Line Set for the USC Game
The Golden Nugget says “It’s on”The venerable Golden Nugget is the first major sports book to release odds on the USC game and they opened with the Buckeyes as 3.5 point dogs before moving to 4.5 points.
Golden Nugget sports book director Tony Miller thinks the line could get up to seven and personally, I love it. The line is already enticing at four and a half, at seven, it’s easy money for those that like to bet with their hearts (always a great idea).
Has a team fresh off a national championship appearance with 18 returning starters ever been seven point underdogs before? Doubtful, and there’s good reason for that — as a commenter in the linked-to post above pointed out, there’s a lot of LA money in Vegas. Even more so with travel costs limiting wagers from other regions of the country.
I’m not guaranteeing a victory (yet), but I’m having a hard time seeing USC winning by much more than a field goal if they do pull it off. (I keep thinking Texas 2005-like 25-22 with the winner unknown until the very end.)
This was pointed out in the comments, but it’s worth bringing up again: did Barrett Sallee, esteemed Southern wordsmith, farm his most recent piece out to an army of YouTube commenters? He starts things off with a bang:
In 2006, they lost 41-14. In 2007, they lost 38-24. Neither was as close as the score indicated.
I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to reflect ass-kickery more than 41-14. Later on, he reveals the source of his bias with the customary Woo-Shoutout-to-My-School nod:
After getting spanked by a one-loss Florida team in 2006 (War Eagle!), and then getting run out of the building for three quarters, after LSU sleep-walked through the first quarter in 2007, Ohio State, and the Big 10+1 as a whole, has proven that they barely deserve an automatic bid in the Bureaucratic Crap System (BCS), much less a cruise card to the Championship Game.
The MSM can rip on blogs all day long, but as long as guys like Sallee are flirting with Pulitzers, I’m not sweating it.
Black Shoe Diaries continues their wishful-thinking series of looking at exit plans of notable coaches by examining the departure of JHC.
Though we respectfully disagree with their assessment of not being able to remember the last time a Buckeye fan said something nice about Coop — if anything, Tressel’s success has helped his legacy by taking away some of the sting of that decade, it’s a good read if you’re into reliving swift kicks to the nuts.
Mmm, yes. Nothing says quality, veracity and ‘adequate command of the English language’ quite like a Scout.com blog entry… or anything on Scout.com.
I’ll say something nice about Coop. He had a winning record against Joe Paterno. There. How’s that, b!tches?
John Cooper is a good man who did a lot to add to the lore of OSU football. Sure he struggled against scUM, but he also won a lot of games (including a Rose Bowl) and really put OSU on the map for big-time recruits.
I couldn’t agree more, Kyle. Coop was definitely a positive step toward what Tressel’s been able to do because he and his staff (Conley) took OSU to another level recruiting wise. Tressel then came in and built on that recruiting in addition to being a much better prepared in-game strategist. Coop relied heavily on his assistants and when they started to take other jobs, the replacements weren’t as worthy, in some cases. Coop was a like a CEO but I’ll always believe he was a necessary springboard for the program to get where Tress has taken it.
I love the fact we’ll be underdogs going to USC.
Tampa, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is actually a relief, that would be the ultimate slap in the face to Pete and USC if we were favored going into LA. I don’t think they need any bulletin board material or another reason to take off their shirts in a homoerotic dance ritual.
Thanks, Lee. Us bitches appreciate the compliment. Take it easy on us this year.
You know what I wonder? I wonder what the line would be had we played USC in a tight game in the Rose Bowl last year, instead of losing to a far superior LSU team we weren’t supposed to play, in a rebuilding year no less.
People were picking a true-freshman QB leading the previous national title team over Ohio State in Austin in 2006. Troy, et al. smothered Texas that year, against many of the same guys that beat USC the year prior. This game with USC appears to be a similar situation, and could turn out as a “shocker” to those on the USC bandwagon if, in fact, the line grows to 7 or more.
Alright, I get my post in behind the spammer! heh.
I really hope that LA money comes pouring into USC and pushes that line even wider. I have full confidence OSU can go in and beat USC. If people want to mention how tough it is to play USC at home, just tell them OSU has gone to UM, Wisconsin and Penn State (we’ll throw in Washington last year) and carried out their domination plans. The same team that’s played in those games is the same team that’s going to USC. I don’t think home field advantage will be as big of a factor as the media would like you to believe.
Also, if it gets up to 7, I’m throwing down my money on OSU… nothing like a sure bet! I don’t think it’ll get that high (there are still smart people out there) unless Will Ferrel starts throwing cash into the pot.
They can’t say that about JHC. Only we can say that about JHC.
“Troy, et al. smothered Texas that year, against many of the same guys that beat USC the year prior.”
Without Vince Young, I doesn’t matter if they returned every other single player on the team! VY WAS the team.
James, I like to give a little more credit to the Texas defense that year. Remember that they held our Bucks to around 250 total yards, and they were able to get that elusive win over Oklahoma. Remember, they followed it up with another 10 win season and won their bowl…with a freshman QB. That’s something Tim Tebow can’t say, and LSU probably won’t this year either. One guy doesn’t win a championship, but on the same token, it’s tough to rationalize why a Sanchez-led team is favored over a Boeckman-led team, other than the mere facts that it’s USC at home, and Ohio State blew the championship chances, neither of which technically have anything to do with 2008.
The closer we get, the more I’m thinking Ohio State has glaring advantages that people simply aren’t giving much credence because of the Illinois and LSU games. We’ll see, and I’ve been wrong a lot, but it’s quite possible we’ll see a convincing Buckeye win.
I much prefer the Buckeyes be underdogs. I think Tressel is going to have these guys fired up to play. With all of the veterans on the Buckeye team this year, I love our chances.
I hope the media, the oddsmakers and the OSU opponents keep on disrespecting the Buckeyes, because when they get hit by The Animal Jr., they’ll know then that the Buckeyes are for real!
JASON,YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. USC WILL KILL THEM
That’s within the realm of possibilities, MP.
Um… USC is the stone-cold lead pipe lock of the year if the line is 6 or under. I have an inside shark in Vegas nick-named “White Chocolate” that is betting his cocaine farm on it and I am on board as well. Thanks for the money Golden Nugget… maybe combined we will pull enough money out of that shit hole to finally shut it down.