Idaho hits road for test against No. 6 Nebraska

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a 49-10 thrashing of Western Kentucky in last week's season opener, the sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers figure to be challenged a bit more this Saturday as they welcome the Idaho Vandals to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

The Vandals are also 1-0 on the young season, having disposed of visiting North Dakota last week in a 45-0 final. It was the first time since 1998 that Idaho opened a season at home, and the first time they posted a shutout since 1997. The Vandals are coming off a 2009 campaign (8-5) in which they produced the second-best turnaround in the country -- they went just 2-10 in 2008.

As for the hometown Huskers, they scored early and often last week against the Hilltoppers to post their 25th straight season-opening victory -- the longest active streak in the nation. All 25 wins have come by double figures. WKU has now lost 21 consecutive games -- the nation's longest current losing streak.

A win here is important for the Cornhuskers, who travel to the Pacific Northwest next week to take on Pac-10 foe Washington. The Big 12 Conference slate, Nebraska's swan song as it will move to the Big Ten next season, will offer plenty of potential pitfalls, although the Huskers are fortunate to get Texas at home and miss Oklahoma all-together -- save for a potential meeting in the Big 12 title game.

This bout marks the first-ever meeting between Idaho and Nebraska on the gridiron.

Idaho started off slowly in last week's clash with North Dakota, but the floodgates opened soon enough and when the dust had settled the Vandals had piled up 547 yards of total offense and 45 unanswered points. QB Nathan Enderle went 24-of-37 for 311 yards with a pair of TDs and one INT. He hit Daniel Hardy four times for 82 yards and Armauni Johnson three times for a game-high 86 yards and a TD. Princeton McCarty was UI's leading ground gainer with 89 yards and two scores on 12 carries.

Idaho scored on all four trips to the red zone, while North Dakota came up empty on its two visits.

Defensively, the Vandals got huge games from Tre'Shawn Robinson and Shiloh Keo, the former logging nine tackles and the latter coming up with eight stops, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.

North Dakota finished with just 270 yards of total offense, with the pass yielding a mere 122 yards on 35 attempts. Five Fighting Sioux turnovers played a huge role in the outcome, as did the fact that the Vandals stood tall on third down, permitting just 3-of-13 chances to be converted successfully.

"As a whole," said Keo, "offensive and defensively, we were kind of slow in the beginning. But, at the end of the day, we came and did what we wanted to do. The offense moved the ball consistently and our defense held in there and we made some big plays and got the ball back to the offense."

Nebraska redshirt freshman QB Taylor Martinez made quite an impression in his first collegiate start last week against Western Kentucky, rushing for 127 yards and three TDs to power the Cornhuskers to their 39-point victory. He is the first freshman in school history to start the season opener, and was also effective in the passing game, hitting 9-of-15 attempts for 136 yards without a turnover.

NU head coach Bo Pelini was relatively happy with his rookie signal-caller's first game, "I thought Taylor did a nice job running the ball. He made some explosive plays and did some really good things. I thought he managed the football team well. I thought he threw it well and was pretty efficient. I thought for his first start he did a nice job."

Niles Paul was the team's leading receiver in the game, pulling down five balls for 92 yards and a TD, while the ground assault generated 289 yards and six TDs. In all, the NU offense amassed 536 yards on an average of 9.2 yards per play.

The 'Blackshirts', as the Nebraska defense has come to be known, allowed the Hilltoppers a mere 299 yards and just 10 points -- all scored in the second half. They were particularly tough against the pass (120 yards, zero TDs).

Lavonte David led all defenders in the game with 13 tackles, while P.J. Smith (INT) and Eric Hagg (fumble recovery) came up with the team's two turnovers.

Despite dominating the overmatched Hilltoppers, coach Pelini was not pleased with his defense's performance, "I thought overall defensively, I thought it was an absolute embarrassment. I thought it was coached poorly, that starts with me. I don't like anything we did defensively. There were a couple of things we did OK, but we did not play up to our standard."

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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