Seventh-ranked Sooners welcome Aggies to Norman in season-opener

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2010 college football season kicks off in Norman this weekend, as the seventh-ranked Oklahoma Sooners welcome the Utah State Aggies to Memorial Stadium.

The Aggies are in their second year under head coach Gary Andersen, who came over to Logan after spending time at Utah as an assistant with the Utes. It was not an overly auspicious beginning for Andersen in 2009, as his Aggies went just 4-8 overall, including a 3-5 mark in the Western Athletic Conference. However, with 17 returning starters from last year's squad, improvement is expected.

The Sooners are seeking their own improvement, following last year's 8-5 overall record. The sky was the limit to begin the 2009 season in Norman, but losing the reigning Heisman Trophy winner (Sam Bradford) in a season-opening loss to BYU set the tone for the rest of the campaign. Tough losses at Texas, Nebraska and Texas Tech were enough to keep Oklahoma out of the Big 12 race, but the team did rally with a shutout of rival Oklahoma State in the regular- season finale and a thrilling four-point win over Stanford in the Sun Bowl.

This game marks just the fifth time that these two programs have met on the gridiron. It has been all Oklahoma, which has won all four prior meetings, by a combined score of 230-27, including a 54-3 rout in the last meeting in 2007.

Quarterback Diondre Borel returns to lead the Aggie offense after pacing the WAC and ranking 15th in the nation in total offense last year (278.6 ypg). Borel is a dangerous duel threat, who has a penchant for making big plays with his legs as well as arm. He holds the school record for single-season total yardage, gaining 3,343 yards last year. Andersen has plenty of confidence in his athletic signal-caller

"I think that Diondre Borel has prepared himself for a tremendous senior year...he carries himself as a leader on the football team and its much more natural for him to be a leader on and off the field which is a big step for a quarterback."

Borel will be needed to provide some production on the ground, especially due to the absence of Robert Turbin, who placed third in the WAC in 2009 with 108 ypg. Turbin may miss the entire season due to a knee injury, making way for seniors Michael Smith and Derrvin Speights to shoulder the burden in the ground game. It is certainly beneficial to have four returning starters along the offensive line though, headlined by seniors Philip Gapelu and Spencer Johnson. If the guys up front can provide adequate time for Borel in the pocket, he will be able to deliver the ball down the field to receivers like juniors Eric Moats and Xavier Martin, along with newcomers Matt Austin, Travis Reynolds and Dontel Watkins. They will be asked to assuage the loss of another player that was supposed to make an impact in junior WR Stanley Morrison, who is out with an injury as well.

Nine starters return to the defensive side of the ball for Utah State, so coach Andersen should have plenty of veterans to lean on. The one that will be most relied upon is junior linebacker Bobby Wagner, who earned All-WAC First Team honors in 2009, after leading the league in tackles (115). Fellow juniors Kyle Gallagher and Junior Keiaho complete the linebacking corps for the Aggies. The secondary is also chock-full of leadership, led by senior cornerbacks Chris Randle and Curtis Marsh. The key for this unit will be getting improvement up front, after allowing a whopping 205.5 ypg rushing, to rank 110th in the nation. Junior defensive ends Levi Koskan and Quinn Garner along with seniors Devin Johnson and Maxim Dinka-Mba will handle the work off the edges, while senior tackles Casey Davis, Sean Enesi, Daniel Gurrola and Nathan Royster will do their best to clog the middle and penetrate from the inside.

Oklahoma has won six Big 12 titles in Bob Stoops' 11 years at the helm, with five different quarterbacks, so getting steady play under center is a must. Landry Jones was force-fed the offense last season when Bradford went down to injury so the Sooners and the freshman in 2009 will be much better off this season for the experience. Jones threw for an astounding 3,198 yards and 26 TDs, but was responsible for 14 INTs, a number he will have to cut down significantly if Oklahoma is to return to form. Stoops has seen a change in Jones in terms of leadership and likes how Jones has taken over the huddle.

"Coming into this season and even walking into spring ball, you can tell he's just in command. You can tell how confident he is and sure of what he's doing. It's obvious to everyone. So he's progressed well. He continues to mature and develop. He's a great worker. He's very similar to the guys we've had that have had success here. Very grounded guy, confident, great worker."

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have plenty of top-notch talent surrounding a young QB and Oklahoma certainly has that both in the backfield and on the outside. Senior DeMarco Murray is one of the top performers in the Big 12 and may assert himself as one of the better backs in the nation if he can remain healthy. The receiving corps has its own stud thanks to the return of All- American candidate Ryan Broyles. The junior speedster finished 2009 with 89 receptions, 1,120 yards and 15 TDs. The real key for the OU offense will be a revamped offensive line.

The Oklahoma defense was plain old nasty in 2009, ranking among the top teams in the Big 12 in almost every major statistical category. The Sooners' stingy play against the run (92.9 ypg) was particularly noteworthy, ranking eighth nationally. The team also ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense (14.5 ppg). Unfortunately, a good portion of that unit is gone and only five starters return to the fold. The cupboard isn't exactly bare though and there is All-American talent in every area. Up front, the team will rely heavily on the pass rushing exploits of senior DE Jeremy Beal, who finished 2009 with 69 tackles, 19.0 TFLs and 11 sacks. Star LB Travis Lewis is a legitimate Butkus Award candidate in the middle of the field and also had a huge season last year, leading the team in tackles (109), with 9.5 TFLs. Safeties Sam Proctor (44 tackles) and Quinton Carter (88 tackles, four INTs) headline the play in the secondary and will be called upon to provide support against the run, as well as in coverage.

Rivsls NCAA Football Betting News

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.