sportsbook.com is what I use. It's very reliable and has more prop type bets than any other betting site that I've seen.
I disagree - UT can win if either happens. If they can't stop Vince, it could come down to who has the ball last. If UT can get some stops, then UT's offense doesn't have to dominate as much. I think the area where USC has the decided advantage is coaching. Mack Brown (and more importantly, Greg Davis) has been much better this season, but they have a history of getting scared in big moments. I'm not sure if the change is a product of a change in them, or Vince ignoring them (sort of like Applewhite did quite often). Our D-Coordinator is on a personal 27 game winning streak, so that's a plus for UT, but the O-Coordinator has lots of question marks. On every other front, I think the teams are a wash. USC has a small advantage on offense. UT has a decided advantage on defense and special teams. But the way you beat USC is by having a good offense since they'll beat good defenses more often than not (that's why their toughest games were Fresno and Notre Dame - good offenses, bad defenses). Basically, it's the same way you I think you beat the Colts - get into a shootout and get a few stops. Texas, with the #1 scoring offense in the nation, can do that. Fresno and Notre Dame both nearly beat USC by simply matching them score for score - without ever really stopping the USC offense. I see no reason why Texas couldn't do the same on offense and actually get a few stops here and there on defense.
I think UT's problem with coaching in the past is that they never wanted to admit that a game was a big game. They tried to treat every OU game like it was any other game when it obviously wasn't. I don't think they can make that mistake this go round. Any guy that can lead a team to this many consecutive 10 win seasons is doing something right.
texxx has already basically admitted what he will say if UT wins. UT played the best game they have ever played, USC played the worst game they have ever played. This he states will result in a narrow victory for UT. What I want to know is, what will he say if UT blows USC out (HIGHLY unlikely)? This is something he competely excludes as a possibility.
Something about the corruption of big school athletics and/or the alumni having murder charges against Vince Young swept under the rug.
lol. I'm very confident...I disagree with the notion that UT has their best shot in a shootout. It's almost become a cliche for Texas fans, but USC has not seen a defense like this. Defensive tackles like Okam, Wright, Dibbles, etc... Are you kidding me? White won't see the light of day. Our DE's are a great pass rush(Leinart's gonna get to know Crowder, Orakpo, and Robison pretty well), though they will struggle with Reggie Bush to the outside. I am absolutely confident that USC will struggle with the pass against our secondary. Leinart's not going to see as much time as he usually does, and he's going to be on his back a lot more than he is used to, as I think we will come with a lot of safety/CB blitzes and trust Ced Griffin and Ross/Brown one on one with their receivers. I think their TE will have to come up big for them if they are going to be successful passing the ball, as our LB's are probably eating, drinking, and sleeping Reggie Bush right now. That brings us to the LB's...This month+ off is huge for our LB corps. Aaron Harris was injured for the majority of the second half of the season, and I think he will prove his immense worth in stuffing the run threat. It will be interesting to see what Chizik surrounds Harris with...stay in the 4-3? Go to a 4-2? I'd love to see a 4-2, with our top 5 defensive backs(As determined by the staff...Guessing Huff, Griffin, Griffin, Ross, Brown) on the field together. Offensively, I think we may struggle, especially early, which could be very dangerous. OU dug a hole last year, and we all know how that ended for them. I don't like Ramonce Taylor at RB. At all. If he hits a hole, he's gone. If he doesn't, he's likely going to lose a yard or two. I love that Jamaal Charles will be healthy for this game, because he has similar gamebreaking speed, and is much better at avoiding tacklers...the first(and usually second) tackler never tackles Jamaal. Our receivers are just flat-out dangerous. Probably not quite up to USC standards, but they don't have to be...they're not playing against the Texas secondary. Our WR's will surprise...a lot. Not one of these guys is a household name, but there are at least four who can absolutely burn. Billy Pittman just has a knack for getting open. The guy simply walks into the endzone regularly. Quan Cosby is a name to watch out for. Great hands and a RB mentality...the guy doesn't go down. And I hope that USC forgets about David Thomas. I think Texas's best shot is in a lower scoring game, but we can hang in a shootout if need be. Of this, I'm extremely confident, and would be up for a tipjar bet.
Umm...are you aware of how good USC's offensive line is? I think you're really overestimating Texas' defensive line's ability versus the USC o-line. Ever seen Taitusi Lutui? He dwarfs Frank Okam and Rod Wright. Try 6-6, 365. He's got them by 50 lbs. ...and UT's linebackers speed (or lack thereof) is going to be a real concern against the speed of Bush getting to the outside. A very real concern.
So as of now, the Big 12 is 4-0 against the spread, including a blowout vs UH and two upsets against Michigan and #6 Oregon. The Pac 10 is 0-3 vs. the spread, including squeakers against powerhouses Rutgers and BYU, along with an upset of their second best team by an unranked Oklahoma. So far, it seems to me those brilliant sportsbetters that bigtexxx relies on bought into the hype and overrated the Pac 10 and underrated the Big 12.
It's all relative, though. The Texas defensive line is vastly(I don't think I can over-emphasize this point) superior to anything USC has seen. Therefore, Matt Leinart will not have the kind of time in the pocket he is used to, and Lendale White will not see the holes that he is used to. Therefore, common sense tells us that the USC offense probably won't function as effectively as it has this season. Throw out individual matchups, because I doubt they will end up having a very big impact on the game. And most of the time an interior O-linemen will be bigger than a D-line men...who gives a **** if Lutui is bigger than Wright(Wright's a speed tackle anyway). All our line has to do is perform well relative to the rest of USC's opponents, and I have no doubt that they will. I think it will be a wash. Our LB's are definitely a concern, though a healthy Aaron Harris will make a world of difference, seriously. I'm curious to see what kind of personnel moves Chizik makes. A 4-2-5 would give us more speed and versatility, or maybe putting Kelson and Killebrew at the OLB spots to put more speed in the 4-3. He's definitely got some gameplanning to do.
What is the average weight of the USC offensive line, and how does that comapre to the Dline of Texas.(I really dont know) When watching the PAC 10 this year i havent seen thier LB or DBs really burn it up with thier speed, as opposed to something that you normally see from a team like miami. This years texas team has alot of speed at DB and at LB, and I think that will cause alot of problems for the USC front on blitzes, especially since at best you can say UT DL vs USC OL is a wash. Also i beleive Texas goes 2 or 3 deep in normal game situations at DB so that complicates things more. Although USC has alot of speed, i dont think thier team speed matches up to texas, especially when its power at the front, and speed down the field and at the corner. On the other side though, the UT OL vs USC DL is not a wash, with UT having the advantage. I am sure they will disguise alot of cover 2 with blitzes from various angles and will try to stop the deep ball that Vince has killed teams with. Another complication is the spy that will be on Vince Young through out the game. Ohio state had 1-2 Lbs during the game spying, and i think that USC will have to commmit more to contain Young's running game. Texas is a turn over prone team,so they may just surrender the short gains trying to increase thier chances to catch a texas mistake. But that can backfire because Texas loves to keep away when things are clicking. In the end I beleive Texas will win because they have more talent on defense and comparable talent on offense. Stars dont always win the games, like how OU would beat texas teams with bigger name players on offense, while the agressive defensive players of OU dictated the outcomes.
Comparable talent on offense? Does Texas have 2 Heisman winners? No. I'm about ready to give up with you delusional horn fans. It will take a remarkable game for UT and an off day for USC for UT to win this game. That's why the spread is -8. That' s a huge spread for a national championship game.
That is not true at all. Oregon's D-line is as good if not better than Texas' D-line. Haloti Ngata is probably going to be a top-10 pick. No one on the Texas line is a top 10 pick. Devan Long from Oregon is probably a first day pick as well. Rod Wright from Texas is probably a top 20 pick. Dibbles, Okam, and Crowder are all average to above average D-1 linemen, and Robison is probably average to below average. USC ran for close to 300 yards against Oregon's D-line. Total homerism by vj23k.
No they dont have two Heisman winners but they do have a very good QB, good running backs, and good wide receivers. Compared to a very good QB for USC, a very good RB, and good wideouts. I would say thats comparable talent.
This is what it comes down to for Texas...Can they stop Reggie Bush? Texas has good enough Corners to stay with USC receivers. So I beleive that if Texas can keep Reggie Bush to less than 100 yards, game over. Its going to come down to who can get he most yards on the ground. I think they will cancel each other out in the air. It comes down to if VY and RT can get more yards than RB and LW.
As stated above, the Big XII is 4-0 against the spread in bowl games and the PAC-10 is 0-3, I wouldn't put that much faith in the lines at this point. This game is a toss up, I have a feeling it will come down to one team making a big play on special teams down the stretch to win it.
Too bad none of those games have included either UT or USC. In order to win, UT will not only have to beat the spread, but they'll have to beat it by 8.5 points. That's a tall order. This game isn't a tossup by any stretch. Tossups don't have -8 spreads.
