Oregon ascended to the top spot in college football rankings, which means it should be safe to bet USC to beat them Saturday.
In Week 8 of NCAA football betting, Oklahoma was No. 1 in the BCS standings and closed as a 3-point road favorite over Missouri. However, for the third straight week, the country’s No. 1 team lost. First it was Alabama against South Carolina, then Ohio State at Wisconsin and then, on Saturday, the Sooners.
As expected, this game was a shootout from the start; Missouri’s Gahn McCaffie returned the Sportsbook kickoff for a touchdown. Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert and Oklahoma’s Landry Jones each topped 300 passing yards. The 63 total points easily went OVER the typical closing sportsbook over/under of 52.5.
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Powerhouses Wisconsin and Iowa clashed in a smashmouth game that pitted Wisconsin’s power running game against Iowa’s tough defensive line. Iowa’s line shifted a lot at the last minute; the Hawkeyes were favored by up to seven points at most books around game time.
The oddsmakers were wrong. Montee Ball scored the go-ahead touchdown on a run with 1:06 remaining on the clock to give Wisconsin a 31-30 win. John Clay paced Wisconsin’s offense as usual, running for 91 yards and two scores. The final total of 61 points eclipsed the pre-game total of 46.5.
Continuing the trend of high-scoring games between ranked teams, Nebraska outdueled Oklahoma State 51-41, totalling 92 points and flying way OVER the betting total of 57.5. A week after their first loss, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were 6-point favorites on the road against the unbeaten Cowboys.
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez had the game of a lifetime. He went 23 of 35 for 323 yards and five touchdown passes while also rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries.
In the other hyped matchup of Week 8, Auburn held off LSU for a 24-17 victory to stay unbeaten on the year. Auburn closed as 5.5-point favorites at most books, so the Tigers covered the spread, and the 41 points scored dipped this matchup UNDER the typical total of 51.5.
So which marquee matchups are in store for Week 9? Missouri and Nebraska, two of last week’s big Sportsbooks, will do battle at Nebraska. Can Taylor Martinez repeat his amazing effort from Week 8? The Cornhuskers opened as 7-point favorites.
Undefeated Michigan State will try to go to 9-0 when it visits Iowa (-6) in a tough road matchup. Kirk Cousins and Ricky Stanzi will treat bettors to an exciting quarterback showdown.
And in an intriguing Pac-10 game, Oregon, fresh off a 60-point effort against UCLA last week, will take its powerhouse offense to Southern California. USC, 5-2, is ineligible for bowl play this season, but maybe the Trojans’ 39th-ranked rushing defense and seventh-ranked total offense will look to take out its frustration on Oregon (-6.5).
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