Great West title race is often, well, great

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/11/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The concept that "there is little margin for error" doesn't hold much merit in the five-team Great West football conference.

There's usually no margin for error.

There's been a different champion in each of the past four seasons, and last year's race was about as closely bunched as can be expected. No team was better than 6-5, no team was worse than 4-7, and UC Davis reigned with a 3-1 conference mark, followed by North Dakota, South Dakota and Southern Utah at 2-2 each and Cal Poly, the 2008 champion, in last place at 1-3.

Great West head coaches are expecting another close race this season, and a similar finish. Three of the five coaches installed UC Davis as the favorite in the conference's preseason poll, with Cal Poly second and Southern Utah third, gaining one first-place vote each. South Dakota was picked fourth and North Dakota fifth.

"Because of the smallness of the league, every game has a sense of urgency and it throws in a little bit of chaos," Cal Poly coach Tim Walsh said. "In a five-team conference, 4-0 is the mark you have to shoot for."

UC Davis won last year's title despite a two-touchdown loss to North Dakota. The Aggies return eight starters on offense and six on defense, but are replacing standout quarterback Greg Denham after he decided during the offseason not to return for his senior season. A superb offensive line will make the transition easier for expected signal-caller Austin Heyworth.

"I often base a successful football team by what they do during the offseason and the character. the commitment ... and the work ethic," UC Davis coach Bob Biggs said. "And I think that's where we've really done a great job this year. It's player-driven."

Cal Poly returns 19 starters - the most starters among Great West teams - as they try to overcome last year's first losing season since 2002. Included among the veterans are quarterback Tony Smith, his entire offensive line, linebacker Marty Mohamed and cornerback Asa Jackson.

Southern Utah appears to have its best chance to not only post its first winning record in Great West action (the conference formed for the 2004 season), but also win the title. The Thunderbirds return a dominant pair of wide receivers, Tysson Poots and Fesi Sitake, who combined for 164 receptions and 24 touchdown catches last season.

"Every team is capable of beating every other team," Southern Utah coach Ed Lamb said. "Cal Davis and Cal Poly have set the standard in our conference for program consistency, player talent and confidence. We are hoping to catch up in those races."

South Dakota features running back Chris Ganious, while North Dakota will rely on quarterback Jake Landry and running back Mitch Sutton.

"The common denominator of Great West champions, since I've been in this league, is great quarterback play," South Dakota coach Ed Meierkort said. "That has usually separated it. Two years ago, it was Cal Poly's quarterback (John Dally) that played fantastic and last year it was UC Davis' quarterback (Denham) that played fantastic. We were in the hunt because our quarterback played fantastic. You only get so many opportunities in conference games, so you can't slip. You're quarterback has got to make big-time plays."

The reasons for the closeness of Great West races are varied, and each is important for surviving a race in which teams play a mere two conference games at home and two on the road.

"Probably staying healthy at key positions and I think home-field advantage is a big factor, quite frankly, in the Great West," Biggs said. "I think that it's a tough environment because of the altitude and other issues playing at Southern Utah, I think the indoor arenas favor the home teams in North Dakota and South Dakota, and Cal Poly is not an easy place to get to with the long travel."

"Special teams," North Dakota coach Chris Mussman added. "Take a look at Southern Utah's guy (Sitake) last year, he was a weapon. You look at our game against South Dakota and their field goal kicker missed a couple of opportunities that would have put them right in the game. As balanced as we are, I think special teams makes a big difference."

GREAT WEST PRESEASON POLL (Head Coaches)

1. UC Davis (3 first-place votes), 23 points

2. Cal Poly (1), 18

3. Southern Utah (1), 14

4. South Dakota, 11

5. North Dakota, 9

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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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.