Staging Month

August is the month of anticipation.  In baseball, it is all about getting games off the calendar so teams can gear up for the September run to the postseason.  In football, both college and pro teams are battling the heat to prepare for the upcoming season.  But rather than look at August as a lost month, I like to think of it as a staging month to prepare for all the money making opportunities the fall offers.  Once September hits making money can be as simple as identifying the baseball teams that have mailed it in or just doing your homework on football games.  One other way to make some money and have a bet that lasts longer than a few hours is with future betting.  Besides betting on a team to win a division, league or championship, most sportsbooks offer wagers on predicting a teams regular season win total.  Today I'll look at the top teams from the SEC and Big Ten with all total coming from the Hilton Sportsbook.  I will not be taking into account any juice as that is much more likely to change than the actual total, just be sure to shop around for the best price.

Let's start with the top conference in college football, the SEC.  Alabama is poised to return to the top and their win total is 10.  I have them easily winning 9, with only toss ups at Florida, LSU at home and at Mississippi State.  I believe they will win one of those three, so betting the over is the play.  Also in the SEC West is LSU with a total set at 9.5.  The Tigers have an early swing game, playing Oregon in Arlington, Texas the first week of the year.  I think they win that game and go over the total.  A top contender in the SEC East is South Carolina.  Their total is 9 and I have them going under.  They also seem to be a team that doesn't live up to expectations.  Georgia is also in the East and have a total of 8.5 with Hilton.  Even with a loss to Boise in week 1, which I am expecting, Georgia should get over this total.  They don't draw either Alabama or LSU from the West but will meet one of them in the conference championship game as they win the East.

The Big Ten enters a new era this year with the addition of Nebraska and the introduction of division play.  The projected top teams in the Leaders Division are THEE Ohio State University, Wisconsin and Penn State.  Top teams in the Legends Division look to be Nebraska and Michigan State with Michigan also in this division.  Predicting THEE Ohio State University could be the toughest call this year, given all the turmoil and change.  Hilton didn't have a number on them, but bodog.com has them at 9 wins.  I look for the Buckeyes to go under this number.  Wisconsin is at 9.5 wins and they should easily get over that total with Russel Wilson at quarterback now.  Hilton is putting Penn State at 7.5 and this is a tough call.  Home games with Alabama and Nebraska don't help and I'm expecting a rough year in Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions to go under 7.5.  Nebraska's first year in the Big Ten sees them opening at Wisconsin but getting THEE Ohio State University and Michigan State at home.  Look for the Huskers to get over the 9.5 win total.  Michigan State is only at 7.5, which on the surface sounds easy for a team that won 11 games last year and has their QB back this season.  But the schedule isn't that easy for the Spartans.  Road games with Notre Dame, THEE Ohio State University and Nebraska will be tough.  Wisconsin at home won't be easy and MSU always seems to struggle with both Iowa and Northwestern.  This doesn't even take into account the rivalry game with Michigan, which can always go either way.  Michigan State has 5 "easy" wins on the schedule, so they would need to win 3 of their "tough" games.  It won't come easy this season, but look for Michigan State to get over 7.5.  That leaves the Wolverines of Michigan with a total set at 7.  A new coach and new system are being implemented in Ann Arbor, but they do have alot of experience.  Look for struggles after a 4-1 start and the Wolverines will limp home to under 7 wins. 

We went on a 4 game win streak with our twitter picks and are now at 15-14 overall picking underdogs and very small favorites.  Be sure to follow me at vegasobie on twitter to keep cashing in.  As for today, I'm going with the Dodgers at +125 versus the Diamondbacks.  Billingsley is solid and Collmenter seems to be faltering late in the year.  I'll also be curious to see how the D'Backs respond at home now that the race in the division has tightened.  Often you'll see the teams tighten up as well.  Good luck, and remember, never bet what you can't afford to lose.