After four and a half months of college football betting, fans get their last chance to cash-in on the college game Monday (8:30 pm ET, ESPN) when No. 2 Oregon plays top-ranked Auburn in the BCS Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. BCS Point Spreads and odds, and more so with money line odds, vary from book to book so check out the different sports wagering sites for a BCS Championship Game line that suits you best.
Odds makers at Sportsbook.com and other offshore sports shops list the Tigers as -1 1/2 spreads favorites over the ducks with a combined score total (OVER/UNDER) of 72 1/2. Ducks backers are getting +105 money line odds to win SU while the Tigers are giving -125.
Early betting trends are telling us 80 percent of gamblers are wagering the combined score will fall UNDER the projected 72 1/2 point total. It is a rule of thumb that in championship play, teams often score below their average so this trend is not surprising. In side play (ATS), 69 percent of the action is on Auburn covering the -1 1/2-chalk, while 70 percent are risking the Ducks to win SU in money line betting.
Oregon leads the nation in total offense, averaging 537.5 yards per game, and score an average of 49.33 points per game, also tops nationally. Auburn isn't far behind in either categories, ranked seventh in total offense (497.69 ypg) and score an average of 42.69 ppg.
In individual statistics, Auburn junior quarterback Cam Newton, the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, was No. 10, as he was accounted for 307.54 yards per game. On the season, Netwon rushed for 1409 yards and threw for 2589 yards. Newton was 15th best in rushing with a 5.82 yards per carry average, and 108.38 yard average per game.
Oregon's sophomore running back LaMichael James, a Heisman finalist, led the nation in rushing, scampering for 1682 yards, for a 152.91 per game average. James was good for almost six yards per carry (5.99).
BCS Championship Game Predictions: There are so many betting scenarios on this game that if I wrote about them all, this article would look like "War and Peace." What we do know is these two teams are explosive like no other BCS game matchup has seen. Let me tell you, while Oregon and Auburn scored lots of points they still had to play some defense to win all those games. Put me down for an UNDER backer on the 72 1/2 total. I personally like Auburn in this game for a few reasons. First of all, they won 13 games in the powerful SEC, and got stronger as the season progressed. Secondly, the Tigers are led by a freak of an athlete in Newton. Nobody in the SEC came close to stopping him, so I hardly think Oregon will have an answer. BEST BET – Auburn -1 1/2; UNDER 72 1/2.
