<h1 style="MARGIN: auto 0in"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><font size="3">Can you believe this bull ****? I say they go 3-9 at best.</font>
College football primer: The best bet in the SEC</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span class="smtext2"><font face="Arial" color="#1F497D" size="2">By JULIAN DICKINSON | June 11, 2008</font></span></p>
When it comes to college football, the SEC is the top of the mountain.
With respect to the occasional arguments rolled out in favor of the Pac-10 or the Big 12, there's really no other conference that can match the SEC for talent, toughness and competitive balance from top to bottom.
Hey, it's hard to argue against a league that houses the last two national champions, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the Defensive Player of the Year.
But while the big dogs of the SEC, namely the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators and LSU Tigers, dominate the discussion boards and preseason polls, another team in the Deep South is taking big strides toward what looks like it could be not just an improvement over last year, but also a very profitable season for backers.</p>
The Ole Miss Rebels are easy to overlook among the titans of the SEC, but with the arrival of Houston Nutt as the new head coach in Oxford, there is a legitimate reason to believe that this team could get a lot better very soon.</p>
And the best part is, nobody is talking about them because the conference is so crowded with Top 25 teams and National Championship contenders. That means in spite of all the positive changes afoot, bettors probably won't see much difference in the pointspreads between this year and last year.</p>
"The changes in Ole Miss will have an effect on the way oddsmakers set the lines," says BetEd.com oddsmaker Randy Scott, "but mainly setting the over/under game totals. Ole Miss has a chance to score more points, unlike the past three years where they had a hard time scoring twenty points per game."</p>
Of course, Ole Miss is a team coming off a disastrous 2007 season in terms of wins and losses, but one that was actually pretty good for their backers at the sportsbook.
Unsurprisingly after a season like that, the Rebels are listed at +6000 to win the SEC, longest odds of any team in the conference. We're not recommending anybody take that wager, but we are saying that under their new coach and with the addition of some promising new players, they have a great shot to cover a lot of spreads and make some cash for backers.
Even last year, despite the fact that the Rebels went winless in conference play (yeah, they even lost to Vanderbilt), they were a very profitable 6-3 against the spread (ATS) versus SEC opponents.</p>
And they made that money with an offense that was downright pathetic. It featured a tandem of Brent Schaeffer and Seth Adams at quarterback, neither of whom looked like true SEC quality QB and combined for 17 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions last year.</p>
Under Nutt's guiding hand and with the addition of some key newcomers, this year promises to be much more productive - particularly on the offensive side, where Nutt has made his name as an innovative tactician.</p>
Perhaps the best news for suffering Rebels fans is the presence of quarterback Jevan Snead in uniform. If you don't remember the name, Snead was a Parade All-American quarterback out of high school two years ago who went to Texas with high hopes of replacing Vince Young, but narrowly lost the starting job to Colt McCoy. He transferred to Mississippi and after sitting out last year due to the NCAA transfer rule, by all accounts the 21-year-old looks poised and ready to make an impact on this offense and the SEC.</p>
Snead has already been selected SEC Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook (for whatever that's worth) and he's got all the tools - a strong arm and good mobility out of the pocket - to become a standout in a league full of top-notch ballplayers.</p>
And Snead should be fairly well protected behind an offensive line anchored by senior left tackle Michael Oher, who is predicted to be one of the first lineman taken in next year's NFL draft.</p>
But this won't be a one-dimensional offense. As is noted on his bio posted on the Mississippi website, under Nutt's guidance, Arkansas led the SEC in rushing five of the last six years and ranked among the nation's top 15 five times.</p>
That's obviously a tradition he intends to bring with him to Oxford - and looking at the roster, believe it or not, the pieces are in place to turn the least productive offense in the SEC into an effective scoring unit right out of the gate.</p>
One of the biggest improvements comes in the form of a five-star running back recruit who was courted by almost every SEC coach, but chose to follow Nutt to Oxford. Enrique Davis broke a verbal commitment with Auburn to go to Ole Miss and at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, the kid has the size and the blazing speed to become the next Darren McFadden.</p>
And just to keep defenses on their toes, Nutt will have a nice secondary option in the backfield with sophomore tailback Cordera Eason who has thoroughly impressed his new coaches this spring.</p>
Nutt is also intent on throwing in the same kind of wrinkles on offense which he employed at Arkansas to keep defenses off balance. The "Wildcat" formation with McFadden lined up under center was extremely effective and even caught on with a number of NFL teams last year.</p>
Reportedly, Nutt has been using the same formation in Ole Miss spring camp (although it's now referred to as the "Wild Rebel") with speedy wide receiver Dexter McCluster taking the direct snap with the option of running or passing.</p>
"We've got a fast guy that can run and keep people off balance," Nutt told reporters after the spring game. "When you put the ball in his hands, he's dangerous."</p>
All these factors point to a huge improvement on last year's results - and it will probably take the oddsmakers a while to adjust the odds to account for the changes. After all, bettors aren't likely to be jumping on a team coming off a 3-9 season, regardless of their ATS results.</p>
And don't worry about the adjustment period with this team. Nutt is capable of making an immediate improvement when he takes over a program. In his first year at the helm at Arkansas in 1998, the Razorbacks were picked to finish last in the SEC West but they ran to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Citrus Bowl.</p>
So consider this a gift from Covers.com to you, well in advance of the football season. Keep an eye on Ole Miss pointspreads this year because there's sure to be some great chances to capitalize on this team on the rise.</p>
They play a tough non-conference road game at Wake Forest before kicking off their SEC schedule with a winnable game at home against Vanderbilt. Tough road games will follow at Florida and Alabama but the Rebels are sure to be on the receiving end of big pointspreads in those games.</p>
You won't find too many SEC football fans outside of Oxford hanging around the water cooler gabbing about the prospects of the Ole Miss Rebels, but that's exactly why we think they'll be such a great bet this year.</p>
Well, that and the presence of Houston Nutt in crimson and blue.</p>
College football primer: The best bet in the SEC</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span class="smtext2"><font face="Arial" color="#1F497D" size="2">By JULIAN DICKINSON | June 11, 2008</font></span></p>
When it comes to college football, the SEC is the top of the mountain.
With respect to the occasional arguments rolled out in favor of the Pac-10 or the Big 12, there's really no other conference that can match the SEC for talent, toughness and competitive balance from top to bottom.
Hey, it's hard to argue against a league that houses the last two national champions, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the Defensive Player of the Year.
But while the big dogs of the SEC, namely the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators and LSU Tigers, dominate the discussion boards and preseason polls, another team in the Deep South is taking big strides toward what looks like it could be not just an improvement over last year, but also a very profitable season for backers.</p>
The Ole Miss Rebels are easy to overlook among the titans of the SEC, but with the arrival of Houston Nutt as the new head coach in Oxford, there is a legitimate reason to believe that this team could get a lot better very soon.</p>
And the best part is, nobody is talking about them because the conference is so crowded with Top 25 teams and National Championship contenders. That means in spite of all the positive changes afoot, bettors probably won't see much difference in the pointspreads between this year and last year.</p>
"The changes in Ole Miss will have an effect on the way oddsmakers set the lines," says BetEd.com oddsmaker Randy Scott, "but mainly setting the over/under game totals. Ole Miss has a chance to score more points, unlike the past three years where they had a hard time scoring twenty points per game."</p>
Of course, Ole Miss is a team coming off a disastrous 2007 season in terms of wins and losses, but one that was actually pretty good for their backers at the sportsbook.
Unsurprisingly after a season like that, the Rebels are listed at +6000 to win the SEC, longest odds of any team in the conference. We're not recommending anybody take that wager, but we are saying that under their new coach and with the addition of some promising new players, they have a great shot to cover a lot of spreads and make some cash for backers.
Even last year, despite the fact that the Rebels went winless in conference play (yeah, they even lost to Vanderbilt), they were a very profitable 6-3 against the spread (ATS) versus SEC opponents.</p>
And they made that money with an offense that was downright pathetic. It featured a tandem of Brent Schaeffer and Seth Adams at quarterback, neither of whom looked like true SEC quality QB and combined for 17 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions last year.</p>
Under Nutt's guiding hand and with the addition of some key newcomers, this year promises to be much more productive - particularly on the offensive side, where Nutt has made his name as an innovative tactician.</p>
Perhaps the best news for suffering Rebels fans is the presence of quarterback Jevan Snead in uniform. If you don't remember the name, Snead was a Parade All-American quarterback out of high school two years ago who went to Texas with high hopes of replacing Vince Young, but narrowly lost the starting job to Colt McCoy. He transferred to Mississippi and after sitting out last year due to the NCAA transfer rule, by all accounts the 21-year-old looks poised and ready to make an impact on this offense and the SEC.</p>
Snead has already been selected SEC Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook (for whatever that's worth) and he's got all the tools - a strong arm and good mobility out of the pocket - to become a standout in a league full of top-notch ballplayers.</p>
And Snead should be fairly well protected behind an offensive line anchored by senior left tackle Michael Oher, who is predicted to be one of the first lineman taken in next year's NFL draft.</p>
But this won't be a one-dimensional offense. As is noted on his bio posted on the Mississippi website, under Nutt's guidance, Arkansas led the SEC in rushing five of the last six years and ranked among the nation's top 15 five times.</p>
That's obviously a tradition he intends to bring with him to Oxford - and looking at the roster, believe it or not, the pieces are in place to turn the least productive offense in the SEC into an effective scoring unit right out of the gate.</p>
One of the biggest improvements comes in the form of a five-star running back recruit who was courted by almost every SEC coach, but chose to follow Nutt to Oxford. Enrique Davis broke a verbal commitment with Auburn to go to Ole Miss and at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, the kid has the size and the blazing speed to become the next Darren McFadden.</p>
And just to keep defenses on their toes, Nutt will have a nice secondary option in the backfield with sophomore tailback Cordera Eason who has thoroughly impressed his new coaches this spring.</p>
Nutt is also intent on throwing in the same kind of wrinkles on offense which he employed at Arkansas to keep defenses off balance. The "Wildcat" formation with McFadden lined up under center was extremely effective and even caught on with a number of NFL teams last year.</p>
Reportedly, Nutt has been using the same formation in Ole Miss spring camp (although it's now referred to as the "Wild Rebel") with speedy wide receiver Dexter McCluster taking the direct snap with the option of running or passing.</p>
"We've got a fast guy that can run and keep people off balance," Nutt told reporters after the spring game. "When you put the ball in his hands, he's dangerous."</p>
All these factors point to a huge improvement on last year's results - and it will probably take the oddsmakers a while to adjust the odds to account for the changes. After all, bettors aren't likely to be jumping on a team coming off a 3-9 season, regardless of their ATS results.</p>
And don't worry about the adjustment period with this team. Nutt is capable of making an immediate improvement when he takes over a program. In his first year at the helm at Arkansas in 1998, the Razorbacks were picked to finish last in the SEC West but they ran to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Citrus Bowl.</p>
So consider this a gift from Covers.com to you, well in advance of the football season. Keep an eye on Ole Miss pointspreads this year because there's sure to be some great chances to capitalize on this team on the rise.</p>
They play a tough non-conference road game at Wake Forest before kicking off their SEC schedule with a winnable game at home against Vanderbilt. Tough road games will follow at Florida and Alabama but the Rebels are sure to be on the receiving end of big pointspreads in those games.</p>
You won't find too many SEC football fans outside of Oxford hanging around the water cooler gabbing about the prospects of the Ole Miss Rebels, but that's exactly why we think they'll be such a great bet this year.</p>
Well, that and the presence of Houston Nutt in crimson and blue.</p>
