Cowboys take on Rebels in Cotton Bowl

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/02/2010 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Big 12 Conference and the Ole Miss Rebels of the SEC will square off in the 2010 Cotton Bowl from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Oklahoma State is set to play in a school-record fourth consecutive bowl game and seventh in the last eight seasons. The program is 12-7 all-time in bowl games, and the club is 2-1 in such tilts under current head coach Mike Gundy. Oklahoma State is 9-3 overall and finished 6-2 in Big 12 play, good enough for second in the rugged South Division. The Cowboys are, however, coming off an ugly 27-0 loss to rival Oklahoma in the finale, a setback that halted a three- game win streak.

"You have to move forward and that's something we talked about after the game," said Gundy after the Oklahoma loss. "I think the coaches have to be enthusiastic about getting back on the practice field and the chance to go to the Cotton Bowl and spend time together. That's the way we've approached it."

As for Ole Miss, it is making its 33rd appearance in a bowl game, and the 20 wins that the program has earned in the postseason ranks 12th in NCAA Division I-A history. The Rebels are 7-1 in their last eight bowl games, and they beat Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl last season in a 47-34 final. This year's squad came into the season with tremendous hype and was ranked as high as fourth in the nation. Despite falling short of expectations, the team finished a respectable 8-4 overall and 4-4 in SEC action. Houston Nutt, the head coach of the Ole Miss program, is a three-time SEC Coach of the Year.

"They can't wait," said Nutt recently of his players, who are excited about the opportunity to play in the brand new Cowboys Stadium.

It is ironic that the only previous meeting between Oklahoma State and Ole Miss took place in the 2004 Cotton Bowl, and Eli Manning led the Rebels to a 31-28 victory in that contest.

The Oklahoma State offense entered the season with perhaps the best trio of quarterback, tailback and wide receiver nationally. Signal caller Zac Robinson's numbers are far off the pace from last season when he posted 33 combined touchdowns. This year, Robinson has thrown for 15 scores while rushing for four touchdowns, and he has a mere 1,966 passing yards in 11 games. It certainly hasn't helped matters that star receiver Dez Bryant was suspended for the season early on, or that standout runner Kendall Hunter has been limited by injury and largely ineffective.

Despite all the problems, OSU is still formidable offensively, as the team is averaging 30.2 ppg and 376.2 total ypg. The best player for the offense has been tailback Keith Toston, who has racked up 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. He is also second on the team in catches, providing a viable outlet for Robinson.

"The Cotton Bowl is one of those bowls if you miss the BCS; there is really no drop off by going there," says Toston. "That's how our team feels."

The Cowboys have been a solid defensive team for much of this season, as they are holding opponents to 21.8 ppg and 329.9 total ypg. They are sixth nationally in rushing defense, allowing a mere 87.7 yards per game at a clip of 2.9 yards per carry. They pass defense has been rather mediocre, but 14 interceptions have certainly helped the cause. Donald Booker leads the Pokes with 86 total tackles, while Patrick Lavine has recorded five interceptions.

Heading into this season, Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate. As the 2009 campaign progressed, however, it became obvious that he wasn't even the best player on his own team. Dexter McCluster, a versatile performer, rushed for 985 yards and six touchdowns on only 147 carries, and he also caught 39 passes for 475 yards and three scores. McCluster threw a touchdown pass on his only attempt and will undoubtedly be the main focus of the Oklahoma State defense in this contest.

Getting back to Snead, he has completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 2,464 yards and 20 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. Shay Hodge is clearly his favorite target, and the wideout enters this bowl game with 63 catches for 1,023 yards and eight scores. Ole Miss is generating 30.2 ppg while gaining 405.6 total ypg, formidable numbers by most standards.

Defensively, Ole Miss has been strong this season, limiting opponents to 18.6 ppg and 319.3 total ypg. The Rebels have allowed just over a 50 percent completion rating to opposing quarterbacks, as they have been solid against the pass. The run defense has been strong as well, permitting 3.8 yards per carry. Greg Hardy, the best player for the defense, will sit out this game with a wrist injury, and his ability to rush the quarterback will be missed. Still, the team has managed to avoid a large number of injuries, something that many other clubs nationally simply can not claim.

Patrick Trahan and Jerrell Powe pace the Rebels with 11 TFLs apiece.

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In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

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