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Ricky Rothstein
NCAA College Football Weekend Preview: Rivalry Week!
It’s arguably the most exciting weekend on the NCAA college football schedule: Rivalry Week. A look, now, at some of the big games this weekend – all NCAA college football betting lines are courtesy Sports Interaction’s online sportsbook.
No. 22 Utah (9-2) at No. 18 Brigham Young (9-2)
Cougars -7.5, Over/Under 52.5
With TCU having already wrapped up the conference crown, it’s only Mountain West bragging rights up for grabs in this one. But it still promises to be a shoot-em-out affair. BYU QB Max Hall is coming off a career-high 377 yards and five touchdowns against Air Force last weekend, but the Utes can load up the points as well. RB Eddie Wide is having a tremendous year (918 yards, 11 TDs) while WR David Reed (1019 yards, five TDs) is a deep threat that demands constant attention. The big question for this game, though, will be how Hall bounces back from last season’s forgettable performance. In the 2008 version of the Holy War, the BYU QB threw for a career-worst five interceptions as the Utes rolled, 48-24. Should be a beauty in Provo.
Florida State (6-5) at No. 1 Florida (11-0)
Gators -24.5, Over/Under 56
A series of streaks are on the line – for the Gators, anyways – in this classic rivalry game. Florida has won a school-record 21 consecutive games, 15 in a row against SEC competition, 10 straight at home and eight straight against non-conference opposition.
They’ve also won five straight against the Seminoles.
And the Sunshine Showdown games haven’t even been close lately. Florida has eon by scores of 34-7, 21-14, 45-12 and 45-15. That explains why the Gators are such huge favourites in this game, despite the fact Florida State has a lot of talent and has beaten the likes of BYU and North Carolina this season. Of course, the game is in Gainesville, where the Gators have been lights-out this year. It’s tough to go against a team getting this many points in a rivalry game, but the ‘Noles are going to be in tough keeping this one close.
No. 11 Oklahoma State (9-2) at Oklahoma (6-5)
Sooners -8.0, Over/Under 49.0
It’s strange to see the roles reversed in this one. This year, it’s Okie State trying to play itself into BCS contention while the Sooners look to play spoiler. Even if the line indicates that the Sooners are favourites (which they are, thanks in large part to the game being played in Norman), you have to figure that, pressure-wise, the Cowboys are clear favourites. Why? Because they’ve got the most to lose – they’re on the cusp of a huge accomplishment for the program, yet head into a rivalry game that they’ve lost six times in a row.
The big question here is how the Sooners react coming off a 41-13 whipping at the hands of Texas Tech. You get the feeling this can only go two ways; either Oklahoma comes out with its collective hair on fire, looking to make amends for the embarrassment…Or they continue packing in the tent they began folding last week.