Aggies and Golden Bears take Holiday in San Diego
NCAA Football Betting Lines
12/24/2006 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl will pit the 21st-ranked Texas A&M Aggies of the Big 12 against the 20th-ranked California Golden Bears of the Pac-10 in San Diego.
Texas A&M finished the season with a 9-3 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in the always-tough Big 12 Conference. While the Aggies have been notoriously tough to beat at home, they have played their best football away from Kyle Field this season. In fact, they are attempting to become the first Aggie squad since the 1939 national championship team to post an unblemished record away from Kyle Field, as they are currently 4-0 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games. Texas A&M is 13-15 all-time in bowl games, and it hopes for a better finish than the 38-7 loss that it suffered in the 2005 Cotton Bowl to Tennessee.
California also enters this game with a 9-3 overall mark, and it finished 7-2 in Pac-10 play to capture a share of the league title. Considering that the Golden Bears last won a share of the title back in 1975, Jeff Tedford has clearly elevated the program to a level it normally doesn't reach. California is set to participate in a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season, the first time the program has ever accomplished that feat.
California and Texas A&M have split their only two series meetings, and the most recent matchup occurred in 1983.
Texas A&M is a formidable offensive team that is averaging 29.3 ppg and 401.4 total ypg. There is no question that the ground attack is the driving force behind the success of the unit, as the Aggies have racked up 32 rushing touchdowns while averaging 210.5 ypg on 5.0 ypc. Three players have combined to carry the ball 411 times for well over 2,000 yards, and the backfield by committee approach has kept the runners fresh and defenses off balance. Mike Goodson leads the way with 785 rushing yards and a tremendous average of 6.9 ypc. Jorvorskie Lane is the club's short-yardage back, and he has scored a staggering total of 19 rushing touchdowns. The third member of the trio is Stephen McGee, who has run for 635 yards. McGee, the team's starting quarterback, has also passed for 2,118 yards and 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions. There isn't a top-notch receiver in the fold, but McGee does a good job of spreading the ball around.
Opponents are only scoring 18.5 ppg against Texas A&M, which is yielding 309.8 total ypg to its foes. The Aggies sent a major message to the college football world, and to California in particularly, when it limited a normally-explosive Texas team to seven points in the regular season finale on November 24th. With 21 takeaways and 17 sacks, Texas A&M isn't one of the best big-play defenses participating in this bowl season, but the unit is solid against both the run and the pass. One of the most impressive stats worth mentioning is that the Aggies are permitting their opponents to make good on only 29 percent of their third down conversion attempts. Justin Warren is the leading tackler for Texas A&M, as he has made 90 total stops. Keep and eye on Chris Harrington, as he has registered 11.5 TFLs, including 7.5 sacks this year.
California is not short on offensive weapons, and the most dangerous of all is tailback Marshawn Lynch. Recently named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, Lynch has rushed for 1,245 yards and has scored 13 touchdowns. He is just the second player in Cal history with two 1,000-yard seasons, and he is the fourth to go over 3,000 rushing yards in a career. DeSean Jackson steals many headlines as well, both as a receiver and a returner. Jackson has scored 13 touchdowns to tie Lynch, and he is first in the nation in punt return average and has taken four punts into the end zone. As a receiver, Jackson has made 54 grabs for 979 yards and nine scores, and he is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball. The man entrusted with getting the ball to Lynch and Jackson is quarterback Nate Longshore, who has completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 2,786 yards with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Clearly, this California offense is loaded. The team averages 31.8 ppg and 410.6 total ypg.
While Lynch and Jackson are the stars of the offense and special teams, Daymeion Hughes is the man on defense. The senior cornerback leads the team and is tied for third nationally in interceptions with eight. He has registered 11 pass break-ups and is second on the team in tackles with 67. Desmond Bishop is another All-Pac-10 performer who has recorded 114 tackles, 47 more than anyone else on the team. He has posted 14 TFLs and picked off three passes as well. The Golden Bears are limiting opponents to 20.1 ppg on 367.7 total ypg. The run defense has been strong, yielding only 3.7 yards per carry. While Cal has registered a high total of 20 interceptions, the team is giving up 13.4 yards per pass completion, so there have been some big plays made through the air.
This game features a confident Texas A&M team coming off a win over Texas and an explosive California club which earned its first taste of the conference crown in a couple of decades. Expect this one to be close for the most part, although the Golden Bears have to get the slight edge because of the presence of Lynch and Jackson.
Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: California 31, Texas A&M 20
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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
Field 100-1
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Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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