(Complete Odds Listed at Bottom of Page)

There may not be much attention on the college football front this time of year with basketball season in full stride and football season around 6 months away. However, with National Signing Day wrapped up it is a great time to evaluate the best of the best for next season. The SEC was crowned for their 3rd straight National Championship last season and they also earned the top two recruiting classes for 2009. However, with the competition getting pretty equal in the SEC and perhaps this is the year that the SEC will not even send a team to the title game. Betus Sportsbook (100% Bonus When Using This Link & Mentioning Bankroll Sports) has 2010 BCS Championship odds available and now is a great time to place a wager to receive the best odds. Here we break down a few contenders and pretenders for the 2010 BCS Championship.  Below you will find all the current odds to win the National Championship next season.

Florida Gators

The 2009 and 2007 National Champions will get their heroic Heisman quarterback to return next season in Tim Tebow. Florida lost one of their key playmakers Percy Harvin who declared for the NFL draft a year early. WR Louis Murphy is also gone meaning the Gators will lose their top two receivers. Tebow will have to look towards a very young group of receivers. 2009 Signee Andre Debose will come in and challenge for playing time right from the start, but the question will be if the Gators will have same explosive type offense. Brandon Spikes elected to return for his senior season and he will hold down the middle of a tenacious defense that dominated the SEC last season. The defense should be a championship contender, but the offense could be questionable. However if we learned anything from last season never count out Tebow.

Prediction: Contender

USC Trojans

USC might have suffered a bit of a shock during the off-season when Mark Sanchez announced that he would leave for the NFL after only one season as the starter. Santa Ana, California native and signee Matt Barkley could come in and be the man behind center as a freshman for the Trojans. However, the real hit the Trojans took was losing the majority of their potent defense. The Trojans lost nearly all their key guys on the defensive side of the ball including all of the linebacker core and mainly Rey Maualuga. The Trojans ranked first in total defense and scoring defense last season, but things are not likely to be so pleasant on the defensive side of the ball this season.

Prediction: Pretender

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma will have Sam Bradford the 2009 Heisman winning quarterback behind center next season. Similar to Florida, Oklahoma lost some key guys through the wide receiving group. The main loss will be Juaquin Iglesias whose eligibility ran out after a strong senior campaign where he led the team with 1,150 receiving yards. The remaining receiving core is young and unpolished. However, the Sooners could compensate that loss if they could run the ball as effectively as last season. Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray both reached the 1,000 yard mark last season and they will need the same this year. Unfortunately for the Sooners, I believe Texas will be the most well rounded team in the Big 12 next year.

Prediction: Pretender

Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama was by far the surprise team in the SEC last season and probably one of the biggest surprise stories in America. Nick Saban has the tradition back in Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide went through the regular season undefeated before losing to Florida and missing out on a National Championship opportunity. John Parker Wilson is gone leaving some questions behind center. However, the Crimson Tide resorted to a ground and pound type offense backed by stellar defensive style of play last season that worked very well. Glen Coffee will get the carries again this season as one of the best backs in the SEC and the defense should be very strong meaning not much will change no matter who is behind center. After two straight number 1 recruiting classes, there could be a re-match in store for the SEC Championship with Florida.

Prediction: Contender

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions nearly put together a championship run a year ago before losing their first game the first week of November to Iowa. This is the same Nittany Lion team that put up 24 points against the dynamic USC Trojan defense that will return many of the same starters on the offensive side of the ball. Penn State should return another strong defense in 2009 as well. Considering they will catch the Big Ten in a rather down year, if they can get by Ohio State and win the games they are suppose to then they could make another run at a championship. The Nittany Lion offense will have a pair of stellar running backs in the backfield in Evan Royster and Stephon Green that should lead them to see some glory days in Happy Valley

Prediction: Contender

Current NCAA Football Teams with at least 60/1 or better odds:

Odds From BetUS (100% Bonus up to $500 With This Link By Mentioning Bankroll Sports)

• Alabama 22/1
• California 60/1
• Clemson 60/1
• Florida 7/4
• Florida State 30/1
• Georgia 50/1
• Georgia Tech 50/1
• LSU 20/1
• Miami Florida 35/1
• North Carolina 45/1
• Notre Dame 30/1
• Ohio State 17/2
• Oklahoma 5/1
• Oklahoma State 50/1
• Oregon 20/1
• Penn State 35/1
• Pittsburgh 60/1
• Texas 8/1
• Texas Tech 60/1
• USC 5/1
• Virginia Tech 20/1

National Signing Day is officially over and the most talented high school athletes in America have signed letters of intent on where they are going to showcase their play at the college level. The Southeastern Conference known as the SEC has dominated on the playing field over the last few years and owns the last 3 National Championships. The recruiting battle is very important to maintaining dominance on the playing field as coaches try and persuade talented players to come to their school in attempt to build the best football roster possible. Similar to previous years, the 2009 recruiting class coming out of the SEC looks to be as strong as ever with an amazing 10 teams in the top 25 according to rivals.com with 5 among the top 12 in the country.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have signed the top rated class in America for the 2nd straight year in a row which is a huge accomplishment for Nick Saban in his early tenure in Tuscaloosa. Young star players like Julio Jones who appears to be the best freshmen in America made immediate impacts last season and there are a ton of talented athletes who will have the same chance out of the 2009 class. Alabama shocked the majority of the SEC last year with an undefeated regular season. The Crimson Tide was expected to be very good as a young team, but nobody expected them to contend for a National Title so early. However, after this year’s class backing up the number 1 class of 2008 the Crimson Tide may take over the position from Florida in battling for National Championships on a yearly basis.

The number 2 rated class radiates out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana by the LSU Tigers. LSU won the 2008 National Championship and will try to get back to the top of the SEC West after a disappointing finish to last year’s season. The Tigers stout class favors the defensive side of the ball with future standouts DB Craig Loston and DT Chris Davenport. LSU defense is the crown jewel that led them to the National Championship two years ago and it seems that Coach Les Miles is in the midst of building back another dominant defense to return the Tigers to glory.

The Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators, and South Carolina Gamecocks wrapped up the 9th, 10th, and 12th team rankings in recruiting. The Bulldogs lost a bunch of key players last season in running back Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford on the offensive side of the ball. Georgia signed some big names on the offensive side of the ball to fill those shoes. Aaron Murray ranks 3rd out all the quarterbacks in the nation coming out of high school in 2009 and the young Tampa, Florida native will try to make a difference down in Athens.

The Florida Gators have accomplished everything over the last few seasons in Heisman Trophy and 2 National Championship Awards. Tim Tebow will return for his senior season and all eyes will be on the former Heisman winner to see if he can lead the Gators in quest of another championship. Outside of the loss of junior Percy Harvin the majority of the Gators will be back in 2009. Florida signed the smallest class out of any of the teams in the Top 25 with only 16 signatures compared to the 25 limit most schools signed. The Gators will return a mature talented team that will look to add some more hardware down in Gainesville.

The South Carolina Gamecocks have struggled on the field over the last few seasons, but have really recruited well despite some disappointing losses. The Gamecocks were plagued by inconsistency last season at the quarterback position despite having a premier defense. South Carolina signed some big players to help boost the struggling offense. Running back Jarvis Giles and wide receiver Alshon Jefferey will have valid opportunities to get immediate playing time. Still the Gamecocks will be in search of a leader behind center. However if they find a reliable quarterback, they could wreak havoc in the SEC next year as the spoiler team of the conference.

Lane Kiffin took over the head coaching position at Tennessee this season late in the recruiting trail. The Volunteer staff only signed 19 players, but they really closed the deal on some talented players that propelled them to a number 17 ranking. Kiffin will have a load of reconstructive work to do in Knoxville and it will likely take a season or two before the tradition returns to Tennessee.

Other SEC schools No. 15 Arkansas, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 19 Auburn, and No. 23 Mississippi State all signed more than the 25 allowed on campus in attempt to fill up the rosters. Over signing is not that uncommon considering many kids will not get in due to academics while others may enroll in junior colleges until they progress to the Div I level.

If you ever wonder why the SEC has been so dominant on the football field over the last decade and especially in the last few years, then you should start your search on the recruiting trail. The SEC earned the top ranked recruiting class for the 3rd year in a row eerie similar to the 3 National Titles they have won on the field the last 3 years. Sure the SEC plays the best defense in the country when the season begins and many people credit that is the lone reason for the success from the conference. However, when you sign so many talented team rosters and put those highly rated players on the football field to battle every game throughout the season in a conference like the SEC then it tends to get the best out of a team towards the end of the season and that is the real reason the SEC continues to excel.

The College Basketball season took many unexpected turns last night as many of the top teams in the country squared off in conference battles with a load of unexpected outcomes. There were many different plays and games that made Wednesday night one of the most memorable nights of the season. A top ranked team got beaten along with other upsets, and another top 25 team goes down in one of the best finishes all year. The events that went down Wednesday night will definitely shake up next week’s rankings and leave a ton of one loss teams across the country battling for the top spot. In case you missed it, here is a review from one of the most exciting nights of basketball this season.

No. 1 Wake Forest upset by Virginia Tech

The No. 1 ranked Demon Deacons had it all going with a perfect record of 16-0 and the top ranking in America. Wake Forest was rolling after two big wins over top 10 teams North Carolina and Clemson. However, the Demon Deacons fell victim at home from unranked Virginia Tech 78-71. Surprisingly, the Hokies controlled the entire game leading by 10 at the break and as much as 13 later in the game. Wake Forest gave a valiant effort for a comeback as Jeff Teague added 23 points on the night, but in the end the Hokies simply made the shots that mattered most leaving the Demon Deacons in shock on their own
floor.

No. 5 North Carolina crushes No. 10 Clemson

Clemson had it all going in the first half. Terrence Oglesby and K.C Rivers seemed to knock down 3 pointers all over the court with Oglesby having 17 points at halftime. The Tigers seemed to hit everything in the opening half, but still trailed by 5 as they Tarheels were simply too much. In the second half, the Clemson shots that were falling quickly became a rarity to say the least. The Tigers shot 35% for the game and only 29% from the floor the entire second half. Meanwhile, the Tarheels proved why they are one of the best scoring teams in America. North Carolina’s 4 starters Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Deon Thompson combined for 76 points with Ellington leading the way with 25 individually. The Tarheels matched their season average 94 points as they blasted the Tigers in Chapel Hill 94-70. The win marked the 54^th straight home win over Clemson in Chapel Hill equaling the longest streak in NCAA history.

No. 7 Michigan State stunned by Northwestern

Northwestern’s Kevin Coble and Michael Thompson had huge nights lifting the Wildcats over the Spartans. Coble went 10-16 from the floor racking up 31 points on the night. Teammate Michael Thompson got hot from behind the arc knocking down 4 3-pointers adding 20 more points on the night. Coble and Thompson combined for more points than the entire Michigan State starting lineup that shot a dismal 39% from the floor and never really got it rolling all night. Michigan State standout guard Kalin Lucas lead the way for the Spartans as he has much of the year with 20 points while center Goran Suton added 15 points, but there was not any other help present Wednesday night. The Spartans turned the ball over an incredible 18 times leading to their demise. The Spartans loss marked the ending of the 3^rd longest home winning streak in the nation with a previous 28 straight wins in East Lansing.

No. 24 Florida heart-breaker at South Carolina

Hard to imagine a game could steal the spotlight amongst all the other dilemma going on across the country, but Florida at South Carolina game was clearly the best game of the night. The two schools battled back in forth all night with Florida seeming to edge away at the end. The Gators took a 7 point lead with just under 3 minutes to play, but the Gamecocks made one last strive. Junior guard Devan Downey who is the second leading scorer in the SEC lead the charge knocking down 7 points including a crucial 3-pointer to cut the lead to two points. Zam Frederick got the opportunity to tie the game for the Gamecocks with 4.7 seconds left with two free-throw shots. Frederick made the first, but missed the second as Florida’s Chandler Parsons grabbed the rebound appearing to seal the deal as he was fouled with 3.3 seconds left. However, Parsons would miss the one-in-one and Mike Holmes grabbed the rebound for South Carolina launching the ball down court to hit Zam Frederick at the other end of the court to lay the ball in as time expired barely beating the buzzer. The play was one of the more exciting finishes to any college basketball this season and capped off a wild and crazy night of hoops action. In case you missed, it check it out here…

The College Football regular season is over and coaches are hard at work on the recruiting trail pitching their best efforts in trying to per sway the best talent to come to their schools. National signing day is vastly approaching and teams are trying to pull out all stops to sign some big players. Recruiting is very important as year after the year the top schools in recruiting shine through in August when their talent steps on the field.

According to rivals.com which keeps up with recruiting year round, the LSU Tigers currently have the best class in the nation with a month to go before signing day. The Tigers have signed the #1 rated quarterback coming out of high school in Russell Shepard. Shepard could come in and be an immediate impact for LSU. The Florida Gators have had a top 3 recruiting class the last 3 years and that has shown to carry onto the field considering the Gators will be making their 2^nd National Championship appearance in 3 years. However, the Gators surprisingly only rank 15^th in recruiting and have some work to do to close out the year. The Southern California Trojans are currently 2^nd with only 16 signees. The Trojans will more than likely jump to the top spot after a few more signatures before signing day. USC has an amazing 8 players in the top 100 players coming out of high school nearly twice as many as any other team.

The Ohio State Buckeyes nearly have a full roster of 25 players to commit and they rank 3^rd out of all Division I teams. Two teams that barely missed National Championship appearances in Texas and Alabama make up the 4^th and 5^th place teams in recruiting. Both schools have 19 commitments and a lot of time to improve their overall class. Alabama signed one of the most elusive backs of the 2009 class in Pensacola, Florida native Trent Richardson. Richardson rushed for 1,340 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior and promises to be one of the most elusive backs in America. Texas signed a stud in defensive end Alex Okafor. Okafor has a rare combination of size and speed that has a future Sunday ticket written all over his resume. The North Carolina Tarheels have perhaps been the biggest surprise in the 2009 recruiting class. Head Coach Butch Davis is doing an awesome job down in Raleigh turning the basketball school into a football force. The Tarheels rank 6^th right now in the nation and are one commitment shy of a full class.

There are a number of surprises and disappointments involving the recruiting front. The South Carolina Gamecocks are ranked 8^th in the nation with a few top 100 prospects on their list. The Ole Ball Coach seems to still be bringing in a lot of talent and perhaps one day he will do the unthinkable and win a SEC Championship at South Carolina a task Spurrier has claimed he will achieve. Former ACC powerhouses Florida State and Miami have both quietly climbed the rankings in attempt to return to their former dominance. The Seminoles rank 9^th while Miami ranks 11^th. Both schools only have 17 commitments and still have a lot of room to climber even higher in the recruiting polls. Another mild surprise in the recruiting trail is the success reached by Rich Rodriguez of Michigan. Rodriguez was the mastermind behind that explosive offense at West Virginia and was brought to Michigan to turn the program around. Rodriguez has the Wolverines listed right now to bring in the 7^th most talented class of 2009 and that would definitely help get Michigan pointed in the right direction.

A few disappointments in the recruiting department hold the names of two of the most prestigious programs in college football. Penn State is currently ranked 21^st for the class of 2009 with nearly a full class of commitments and not much room for improvement. The Nittany Lions have got the guys they want, but rivals.com has the talent ranked lower than the majority of teams with that commits. Another team that has not lived up to their high expectations is that of the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners had a breakout year on the field and are scheduled to meet Florida in the National Championship game. Usually that kind of exposure, leads to the most elite recruiting classes. However, Oklahoma is slightly further down the rankings than many would expect at #12. While the #12 ranking is nothing to be ashamed of, many thought Oklahoma would have assembled a most definite top 5 recruiting class. Interesting enough there were also a number of notable teams that did not even make the top 25 at this point in the recruiting process. Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Clemson, and West Virginia all still have a lot of work to go in the final month of recruiting.

There are a number of reasons to keep your eye on the recruiting process in college football. Will the former ACC powerhouses Florida State and Miami make a return as one of the nations most elite programs as they were for so many years? Will South or North Carolina provide some program turn arounds that lead to the entering the National spotlight? Or will something happen like one of the current college football powerhouses like Penn State start to dwindle away. One thing recruiting has proven year in and year out is that recruiting success is parallel to wins. Keep your eye on the recruiting news as we enter the final month before every high school player signs their letter of intent to their school of choice on National Signing Day.

Earlier in the week I discussed how crazy the BCS has gotten keeping the Texas Longhorns out of the Big 12 Championship game. Instead of Texas, Oklahoma is playing in the Big 12 Championship despite the Longhorns 45-35 win this season. The national media has assumed that the winner for the SEC Championship game would go on to play in the BCS National Championship. However, taking a closer look at the computer ratings things may be even more bizarre.

The Florida Gators are ranked #2 in the AP top 25 polls but come in as the #4 team in the BCS rankings. The popular speculation is that Florida would go play in the National Championship given they could defeat #1 Alabama. Although, with last weeks jumbled BCS rankings keeping Texas out of the Big 12 Championship a win for Florida still might not be enough to put them in the National Championship.

Texas is ranked #3 in the BCS Standing slightly behind Oklahoma at #2. The Sooners jumped the Longhorns last week in the standings by .0128 and that put the Sooners into their conference championship game over Texas due to the Big 12 tie breaking rules. The Big 12 rule for tie breakers state that the highest rated team in the BCS will win the tie breaker. So despite Oklahoma not be able to defeat Texas head to head, they will still represent the Big 12 South in the championship game.

Can you imagine how mad the state of Texas has been this week? Texas has been kept out of the Big 12 Championship game and their chance to earn a spot in the National Championship game was taken away as well. Texas has been ahead of Oklahoma since the BCS ranking were released until last week which mattered most. Last week BCS standings determined the fate for the Longhorns, considering the Big 12 Championship will be held this weekend. Texas again felt like their chances have been stolen from them and there was nothing they could do to prevent it.

Not so fast Texas faithful, taking a closer look at the BCS rankings things might actually not be so bad. Keeping Texas out of the Big 12 Championship may have in fact benefited them as much as playing and winning the championship game. Florida trails Texas in the BCS Standing by .0328 a pretty fair margin. Florida is an 8.5 point favorite to defeat the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide. Assuming Florida does win the SEC Championship, it may not be enough to jump the ahead of a Texas team that does not have to play this weekend. The Longhorns computer ranking should not change while Florida’s ranking may not be able to overcome the .0328 deficit placing Texas and most likely Oklahoma in a rematch for the National Championship.

Florida trails Texas by .160 in the computer rankings for the BCS while holding pretty even with Texas in the Harris and USA Today polls. If the Gators do pull off the victory over Alabama, they will definitely get some help from the Harris and USA Today polls which are human voters. However, the computer rankings that has to do with other things like strength of schedule will still favor Texas, but by how much? The Gators would have to receive a big help from the computers to overtake the Longhorns.

Then again things may not be that controversial after this weekend if Alabama wins and Oklahoma loses. However, that will be tough for both of those things to happen. Florida as mentioned before is more than a touchdown favorite to win their game while Oklahoma is a two touchdown favorite to win the Big 12. In a perfect world, Alabama and Missouri will win and the BCS will again dodge another missile targeted to take down the BCS rankings forever. However, this year it will not happen. The chances of both Alabama and Missouri winning are bout as good as Ohio State beating an SEC team in a championship game. Even if Alabama can pull of the win over Florida, Texas fans will still feel like they have been robbed of an opportunity to play for the title. An opportunity they have earned.

Be sure to check out the free and premium college football picks from the expert handicappers at Bankroll Sports.  The Bankroll Sports handicapping duo of Henry Ness and Wade Sterling will have premium releases for a variety of this weekend’s Conference Championship games.  Click here to purchase premium service picks from our handicappers.  Also, be sure to check out our ncaa football top 25 previews for this weekend’s college football matchups.