The Wiz of Odds

It's All Going According to Schedule

The spirit of competition has been sucked from college football. Want to win a championship? Learn the art of crafty nonconference scheduling.

Florida, Alabama and Texas — the top teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings — have combined to play only two BCS teams in 12 nonleague games. Yet two of these teams will be rewarded with berths to the BCS title game. It doesn't seem right.

Scheduling abuse is going to get worse. BCS teams are making a move to grab an even bigger share of the bowl pot beginning in 2010. Big 12 commissioner Don Beebe has proposed legislation that would treat BCS teams with .500 records the same as teams with winning records from non-BCS leagues.

Currently, if a bowl has to go outside its conference affiliation to fill a spot, it can't select a 6-6 BCS team over a team with seven or more victories. Beebe’s legislation would toss out that rule, meaning a seven-win team from the Mountain West, Western Athletic, Mid-American, Conference USA or Sun Belt could be bypassed for a 6-6 BCS team.

Factor in the likelihood of 36 bowl games in 2010 and nearly every BCS team that loads the nonconference schedule with four cupcake opponents will be "rewarded" with a bowl game if it can crank out a pathetic 2-6 record in league play.

College football has a serious problem, and it's the topic of my column this week for Covers.com.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. Be sure to check Covers' excellent matchups page for this week's games, featuring previews, trends and line moves.

The Sweet 16

There are 120 teams in Division I-A and of that group, 66 are members of the country club known as the Bowl Championship Series.

Life is good at the top, but like any collection of the rich and powerful, there is an elite class that snub their noses at the mere suggestion of having to engage with the rest of the group.

Can you blame them?

In my latest column for Covers.com, I take a look at the rich and powerful in college football. There are 16 members of this ultra-rich group, and you can bet that for as long as the BCS is around, these are the only teams to ever have a chance of winning a title.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. Be sure to check Covers' excellent matchups page for this week's games, featuring previews, trends and line moves.

You Want a Playoff? Welcome to the Elite Eight

There are few places left to get credible information.

Tune into one of those 24-hour news channels and you're likely to see coverage of a helium-filled Mylar balloon floating over Colorado. When it comes crashing to earth, the truth is revealed: It was one big hoax, and the news channels swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker.

College football fans face a similar situation. A powerful network that holds broadcast rights to nearly all of big-time college football parades an endless lineup of "experts" before the viewer each week. These experts act more like cheerleaders for something called the Bowl Championship Series. Problem is, they work for a corporate behemoth that will soon profit from the broadcast rights to this bogus system of picking a "champion."

It's a big helium-filled balloon.

What the people want is a playoff, so let's have one, Las Vegas-style. Take the top eight teams from the BCS standings and let 'em go at it. With a little help from Las Vegas Sports Consultants, I was able to put together the matchups and pointspreads for a playoff, and you can read about it in my latest column for Covers.com.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. Be sure to check Covers' excellent matchups page for this week's games, featuring previews, trends and line moves.

The Southeastern Conference Fix Is In

America loves an underdog, so where is the love for Texas Christian and Boise State? Barring upsets, the Horned Frogs and Broncos will finish the regular season with unblemished records, but at least one of these teams is likely to be cast aside by the Bowl Championship Series.

Meanwhile, Florida and Alabama are on a collision course to meet in the Southeastern Conference title game. The Gators and Crimson Tide have such a sizable lead in the Bowl Championship Series standings, it's entirely possible the loser of the SEC title game could get a rematch in the BCS championship game. But are these the two best teams in the country?

For the past two weeks, Florida has been playing like a team that wants to lose, and Alabama needed every ounce of energy last Saturday to get past lowly Tennessee.

And when the Gators and Crimson Tide have had a moment of need, all that was needed was a friendly wink toward an official.

Yes, if you subscribe to conspiracy theories, the SEC fix is in. It's the topic of my column this week for Covers.com. Head on over and give it a read.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. Be sure to check Covers' excellent matchups page for this week's games, featuring previews, trends and line moves.

Raising the White Flag

Each fall throughout Latin America, there is a gathering of family and friends who visit the graves of loved ones, bringing their spirits’ gifts and celebrating their lives. The holiday is called Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

A similar celebration takes place in Las Vegas, but it has nothing to do with family or friends. It can start at any point during the college football season, often lasts for weeks and is greeted with merriment by bettors.

It’s the day a team decides to quit on its coach, and it's the subject of my column this week for Covers.com.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. Be sure to check Covers' excellent matchups page for this week's games, featuring previews, trends and line moves.

The Wiz Tackles the SEC Hype Machine

It's truly one of the most remarkable inventions of the past 20 years. It costs nothing to operate, runs 24-7 without a hitch and never requires maintenance.

It’s the one, the only Southeastern Conference hype machine.

Many a college football fan — and bettor — has been swallowed in the annual hype surrounding the league. But this year is different. With a fat, new TV contract and powerful network behind it, the machine has been cranking it out like never before.

The reality is that the SEC in 2009 consists of Alabama, Florida and a bunch of nobodies. In nonconference games against Division I-A opponents, SEC teams are a pedestrian 14-11 against the spread. In nonconference play against teams from Bowl Championship Series conferences, the record is 4-7. That’s a .363 percentage, the worst of the six BCS conferences.