Conference championship weekend of the 2014 college football season is upon us. Here are some of the marquee matchups and the lines for the upcoming weekend of action, courtesy of JustBet Sportsbook. All NCAA football bettors and sports fans will get their fill of quality action this weekend as there are quite a few interesting matchups on tap in the SEC, and PAC-12, and Big Ten conferences. All times Eastern.

Thursday, December 4th

UCF (-7, 54.5) at East Carolina 7:30 PM ESPN

The Central Florida Knights take on the East Carolina Pirates to kick off week 15 in an American Athletic Conference tilt. These two schools last met in 2012, with UCF picking up a 40-20 victory.

Friday, December 5th

#7  Arizona vs. #2 Oregon (-14.5, 73) 9:00 PM FOX Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

The Oregon Ducks will take on the Arizona Wildcats and will be looking to avenge a 31-28 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats back in September. The Ducks have lost 2 straight to Arizona, and should they win on Friday, they will have their spot in the national championship playoff solidified.

Saturday, December 6th

Iowa State at #3 TCU (-34, 68) 12:00 PM ABC

The #3 ranked TCU Horned Frogs moved up significantly in the playoff rankings, and should they win in Ames on Saturday, and win impressively, they should be in the playoff. Baylor’s performance against Kansas State could also impact the outcome as well.

Louisiana Tech at No. 24 Marshall (-11.5, 68.5) 12:00 PM ESPN2

The Marshall Thundering Herd had their perfect season spoiled last Saturday losing to Western Kentucky in a 77-76 shootout. They’ll have to regain focus quickly as they have a Louisiana Tech team coming into Huntington that’s clicking on all cylinders.

# 1 Alabama (-14.5, 48.5) vs. #17 Missouri 4:00 PM CBS Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Missouri Tigers meet in the Georgia Dome for the SEC conference title. The Tide are coming off a huge 55-44 come from behind win over Auburn. Missouri is coming off a 21-14 win over Arkansas, and are making their second straight SEC championship game appearance.

#9 Kansas State at #6 Baylor (-8, 66) 7:45 PM ESPN

The #6 ranked Baylor Bears will take on the Kansas State Wildcats in their regular season finale. The Bears will be looking to make their case for a national championship playoff spot, while Kansas State will be looking to spoil Baylor’s chances at a share of the Big 12 championship.

No. 3 Florida State (NL) vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech* 8:00 PM ABC Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

The Florida State Seminoles dropped a spot to #4 in the national championship playoff rankings. They’ll look to clinch their second straight ACC title against a surging Georgia Tech squad that has won 5 straight, including a win over Georgia last Saturday.

#14 Wisconsin (-4.5, 52.5) vs. #6 Ohio State 8:17 PM FOX Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to win the Big Ten Conference championship without the services of JT Barrett, who was lost for the season with an ankle injury suffered in the win over rival Michigan. Sophomore quarterback Cardale Jones will get the start for the Buckeyes against a Wisconsin team that has won 7 straight games since an upset loss to Northwestern back in early October.

Our 2012 bowl predictions continue on Saturday, December 29th with the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, and we are set to make our Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl predictions, tips, and keys to the game for the duel between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Michigan State Spartans.

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2012-13 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU Horned Frogs vs. Michigan State Spartans
2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ
2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Date/Time: Saturday, December 29th, 10:15 p.m. (ET)
2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl On TV: ESPN, Watch ESPN

Key #1: Gary Patterson has to stick to his winning ways
Since 2002, the Horned Frogs have gone a whopping 7-2 in bowl games, and the only losses came in the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl and the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, both of which came against the Boise State Broncos. We have already seen what TCU can do against a Big Ten team, beating up the Wisconsin Badgers 21-19 in a defensive-minded Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day 2011 as well. What’s more about this team is that its defense is always ready for a fight. In the last seven bowl games, which have yielded a 6-1 record, the team hasn’t allowed more than 24 points in any of the games, and it has allowed an average of just 17.1 points per game in that stretch to boot. Add in the fact that the Horned Frogs would have ranked in the Top 10 in the nation defensively had they played in any other conference in America, and it is clear to see that this unit is the glue for the team and will remain the key to beating the Buffalo Wild Wings betting lines and continuing this great tradition of bowl victories for the men clad in purple and black.

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
TCU Horned Frogs -2
Michigan State Spartans +2
Over/Under 40.5
Click Here to Bet Your Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Le’Veon Bell has to keep the ball out of Andrew Maxwell’s hands
It’s a tough thing to try to say that a quarterback just has to not throw the football, but the best things that happen to this Michigan State offense all happen with RB Le’Veon Bell carrying the ball. Maxwell put the pill in the air 431 times this year, which just isn’t going to cut it against a TCU defense that is one of the better units in America. He averaged just 6.0 yards per pass attempt, completed 52.9 percent of his passes, and threw just over one touchdown per game on average. Bell on the other hand, had 1,648 rushing yards and 11 TDs, and he averaged touching the football 31.7 times per game, making him a true horse for the offense. Just over the course of the last three games of the regular season, Bell had 35, 32, and 36 carries, and he had well over 500 rushing yards in those outings. Bell had 210+ yards three times this year, including getting 210 against the Boise State Broncos at the outset of the year on 44 carries. This needs to likely be a very similar game for Sparty to pick up a bowl victory.

Key #3: The big uglies in the trenches have to keep the Spartans ahead of the Horned Frogs
We’re not saying that TCU is weak in its front seven by any stretch of the imagination, but the truth of the matter is that Michigan State’s front line is just a more physical and more NFL ready unit. The offense line has been paving holes for Bell all year long, while the defensive front seven features a few true stars that could be immediate impact players at the next level. LB Denicos Allen is definitely one of those men, while DE William Gholston is surely going to be playing on Sunday’s soon. The team isn’t flashy, having forced just 18 turnovers all year long, but the reason that this defense ranks in the Top 10 in the land in total defense, pass defense, and rush defense is because of the play of the big guys up front. This is where the Spartans can be more physical than just about any team that they face on a regular basis, especially outside of the Big Ten, and it is the key to winning this game for sure for the men in green and white.

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The TCU Horned Frogs will have already played a few of their games in their brand new conference, the Big XII before the end of October, but this is when they are likely to face their biggest test of the season to date. Join our college football expert handicappers, as we take a look at the No. 25 game in our list of the Top 25 NCAA Football Game Matchups of the year when the Horned Frogs travel to Boone Pickens Stadium to battle it out with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. This is going to be the first time that these two teams have met, and with both ranked in the preseason Top 25, there is no doubt that both clubs are going to be using this as a great measuring stick in the middle of the season for just how good they have the potential to be.

TCU Horned Frogs @ Oklahoma State Cowboys Picks & Info
TCU Horned Frogs @ Oklahoma State Cowboys Date: Saturday, October 27th
TCU Horned Frogs @ Oklahoma State Cowboys Location: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK
TCU Horned Frogs @ Oklahoma State Cowboys Spread: Oklahoma State Cowboys -7.5

The Horned Frogs very well could be 7-0 and ranked in the Top 10 in the country by the time this one kicks off, as they are going to be favored in all of their games to open up the campaign, save for perhaps a date against the Baylor Bears on October 13th. This defense is always up to the challenge of facing some of the best offenses in the country, and though and with seven starters and two other key contributors from last year’s team coming back to this unit, we expect to see good things happening. The offensive line needs to be rebuilt just a bit, but with the way that the Cowboys struggled on defense last year, the ground game with RBs Ed Wesley, Matthew Tucker, and Waymon James could all have quite good outings. This is most certainly the type of game in which TCU can go on the road and pull off the upset.

TCU Horned Frogs vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys Past Games (Since 1995)
None

We should know by this game against TCU whether Oklahoma State is going to be a legitimate contender for the BCS National Championship for the second straight season or not. We see a lot of returners on the squad, which should help out quite a bit, but the big question mark is going to be whether QB Clint Chelf can take over as the leader for this offense left by QB Brandon Weeden. It doesn’t help either that WR Justin Blackmon is gone. What is notable for the Pokes though, is that this is a great spot in the schedule. The games surrounding this one aren’t all that challenging, and the next big time game comes two weeks later when the West Virginia Mountaineers come to town. There will have been plenty of time for Chelf to pick up the offense, but whether he has the ability to sink or swim is definitely a question that is up for debate.

TCU @ Oklahoma State Free Picks^^: The Horned Frogs are certainly going to give the Cowboys a run for their money in this game. Getting 7.5 points right off the bat is a heck of a start for a team that has such a good defense against a team that has a very big question mark at quarterback. We’d take the points on the 2012 college football betting lines.

^^Notice: The NCAA football picks & predictions listed on the sports betting blog are made by our staff writers early in the season and do not represent the Bankroll Sports expert handicapping team’s actual premium service releases. Click Here to receive our expert handicappers premium college football picks for the 2012 football season.

You can purchase our premium TCU vs Oklahoma State picks from our experts on Saturday, 10/27

The TCU Horned Frogs didn’t quite make it to the BCS this year, and they are going to be stuck with a pre-Christmas Day bowl game. They’ll try to win yet another bowl game and make for great Poinsettia Bowl picks when they go against the WAC champs, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Poinsettia Bowl: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs. TCU Horned Frogs
Poinsettia Bowl Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Poinsettia Bowl Date/Time: Wednesday, December 21st, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Poinsettia 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 Horned Frogs have to want to be here
And that might not be such an easy thing. Over the course of the last several years, the Horned Frogs have played in some pretty illustrious bowl games. They played in the Rose Bowl last year, the Fiesta Bowl the year before, and even in 2008 when they played right here in the Poinsettia Bowl, they were going against the Boise State Broncos. There were times this year when TCU looked a bit disinterested, just like it did when it lost to the SMU Mustangs in a non-conference tilt on the road. This is a significantly different team this year, and QB Casey Pachall is nowhere near the same type of leader that QB Andy Dalton was. This is a short turnaround as well from the team’s last game, which could be a very dangerous situation to say the least.

Poinsettia Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs +10.5
TCU Horned Frogs -10.5
Over/Under 55.5
Click Here to Bet The Poinsettia Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Colby Cameron needs to step into the spotlight as a star
Many don’t realize that Louisiana Tech has won seven games in a row coming into this bowl game, as it had to think that it was a team in a lot of trouble in the first month of the year. The Bulldogs were 1-4 in their first five games, and their only win was an OT triumph over Central Arkansas. Three weeks after a 44-26 loss to the Hawaii Warriors, the worst defeat of the season for the team, La Tech turned for Cameron under center. He has done tremendously since that point, completing 56 percent of his passes for 1,403 yards and 11 TDs against just two picks. It’s a far cry from the man that only threw one TD against five picks in limited action as a backup before this season. The problem that Cameron is going to have in this one is going against this TCU defense, clearly the best that he has seen this year. Yes, he won the final five games of the year, but San Jose State, Fresno State, Ole Miss, Nevada, and New Mexico State aren’t quite at the level of the Horned Frogs.

Key #3: The ground game for TCU has to stay balanced
And that’s really because we just don’t know if we totally trust Pachall to put the ball in the air 35 times to win this game. There aren’t many rushing attacks that operate as smoothly as that of the Horned Frogs. There are three fantastic backs in this backfield in RBs Waymon James, Matthew Tucker, and Ed Wesley, and they are all incredibly experienced. All three are going to finish this season with at least 5.8 yards per carry, and all of them might be beyond 6.0 yards when it is said and done. The Bulldogs only allow 3.4 rushing yards per attempt, a number which is even better than that of the Horned Frogs though, so TCU’s stable of backs could find some troubles in the ground game.

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

The Broncos and Horned Frogs have had a history of playing against one another in the postseason, but they have never shared a conference before. This will be the only season in which they are in the Mountain West together, and the stakes may never be higher. Both of these squads have high hopes for a BCS campaign, but in all likelihood, only the winner of this game will have a shot of making it to the big time.

TCU Horned Frogs @ Boise State Broncos Picks & Info
TCU Horned Frogs @ Boise State Broncos Date: Saturday, November 12th
TCU Horned Frogs @ Boise State Broncos Location: Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID
TCU Horned Frogs @ Boise State Broncos Spread: Boise State Broncos -14.5

This could be a tougher year for Head Coach Gary Patterson and company due to the fact that he has to break in a new signal caller after watching QB Andy Dalton move on to the NFL as the winningest quarterback in TCU history. The defense, which allowed just a dozen points per game, including really sticking toe to toe with the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl last season. This will be a remarkable test for the Horned Frogs defense, and they are going to be up against it versus a Boise State offense that has a habit of dropping just a slew of points on opponents, especially on the Smurf Turf.

TCU Horned Frogs vs. Boise State Broncos Past Games (Since 1995)
2010: Boise State 17 – TCU 10
2008: TCU 17 – Boise State 16
2003: Boise State 34 – TCU 31

The Broncos though, are returning their most important pieces of the puzzle for another run at the BCS this year. They were left out in the cold after a solid season after losing to the Nevada Wolf Pack on the road in the de facto WAC Championship Game, and the end result saw the university lose millions of dollars. Now, Boise moves to the MWC, where it had hoped to build a mega-conference with TCU and Utah. Little did it know that this was going to be the only season in which the Broncos were going to have that sort of “mega conference” feel. This is definitely going to be the make or break game for QB Kellen Moore in his Heisman Trophy campaign this year, because a loss in this game, even he throws for 500 yards against a remarkable defense, will take away both the team’s BCS hopes and crush his Heisman hopes as well.

TCU Horned Frogs @ Boise State Broncos Game Odds @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 7/24/11):
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TCU Horned Frogs (+11.5) @ Boise State Broncos

The BCS gets started on Saturday afternoon in the traditional Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The “Granddaddy of Them All” this year doesn’t feature a Pac-10 team for the second time in the last six years. Instead, the TCU Horned Frogs become the first team from a mid major conference to crash the party in Pasadena in the modern era. They’ll have to put their undefeated regular season record on the line against the Wisconsin Badgers, who won the Big Ten in a three team tiebreaker. These two squads know that they have a lot to prove in this one, but which team will beat the Rose Bowl lines? You can’t afford to miss these keys to the Rose Bowl.

Key #1: Wisconsin needs to physically overwhelm the Horned Frogs
If there is potentially one knock on this TCU team this year, it is that it is a relatively undersized bunch that hasn’t had to deal with the physical nature of the major conference foes. Sure, beating the Oregon State Beavers, Utah Utes, etc. is nice, but this is a tremendously different type of challenge. The Badgers have three rushers that would be starters and lone backs on most other teams in the country in the form of RB John Clay, RB Montee Ball, and RB James White. These three are all just bruising backs that run behind one of the biggest offensive lines in the country. There is no doubt that the Badgers are going to be coming after the heart of a TCU defense that ranked No. 1 in the land both overall and in scoring, allowing just 11.4 points per game on the campaign. Clay, Ball, and White can all end with 1,000 yards on the season on the ground, and if they do pull it off, they would be the second trio in the history of college football to accomplish the feat. They would also be the first trio of pure running backs to all have at least four digits in yards as well, as the Nevada Wolf Pack did it with QB Colin Kaepernick and two backs.

Key #2: Andy Dalton has to be a real winner
All too often in these battles between the big boys and the little giants, the quarterback ends up being the man that makes the big difference. Remember QB Jared Zabransky against the Georgia Bulldogs? Or what about “Z” the next year in the Fiesta Bowl? Two totally different games, two totally different results. Another case of horrible play was Hawaii’s QB Colt Brennan against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. Dalton is the winningest quarterback in TCU history, and he is going to have to prove it in this one. The Wisky defense has stopped some of the best passing attacks that the Big Ten has to offer, and though these Horned Frogs prefer to run the ball, Dalton is going to have to make his throws. The senior completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,638 yards and 26 TDs this year, but more importantly, he only threw six picks. Dalton absolutely cannot turn the ball over in this game, or the Badgers are going to eat TCU for lunch on the other side of the ball.

Key #3: Scott Tolzien is going to have to make a few plays
When you have 44 rushing touchdowns between the three backs behind you, you don’t really have to do a whole heck of a lot. However, if the rushing game doesn’t do the job, Tolzien is going to have to make a few plays to keep things moving. Wisconsin quarterbacks aren’t rich in history, especially in bowl games, but Tolzien can be the exception to the rule in the biggest bowl game that this team has been at in quite some time. Tolzien threw for 2,300 yards and completed 74.3 percent of his passes, and just a few big shots will loosen up the purple and black defense and could set up a tremendous day for this offense. Don’t forget about how good WR Lance Kendricks and WR Nick Toon really are. Kendricks only caught 39 passes on the year, but he averaged 16.1 yards per catch and had five scores. Toon came back from an injury early in the season, and he came on strong with 33 grabs, 413 yards, and three TDs.

List of Odds to Win The 2011 College Football National Championship Can Be Found Below!

After months of waiting from the final gun of the Alabama/Texas National Championship Game, the college football betting season is back! With kickoff just hours away for the start of the season, here at Bankroll Sports, we are making our final NCAA football predictions with our BCS National Championship picks!

Boise State Broncos (+800 @ BetUS Sportsbook): It’s going to be incredibly difficult to beat the Broncos this season. The oddsmakers are essentially making them the favorites to go the BCS Championship Game, as they are clearly on East Street if they can get past the Virginia Tech Hokies on Monday night at FedEx Field. With 21 of the team’s 22 starters returning from a year ago, it’s hard to complain about anything that HC Chris Petersen has put together. This is the ring bearer for non-BCS conference schools to walk behind, and most of them are pulling for the Broncos to pull off the upset of upsets this year. Plain and simple, this is the team that you want to win it all in all likelihood if your team can’t do it. Boise will be in the title game if it can win this weekend.

Iowa Hawkeyes (+2000 @ BetUS Sportsbook): Save a road game at the Arizona Wildcats, the rest of the tough matchups for the Hawkeyes this year are going to be at home. Last year, Iowa snuck up on a ton of teams, but we must remember that wins against Penn State and Wisconsin and the near upset against Ohio State all came on the road. Guess which three teams all have to pay a visit to Kinnick Stadium this year? If you had to buy season tickets for one team to see the best college football betting action all year long, Iowa would be where you want to go. QB Ricky Stanzi has still never been beaten as a starting quarterback, and in a power conference where an undefeated season almost always leaves you in the BCS title game, there is no reason to believe that Iowa can’t take a perfect record deep into the fall once again this year. These are still fantastic odds on a team that is essentially intact from last year.

TCU Horned Frogs (+2000 @ BetUS Sportsbook): Is it really out of the question for the Horned Frogs to be playing the Broncos for all the marbles this year? The two programs certainly put on a great show last season in the Fiesta Bowl, making the BCS proud for doing the right thing and welcoming both non BCS schools to the show. TCU returns the bulk of its starters from a year ago, though replacing RB Joseph Turner, LB Daryl Washington, and DE Jerry Hughes will be difficult. Still, the Horned Frogs have an easiest enough schedule in the MWC that they should be able to get through with a chance to be unscathed. If they pull it off and enough chaos ensues, you never know what could happen… We’ve seen stranger things. Regardless, we think there is a significantly better chance than 1 out of 20 than TCU ends up winning the whole enchilada this year. Don’t be shocked if the Horned Frogs absolutely roll Oregon State this weekend to move up in the Top 10.

Pittsburgh Panthers (+5000 @ BetUS Sportsbook): It’s a bit of a reach, but if the Panthers can survive this road test at the Utah Utes this weekend, they will almost certainly jump into the Top 10 in the country, and deservedly so. Are you willing to pass on +5000 odds on a Top 10 team to win the National Championship? We certainly aren’t. We know that the Panthers already have one of the best running backs in the country in the form of RB Dion Lewis, who rushed for 1,799 yards a year ago. He could break all sorts of school and NCAA rushing records over the course of the next three years. As QB Tino Sunseri gets more comfortable with his surroundings, the Panthers are going to be tougher and tougher to beat. Good luck throwing against this ferocious pass rush as well. Odds have it, Pittsburgh will get picked off a couple times at some point this season. However, especially early on, if the tests are survived, the Panthers are a great choice.

2011 BCS National Championship Odds @ Oddsmaker (as of 9/2/10):
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Alabama +800
Oregon +4000
Nebraska +1200
Virginia Tech +3000
Florida +500
LSU +1200
Georgia +5000
Arkansas +4000
Miami +1500
Penn State +6000
Florida State +4000
BYU +20000
Utah +15000
California +10000
Oklahoma State +25000
Mississippi +20000
South Carolina +12500
Auburn +2000
Stanford +12500
Northwestern +60000
Notre Dame +1500
North Carolina State +75000
Tennessee +20000
Texas A&M +12500
Ohio State +350
Boise State +600
TCU +2000
Texas +1500
Oklahoma +300
Georgia Tech +10000
Pittsburgh +5000
Oregon State +10000
Wisconsin +5000
Cincinnati +10000
South Florida +30000
Washington +7500
Rutgers +75000
West Virginia +6000
Missouri +12500
Arizona +12500
Clemson +10000
North Carolina +7500
Illinois +75000
Baylor +75000
Michigan +10000
Michigan State +50000
UCLA +50000
Field +5000

Odds To Win The 2011 BCS Championship @ BetUS (as of 9/2/10):
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Alabama +425
Ohio State +600
Boise State +800
Oregon +2500
Texas +1400
Oklahoma +700
Nebraska +1400
Florida +900
Penn State +2500
Iowa +2000
Miami +2000
TCU +2000
LSU +2500
Georgia +3000
Oregon State +4000
Arkansas +3000
Wisconsin +4000
Clemson +4000
Pittsburgh +5000
Florida State +5000
Michigan +6000
Missouri +6000
Auburn +4500
Georgia Tech +5000
Tennessee +8000
Washington +5000
North Carolina +6000
UCLA +6000
Notre Dame +5000
South Florida +8000
Texas Tech +8000
Cincinnati +10000
Oklahoma State +10000
West Virginia +8000
Arizona +10000
BYU +12000
Baylor +15000
California +10000
Illinois +15000
Michigan State +10000
Mississippi +10000
North Carolina State +20000
Northwestern +15000
Rutgers +15000
South Carolina +8000
Stanford +12000
Utah +10000
Kansas State +12000
Boston College +12000
Virginia Tech +1800
Houston +15000
Connecticut +20000
Navy +20000
Kansas +20000
Purdue +20000
Wake Forest +20000
Iowa State +25000
Nevada +25000
Southern Mississippi +25000
Maryland +25000
Vanderbilt +25000
Fresno State +30000
Air Force +30000
Kentucky +30000
Duke +30000
Colorado +30000
Minnesota +30000
Virginia +30000
Indiana +35000
Syracuse +35000
Central Florida +40000
Louisville +40000
Temple +50000
SMU +50000
Army +75000
Hawaii +75000
Ohio +75000
Utah State +100000
UNLV +100000
Memphis +100000