List of Odds to Win The 2013 College Football National Championship Can Be Found Below!

The 2012 college football season is said and done with, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are already taking the time to look at the 2013 college football national championship odds in an effort to find some big time winners with great value.

That being said, the first team that comes to mind has to be the one that just lost the BCS National Championship Game, the LSU Tigers (Odds To Win The College Football Championship: 3.85 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). The Bayou Bengals are going to have to have a significantly easier time running the table in 2012 than they did in 2011. They do have to take on Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M, and Arkansas on the road, but they also get Alabama and South Carolina at home. The non-conference schedule, which was littered with the likes of Oregon and West Virginia this year, features North Texas, Washington, Idaho, and Towson, and all four games are played at home. Head Coach Les Miles is returning a slew of players from this year’s team, which many thought might be considered one of the best in the nation, but thanks to the fact that that game against the Crimson Tide is going to be at home, we have to take LSU this year, not Alabama with both teams at comparable odds.

Things set up really well this coming season for the USC Trojans (Odds To Win the 2013 National Championship: 8 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). The Men of Troy got some great news when QB Matt Barkley decided that he was going to come back to school for his senior year, and with that being the case, there are going to be a ton of teams that are going to face the wrath of what should be an absolutely amazing offense. A trip at Stanford won’t be nearly as hard this year as the trip to Oregon was this year, and the Ducks are coming to Pasadena. The non-conference slate is difficult, but home games against Hawaii and Notre Dame and a road test essentially at Syracuse (though at MetLife Stadium, not at the Carrier Dome) should be manageable. Don’t be shocked if USC runs the table next year, and in its first year back from the bowl ban, it is able to challenge for the whole enchilada.

The next team in line that we are going to look at is the Georgia Bulldogs (2013 National Championship Odds: 30 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). Once again, the schedule makers have done some major favors here for the Dawgs, who again avoid the toughest teams in the West Division. Not only are both LSU and Alabama not on the slate, but neither is Texas A&M. The toughest tests are going to be at the Missouri Tigers (9/8) and at the South Carolina Gamecocks (10/6), but aside from that, the rest of this schedule isn’t all that bad by SEC standards. Georgia Tech is at home this year as well, and with the way that UGA finished up this season, we see no reason why QB Aaron Murray can’t lead this team to at least an 11-1 regular season, which as we have found out in the SEC, is generally more than enough to play for the National Championship.

The team with all of the hype surrounding it this year will be the Florida State Seminoles (2013 College Football Championship Odds: 12 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook). QB EJ Manuel is back in the saddle, and in games in which he played this year, the FSU offense was quite good. The Noles went 9-1 in the games that Manuel both started and finished. Next year, the ACC schedule isn’t exactly kind, with road dates against Miami and Virginia Tech, but Clemson and Wake Forest, the two biggest competitiors in all likelihood in the ACC Atlantic Division are at home. West Virginia is scheduled to come to Tallahassee, but that game may be replaced with a second straight FBS foe when push comes to shove, and the other two non-conferene affairs are against South Florida on the road (9/29) and at home against Florida (11/24).

With this being their last season in the MWC, we still have some confidence that the Boise State Broncos (NCAA Football Championship Odds: 50 to 1 at SportBet Sportsbook) at least have a bit of a shot to take the national title next year. Head Coach Chris Petersen is staying in Boise for another year, and young freshman QB Nick Patti highlights another tremendous recruiting class. The first game of the year is slated to be at the Michigan State Spartans, and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and BYU Cougars should also make for some tough challenges, but we know that when push comes to shove, Boise State will have a shot in all of those games. Again, we don’t really see anyone challenging this team this year in the MWC, especially with those pesky Horned Frogs now out of the way.

2012-2013 BCS National Championship Betting Lines @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 1/10/12):
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Alabama Crimson Tide 5 to 1
Arkansas Razorbacks 18 to 1
Auburn Tigers 50 to 1
Arizona Wildcats 75 to 1
Boise State Broncos 50 to 1
Boston College Eagles 125 to 1
BYU Cougars 100 to 1
California Golden Bears 100 to 1
Cincinnati Bearcats 66 to 1
Clemson Tigers 25 to 1
Florida Gators 30 to 1
Florida State Seminoles 12 to 1
Georgia Bulldogs 12 to 1
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 125 to 1
Iowa Hawkeyes 80 to 1
Kansas State Wildcats 35 to 1
LSU Tigers 3.85 to 1
Miami Hurricanes 125 to 1
Michigan Wolverines 22 to 1
Michigan State Spartans 75 to 1
Missouri Tigers 85 to 1
Mississippi State Bulldogs 65 to 1
Nebraska Cornhuskers 35 to 1
North Carolina Tar Heels 100 to 1
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 20 to 1
Oklahoma Sooners 12 to 1
Oklahoma State Cowboys 80 to 1
Oregon Ducks 12 to 1
Oregon State Beavers 200 to 1
Penn State Nittany Lions 125 to 1
Pittsburgh Panthers 100 to 1
South Carolina Gamecocks 30 to 1
South Florida Bulls 125 to 1
Stanford Cardinal 80 to 1
TCU Horned Frogs 50 to 1
Tennessee Volunteers 100 to 1
Texas Longhorns 25 to 1
Texas A&M Aggies 100 to 1
UCLA Bruins 125 to 1
USC Trojans 8 to 1
Virginia Tech Hokies 25 to 1
Washington Huskies 66 to 1
West Virginia Mountaineers 30 to 1
Wisconsin Badgers 35 to 1
Field 12 to 1

Sunday night presents football betting fanatics with the situation of their dreams. The first round of the NFL playoffs will be over with and that need for that one more football game for the weekend will be had in a game that should feature a slew of points and a bunch of commercials and promotions that the average guy won’t want to miss. Check out our keys to the game for the GoDaddy.com Bowl, pitting the Arkansas State Red Wolves against the Northern Illinois Huskies.

GoDaddy.com Bowl: Arkansas State Red Wolves vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
GoDaddy.com Bowl Location: Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile,AL
GoDaddy.com Bowl Date/Time: Sunday, January 8th, 9:00 p.m. (ET)
GoDaddy.com Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: Chandler Harnish and Ryan Aplin have to put on a show
There aren’t many offenses that you are going to find in the country that operate like those of ASU and NIU, and then pivots of the units are Harnish and Aplin. Harnish is a four year starter in the Huskies’ offense, and this year was clearly his best of the bunch. The senior threw for 2,942 yards and rushed for 1,382 more. Meanwhile, Aplin is starting for the second full season in Jonesboro, and he had 3,235 passing yards and 605 more as a runner. That means that these two by themselves, with no help from anyone else are accounting for an average of 652.6 total yards from scrimmage per game. Care to count the touchdowns now as well? Harnish is averaging 2.85 total TDs per game. Aplin is at 2.33 TDs per game. Needless to say, both of these men can do it all (Aplin even has a receiving touchdown on the year and has three punts for an average of 37.7 yards per punt!), and both are going to have to literally put their team on their backs for plays, drives, and maybe even full quarters at a time to be able to beat the other.

GoDaddy.com Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Arkansas State Red Wolves -1.5
Northern Illinois Huskies +1.5
Over/Under 63
Click Here to Bet The GoDaddy.com Bowl Picks!

Key #2: One of these teams has to prove that it has a defense
And don’t kid yourself about that. Sure, you see that Northern Illinois is out of the MAC, and the first thing that you think of are some of those wild games that had 120+ points scored in them on those random Tuesday and Wednesday nights. However, these Huskies shut out the Ohio Bobcats in the second half of the MAC Championship Game to clinch a spot in this bowl game, and they held three other teams in the teens in scoring on the campaign. You would figure that Arkansas State is a team that features a slew of points allowed per game as well, but perhaps you need to take a closer look. The Illinois Fighting Illini were held down to just 33 points before they fell off the face of the earth offensively, and the Virginia Tech Hokies were kept to just 26 at Lane Stadium. Aside from those two games, no one has scored more than 22 points at the FBS level against the Red Wolves. Someone needs to show you that they can really play defense against a fellow stout offense to win this game.

Key #3: The Red Wolves need to force some turnovers
This Arkansas State team was tremendous at turning teams over this year. The squad tied for 20th in the land in turnovers forced with 28, and a veteran secondary really led the with 18 picks on the campaign. That being said, Northern Illinois only threw five INTs all season long, No. 5 in the nation, and it only had a grand total of 18 turnovers. The Red Wolves don’t necessarily have as many yards as other teams do because of the great field position that they end up getting because of all of these turnovers, and the easier that scoring becomes, the less pressure that is on your defense to get the job done. The Huskies have been known to have some special teams problems as well, and if there are turnovers or points left on the board in the kicking game, they are probably going to be in some trouble as well.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our GoDaddy.com Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

And it all comes down to this… The BCS National Championship Game odds will finally be contested by the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers at the Louisiana Superdome. The “Game of the Century” from earlier this year will be replayed, and we offer up the five Alabama vs. LSU keys to the game for the biggest game of the year.

BCS National Championship Game: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. LSU Tigers
BCS National Championship Game Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
BCS National Championship Game Date/Time: Monday, January 9th, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
BCS National Championship Game Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: Trent Richardson has to be a star
In fairness to Richardson, he did a heck of a lot in the first meeting between these two teams. He had 80 yards receiving and another 89 on the ground, and at the end of the day, that really made him the top offensive player on the field in a game in which there wasn’t a single touchdown scored. With 1,583 rushing yards, 327 receiving yards, and a total of 23 TDs, Richardson was good enough to win the Heisman Trophy this year. Those were numbers that were just as good as those of RB Mark Ingram when he won the Heisman Trophy two years ago. There haven’t been many players that have found some holes in that stout LSU defense, and for as great as those corners are on the outside, the best way to get the ball going anywhere against it is probably right up the middle of the field. Whether it is going to be by throwing the ball to him or letting him run it up there, the Tide have to find some way to really get Richardson going.

Key #2: Jordan Jefferson can’t turn the ball over like Jarrett Lee did
LSU fans that are screaming at the tops of their lungs that the Bayou Bengals should be favored in this game, especially with the slight home field advantage probably going their team’s way can definitely rest on the fact that Jefferson should be taking all of the snaps in this game, barring injury. Lee tossed two INTs to the tremendous Alabama defense, and with as sneakily good as that Tide offense can be, you just can’t give the ball up. Jefferson has done a nice job this year after that suspension for the off the field issues at the outset of the season. He has rebounded and gotten back in the good graces of the fans in Baton Rouge and with his coaching staff. His numbers aren’t particularly special at this point, as 684 passing yards and 248 rushing yards in basically six full games worth of playing time or so isn’t that special, but what Jefferson does that Lee doesn’t is manage a game and not turn the ball over. Jefferson only has one pick this year, and he historically does a nice job protecting the rock.

BCS National Championship Game Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Alabama Crimson Tide -1
LSU Tigers +1
Over/Under 41
Click Here to Bet The BCS National Championship Game Picks!

Key #3: Alabama’s special teams cannot be its downfall again
Anyone who watched the first “Game of the Century” can’t make the argument that the Bayou Bengals were clearly the better team. Alabama could have been argued as definitively the better side, but in truth, we would probably be splitting hairs to pick one team over the other. The real difference in that first meeting were the poor Crimson Tide special teams. It felt like it didn’t matter which kicker was coming out to give the ball the big boot, the ball wasn’t going through the uprights. It’s a miracle that the Tide picked up two field goals in that game with as badly as the ball was being kicked. This wasn’t just a problem in this game, though. Alabama only converted on 62.1 percent of its field goal tries this season, and that won’t cut it.

Key #4: LSU simply has to make Alabama punt the ball more
You would figure in a game that was tied 6-6 at the end of regulation would feature a ton of punts on both sides, right? Not quite in this case. The Crimson Tide only punted the ball twice to LSU, which really limited the amount of touches that DB Tyrann Mathieu had on the football. Mathieu ended up being a Heisman Trophy finalist this year because of the way that he broke open the games against the Arkansas Razorbacks and Georgia Bulldogs in successive weeks on national television. The “Honey Badger” as they call him, averaged well over 16 yards per punt return, and getting the ball into his hands is key. The Tide had more drives end on missed field goals than anything else on the day, and if you’re the Bayou Bengals, you can’t put yourself in that position once again.

Key #5: Brad Wing has to have another huge game
You’ll notice that we’re not talking a heck of a lot about offense or defense in this game. These two teams are absolutely mirror images of one another, save for the fact that the rushing game for Alabama is basically Richardson’s game, save for when he needs a spell, whereas LSU is going to use four or five different backs for a total of 40 carries per game. Wing can be a real game changer, though. He averaged over 44 yards per punt this year, and he was a dynamo when he really needed to be. Wing can punt the ball with either foot, and he has that rugby style kick that sometimes can turn into a fake punt if the coast is clear. It is just something for the Crimson Tide to think about, and it probably won’t let the likes of Richardson or WR Marquis Maze get free. Wing has allowed a grand total of six yards on punt returns this year, and he would really love for that to keep up in the BCS National Championship Game.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our BCS National Championship Game picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

The Pittsburgh Panthers barely made it to a bowl game this year, and they needed to win their final game of the season just to qualify. The SMU Mustangs came out of the blocks hot but stumbled to the finish line. The two meet in Birmingham in a battle to beat the 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl odds.

BBVA Compass Bowl: SMU Mustangs vs. Pittsburgh Panthers
BBVA Compass Bowl Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, AL
BBVA Compass Bowl Date/Time: Saturday, January 7th, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
BBVA Compass Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: Both teams need to have confidence in their coaching staffs
What an interesting situation this is! The bowl season has a strange way of finding bedmates to pair with one another, and totally unbeknownst to the BBVA Compass Bowl, SMU and Pitt were going to have a strange common ground. June Jones, SMU’s head coach, seemed all set to jump ship and take the job with the Arizona State Sun Devils. When contract negotiations fell flat, the man that took the ASU job was now former Pitt coach, Todd Graham. This Pittsburgh program really has to feel betrayed. Dave Wannstedt was only fired just over a year ago, Phil Bennett was the interim coach for last year’s BBVA Compass Bowl, Mike Haywood was around for a few weeks before getting into trouble off the field and getting dismissed, Graham came in 11 months ago and is already out the door, Keith Patterson is going to be the interim coach for this game, and then Paul Chryst is going to take over when this is said and done with. Yikes! It’s hard to say whether either team is going to show unity or not. The Panthers might not have that much interest right now, knowing that yet another new coaching staff is on the way, but SMU might still not quite be “all-in” with Jones, knowing that he was all set to leave as well.

BBVA Compass Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
SMU Mustangs +3.5
Pittsburgh Panthers -3.5
Over/Under 47
Click Here to Bet The BBVA Compass Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Someone needs to step up and run the football
It seems like a relatively simple concept. Running the football. However, both of these teams are absolutely running out of players to be able to do it. The Mustangs lost RB Zach Line in the second to last game of the season to a foot injury, and he won’t be back in time for this game. He led the team in rushing with 1,224 yards and had a total of 17 TDs to lead the squad in that category. It marked the second straight huge year for Line on the ground, as it was his second 1,200+ yard campaign and second year of double digits worth of TDs as well. Pittsburgh already certainly doesn’t have RB Ray Graham, one of the best backs in the Big East with a knee injury that was sustained at the end of October, and RB Zach Brown, the freshman that replaced him, has a sternum injury that has cost him the last game and a half and might keep him out of the BBVA Compass Bowl as well. There aren’t many carries that have been spread around in these two offense to other backs, but whichever team can find a diamond in the rough to have a decent day on the ground is going to have a huge leg up on the other.

Key #3: SMU has to keep control of the football
Of teams that rank No. 91 or worse in turnover margin in the country, only nine are playing in bowl games this year. As of the publishing of this original article on December 30th, four have taken the field. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Iowa State Cyclones, Utah State Aggies, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish have all already been beaten, and the other five still have to play. There isn’t a team in the land with a worse turnover margin than the Mustangs, who average losing 1.42 more turnovers per game than they get back. That’s an absolutely atrocious figure. SMU has turned the ball over 31 times and are at a -17 for the campaign. It’s amazing that this team has been able to win seven games like this. This Mustangs team found a way to beat the TCU Horned Frogs on the road in October, but since that point, they have had no luck hanging on to the pigskin. Failure to do that against Pittsburgh, a team that runs the ball and generally runs it pretty efficiently without turning it over, could be a nightmare for Jones’ turnover prone offense.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our BBVA Compass Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

The decision to put the Michigan Wolverines and the Virginia Tech Hokies in the BCS was a bit controversial to say the least. That being said, these two should still be in for a great battle, and that is going to make our Sugar Bowl predictions difficult to say the least.

Sugar Bowl: Michigan Wolverines vs. Virginia Tech Hokies
Sugar Bowl Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Sugar Bowl Date/Time: Tuesday, January 3rd, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Sugar Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: The Hokies have to figure out how to slow down mobile quarterbacks
QB Denard Robinson is one of the most athletic quarterbacks that you’re going to find in the entire country. He now has two straight seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards and double digits worth of rushing touchdowns, and he has a decent arm and can get the ball up the field as well. The closest thing that the Hokies saw to that all season long was Clemson Tigers’ QB Tajh Boyd. Boyd didn’t have the two greatest games in the world against V-Tech, but he did find ways to make the plays when he really had to, and in the two games in which the Tigers knocked off the Hokies, a lot of those plays came after he left the pocket. Robinson generally likes to get outside first and see what he can make out of a play at that point, especially if he is designed to throw and doesn’t have his first read, and that’s when the Virginia Tech defense has tended to be picked apart. It’s odd to say for a team that has this much speed on this side of the ball, but it might be that speed that is truly costing the Hokies and pushing them out of position.

Sugar Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Michigan Wolverines -2.5
Virginia Tech Hokies +2.5
Over/Under 51
Click Here to Bet The Sugar Bowl Picks!

Key #2: David Wilson needs to be contained
If the man that Virginia Tech has to stop is Robinson, the man that the Wolverines have to stop is Wilson. You really didn’t hear a lot of hype out of Wilson as a Heisman Trophy candidate, but if you take away those two games against Clemson and make them wins, the Hokies might have had the Heisman winner. Wilson only had 32 yards in the ACC Championship Game against Clemson, but he still ended the campaign with 1,631 yards on the ground with a total of 10 trips to the end zone. The junior averaged over six yards per carry, and his speed is what earned him kick returning duties as well. Though not nearly as proficient as he was last year, Wilson has shown that he can break the big ones based on his 26.5 yards per return average in 2010. Whether it be as a rusher, a receiver, or a returner, all eyes are going to have to be on Wilson. Without stopping Wilson, it will be awfully difficult to keep tabs on…

Key #3: Danny Coale has to make a lot of the grunt work plays for the Hokies
… Coale. When you look at Coale, you really aren’t all that impressed. He’s a 6’0″ receiver, weighs 200 pounds soaking wet, and he really doesn’t even remotely look like a wide receiver. Look at the stats for his career, and you still won’t be all that impressed. Coale did have four years worth of reps in this offense, and he has 157 career receptions, 2,541 yards, and eight TDs. His numbers should theoretically be better than that, but if you just sit and watch the tape, you realize how many huge plays that he makes for this team. It feels like QB Logan Thomas only has eyes for Coale on all of those 3rd and 7 plays, and he is always right there to get the job done. More than that in this game though, might be Coale’s ability to kick. He had a dozen punts this year and had the best net punting average for any of the V-Tech kickers at 44.1 yards per punt. On top of that, he may be forced into kicking duties. K Cody Journell, the team’s original kicker has been suspended, while K Tyler Weiss, his backup, missed curfew and won’t play in the Sugar Bowl. K Justin Myer has kicked for the team this year, but both punters Michael Branthover and Scott Demler were nothing special this year either. Coale is going to be called into a ton of duties for the Sugar Bowl, and he is going to have to really make some of those plays that you aren’t going to necessarily recognize how important they are on the stat sheet for the Hokies to pull off the upset.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Sugar Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

High flying offenses are going to be on display as we try to make our Rose Bowl picks for 2012, as the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Oregon Ducks in the “Granddaddy of Them All” in Pasadena.

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Oregon Ducks
Rose Bowl Location: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA
Rose Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Rose Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: One of these defenses has to step up and make a play
It goes without saying that these two offenses are going to put some points on the board, but the question is whether either defense is going to be able to make a stand. When you look at these scoring averages, the two teams are only combining to allow 40.6 points per game, and the 17.0 points per game allowed by the Badgers looks a heck of a lot better than the 23.6 of the Ducks. But then again, Oregon had to contend with the LSU Tigers, Stanford Cardinal, and USC Trojans this year, while Wisconsin’s toughest defensive tests probably came against the Michigan State Spartans twice. We look at that Ducks defense and realize that they were able to pick off QB Andrew Luck three times on the road in Palo Alto in their biggest game of the season, but we are still wondering whether the Badgers have the ability to make that big play or not. In their first game against MSU, they allowed the Hail Mary that ultimately beat them in East Lansing, and in the Big Ten title game, they were really devastated time and time again both on the ground and through the air by Sparty.

Rose Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Wisconsin Badgers +6
Oregon Ducks -6
Over/Under 72
Click Here to Bet The Rose Bowl Picks!

Key #2: One Heisman hopeful has to rule over the other
RB LaMichael James was a Heisman Trophy finalist two years ago. RB Montee Ball was a finalist this season. These two should both have a field day, as they were two of the best rushers in America. Ball rushed for 1,759 yards and 32 TDs and had another 255 yards and six scores as a receiver. James had 1,646 yards and 17 TDs on the ground and 210 yards and a score as a receiver, and he did so in basically two fewer games. Both have mobile quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Darren Thomas, and both have a backup tailback that is capable of massive things as well with James White and Kenjon Barner. The question is which is going to be more explosive when push comes to shove, and the answer is probably going to decide which team beats the 2012 Rose Bowl odds.

Key #3: A sluggish start by either team could be fatal
The Badgers were beaten in the Rose Bowl last year by the TCU Horned Frogs. The Ducks were silenced in the BCS National Championship Game by the Oregon Ducks. In both cases, the teams that are meeting in this year’s Rose Bowl got off to bad starts and really never recovered. Both of these offenses run a ton on timing and pace, and that’s the type of thing that can be lost without playing at game speed for well over a month. Both teams will have likely been helped by a conference title game this year for the first time in their respective conferences’ histories, and that might give both teams just that shred of help to get over the hump to start off games in a hurry. There is definitely some unfinished business for both of these teams, and they are going to have to start off well and make a statement to the other if they hope to be the winner in this BCS bowl game.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Rose Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will represent the Big Ten for the first time in a bowl game this year, and their first test is going to be a stern one to say the least. They’ll try to topple the NCAA football betting odds when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2012 Capital One Bowl.

Capital One Bowl: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks
Capital One Bowl Location: Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
Capital One Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Capital One Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: Connor Shaw and Brandon Wilds have to act like they have been here
If you had told Gamecocks fans at the outset of the season that they were entering their bowl game with Wilds at tailback and Shaw under center, they probably would have told you that they were merely happy to be in a bowl game. They’d be ecstatic to hear that South Carolina would have won 10 games for the second time in school history and would be overjoyed to know that it was favored to become the first Gamecocks team to ever win 11 games in a season. That said, neither Shaw nor Wilds has ever played in a bowl game before, and this is a big one at that. These two are going to be the focal points for the Nebraska defense to key in on, and though names like Prince Amukamara and Ndamukong Suh are no longer on this unit, the Black Shirts are still absolutely a force to be reckoned with. These two have to live up to the moment and perform admirably to get the Gamecocks in the win column at the Capital One Bowl.

Capital One Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Nebraska Cornhuskers +2
South Carolina Gamecocks -2
Over/Under 46
Click Here to Bet The Capital One Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Taylor Martinez has to get over last year’s Holiday Bowl
The sophomore quarterback for Big Red has had the same problem over the course of the last two seasons. He has started off in fine form and really fallen apart down the stretch. Last year in the Holiday Bowl, a game in which the Cornhuskers were heavily favored against a Washington Huskies team which they had killed in Seattle early in the season, Martinez failed miserably. He went 7-of-9 for 53 yards with a TD and a pick to go with 23 rushing yards before getting hurt in the third quarter. The Nebraska offense only managed 14 first downs and 192 total yards of offense, which was a heck of a lot less than what Martinez was averaging by himself. To put that in comparison to the first time those teams had met, Martinez threw for 150 yards and ran for 137 more, coming up with four total TDs and no turnovers. This is a tough defense that Martinez is playing against on January 2nd, and he is going to be under a slew of pressure both with his legs and his arm to perform.

Key #3: Nebraska’s patchwork offensive line has to hold back the Gamecocks
The battles in the trenches are always important, but for Nebraska, it really needs to make sure that it doesn’t get blown to bits up front offensively. RB Rex Burkhead is a great back when he is given the chance, but this is going to be as stout of a front seven as he has gone up against this year. Mike Caputo, Andrew Rodriguez, and Jake Cotton, all offensive linemen for the Huskers, are likely out of the lineup for this one, and that is going to make for a tough task for the hogs that are in the fold up front. South Carolina is only allowing opponents to average 3.7 yards per carry this year, one of the better marks in the SEC, which is really saying something considering the fact that Alabama and LSU are both in this conference as well.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Capital One Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

The Houston Cougars and Penn State Nittany Lions make for strange bedmates, but the two could make for a fantastic game to start off the 2012 bowl schedule. Check out our Ticket City Bowl keys to the game for this clash!

Ticket City Bowl: Houston Cougars vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Ticket City Bowl Location: Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, TX
Ticket City Bowl Date/Time: Monday, January 2nd, 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Ticket City Bowl Television Coverage: ESPNU

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Key #1: Penn State has to be over all of its off the field issues
Joe Paterno is no longer with the team. QB Rob Bolden stole a Gatorade from a convenience store. QB Matt McGloin had to be hospitalized after suffering a concussion in a fight with a teammate in the locker room. Yes, the Nittany Lions are becoming a traveling circus, and it is a wonder why there were so many bowl games that passed them up in spite of the fact that they finished off the season at 9-3 in a relatively powerful Big Ten conference. Considering the fact that this might be the last time that this team plays in a bowl game in quite some time, Penn State had better make the most of it, and that means leaving all of the off the field hoopla where it belongs: Off the field. The hope is that at least one of, if not both of Bolden and McGloin end up able to play in the Ticket City Bowl, but if neither one can go, there are some serious issues. The only quarterbacks that might be available at that point are walk-ons that have basically been practice squad guys for the entire season.

Ticket City Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Houston Cougars -6.5
Penn State Nittany Lions +6.5
Over/Under 56.5
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Key #2: With as bad as the offense is, the PSU defense needs to be tremendous
We’ve seen defenses have the ability to slow down the Houston offense before, and considering the fact that there hasn’t been a ‘D’ anything like this one that the Cougars have seen this year, they aren’t going to be just running up and down the field in all likelihood. That’s a good thing for the Nittany Lions, because they just don’t have the ability to win games like that. They never stood a chance of keeping up with the Wisconsin Badgers in a game that got away from them, and they can’t let this one get out of hand either. Keeping Houston in the 20s seems like a very difficult task. It is doable, and it really might be the only way that this team has a shot of winning. Remember that Penn State ranked just No. 95 in the land in total offense and No. 110 in scoring at a woeful 19.8 points per game. The schedule might have been tough, and there might have been a ton of problems out of its control to deal with, but PSU didn’t score more than 34 points this season against any of its FBS opponents. Against teams that are playing in bowl games this year, the Nittany Lions only scored an average of 16.2 points per game.

Key #3: Case Keenum and the Houston offense have to get the loss to SMS out of their heads
There’s no doubt that this is going to be a tough task for the Cougars. They went from playing in a BCS bowl game to playing in a relatively local game in Dallas of virtually no intrigue. They’re playing in the only bowl game that isn’t going to be televised nationally, and they are playing an opponent that, though it has a lot of history, was essentially the laughing stock of the nation at season’s end. Houston is also coming off of a brutal loss to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in which they only mustered 428 yards and 28 points, a far cry from its averages. Keenum threw the ball 67 times that day in defeat, and he is going to have to be a heck of a lot better to go out as a winner in the Ticket City Bowl. Keenum has thrown for over 5,000 yards three times in his career, and he has a shot to reach the 50 TD barrier if he accounts for five scores. It’s going to be up to Keenum to get the job done in this one, and if he can’t rally his troops in this bowl game, against this defense, it could be a brutally frustrating finish to a season that had so much promise at the outset of the year after starting at 12-0 and being one win away from the first BCS bowl bid for the school and for Conference USA.

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