wildcats outscored Toledo and The Citadel 93-8. Iowa presents their first real challenge of the season and their student section is one of the most underrated in the nation; in terms of volume and physical attractiveness.
23. Stanford -8.00
A 35 point blowout over UCLA justifies the huge rise here for Stanford. They opened as -17.5 favorites against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have scored 107 points already.
24. Houston -7.50
The next three weeks are critical for Houston, where in that stretch they play UCLA on the road and Mississippi State at home. It will be interesting to see where the total against UCLA opens up at. The total against UTEP was 75 and it went over by three points.
25. Pittsburgh -7.00
The game against New Hampshire was a good way to rebound from their three point loss to Utah. They have bye week to work things out before a key game against Miami.
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