No. 8 Nebraska goes down to wire with QB call

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/03/2010 -

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Nebraska fans haven't forgotten that one-point loss to Texas in the Big 12 championship game and they're still celebrating next year's move to the Big Ten.

But the biggest topic of conversation in Big Red country has been about who will start at quarterback when the No. 8 Cornhuskers open the season against Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

Coach Bo Pelini hasn't said whether he'll go with Zac Lee, the senior incumbent, Cody Green, the top backup in 2009, or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez.

``I think it will come down to the last-minute call,'' offensive lineman Ricky Henry said.

Pelini probably can't go wrong regardless of who he chooses for this game. After all, the Sun Belt Conference's Hilltoppers have lost 20 games in a row and are five-touchdown underdogs.

The Huskers have their highest preseason ranking since 2001 and will be in position to make a run at the national championship if their offense improves. The Ndamukong Suh-led defense carried the Huskers a year ago while the offense scuffled along to a No. 99 national ranking.

``We know that we didn't live up to everything that was expected last year,'' receiver Brandon Kinnie said.

Lee started 12 of 14 games and was serviceable, though the Huskers went through a brutal patch where they scored four touchdowns over four games. He had surgery on his right (throwing) elbow after the season, forcing him to miss spring practice.

Green and Martinez did enough in the spring to make it a three-man race that, Pelini predicted, could last until October.

``They've played at a high level,'' offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. ``They've had to, to stay in the hunt. It's been a great competition and it's really, really close.''

Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead give the Huskers a 1-2 punch at running back, the offensive line is deep and the Niles Paul-led receiving corps is experienced.

Jared Crick, Suh's partner on the defensive line, and cornerback Prince Amukamara lead a unit expected to be stingy even with Suh gone to the NFL. The Huskers were left vulnerable at linebacker when Sean Fisher broke his leg last month, and there will be two new starters at safety.

The Hilltoppers will be going against an opponent that has won 24 straight openers. Nebraska has scored at least 40 points 17 times during the streak and given up 14 points or less 16 times.

``For us to have a chance, we have to be on our 'A' game,'' first-year WKU coach Willie Taggart said. ``They have an opportunity to win a national championship this year. But anything is possible ... If we're not sharp, we're not going to have a chance.''

This is another in a line of money games for the Hilltoppers, who'll earn $800,000 for their visit to Memorial Stadium. Since 2008, they've also visited Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia Tech.

``That most definitely is going to help us,'' WKU defensive end Jared Clendenin said. ``We're not going to be in there with those big wide eyes. You know how it is when you walk in a big stadium like that. All you want to do is look around at the fans.''

The Huskers are coming off a 10-4 year in which they won six of their last seven games, including a 33-0 Holiday Bowl win over Arizona.

All that stood between Nebraska and a BCS game was the 13-12 loss to Texas. The Longhorns kicked the winning field goal after one second was put back on the game clock.

Players are wearing reminders on their wrists - red rubber bracelets with the messages ``0.01'' and ``FINISH'' stamped in.

``It still comes up on ESPN Classic, and I can't watch it,'' Kinnie said. ``It still eats at me. We have a lot of motivation, a lot to prove this year.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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NFL Betting

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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