In the FCS Huddle: FCS players could impact the Super Bowl

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/24/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Collins made one of the bigger plays when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in last year's Super Bowl.

In two weeks, plenty of former FCS players have the opportunity to be game- changers, particularly those from the NFC champion New York Giants, who will play the AFC champion New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

The former FCS players will hope to live up to Collins' interception return for a touchdown in Green Bay's win last February. Collins, one of six Packers on that team who played collegiately in the FCS, is from Bethune-Cookman.

Perhaps none of this year's FCS players in the Super Bowl has a better chance of starring than Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, who keeps building on the breakout season in which he had 82 receptions for a team-record 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns.

Cruz is in his second season out of Massachusetts. In Sunday's NFC Championship Game win, he caught 10 passes for 142 yards against a San Francisco 49ers defense that was one of the best in the NFL this season.

"We always believed," Cruz said. "I don't even know how to put this into words as far as what this means to me. We weren't just happy to be here and it's just been an amazing ride. But we're not done yet."

Another of the key Giants is seventh-year running back Brandon Jacobs from Southern Illinois. The bruising starter, who is closing in on 5,000 career yards, often operates behind left guard/center Kevin Boothe, who is in his sixth season out of Cornell.

Other Giants from FCS schools are special teams standout Zak DeOssie, a fifth- year linebacker out of Brown; fourth-year cornerback Michael Coe from Alabama State; wide receiver Ramses Barden, in his third season out of Cal Poly; and Richmond rookie practice player Martin Parker, a defensive tackle.

The Patriots have three starters from FCS programs: Dan Connolly, a 6-foot-4, 313-pound center who is in his sixth season out of Southeast Missouri State; fifth-year safety James Ihedigbo from Massachusetts; and cornerback Kyle Arrington, who is in his third season out of Hofstra's former program.

Arrington, who was third on the team with 77 tackles during the regular season, is backed by Antwaun Molden, a fourth-year cornerback out of Eastern Kentucky.

In addition, the Patriots have linebackers Tracy White, in his ninth season out of Howard, and Dane Fletcher, in his second season out of Montana State.

Wwfantasysharks NCAA Football Betting News

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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