As the
calendar turns the page to July, the countdown to the start of another college
football season is officially on. This is a great time of year to start
researching teams and planning out a betting strategy to try and ensure another
profitable season of wagering on the games.
A vital part
of that strategy should be keeping up with any new developments that could end-up
having a major impact on a particular team’s odds for a run to a conference
championship and possible BCS national title.
To help you
along, the following is a look at this week’s most interesting news and notes
from the world of college football.
Buckeye starting running back on the
shelf for 10 weeks
Ohio State
running back Jordan Hall, who is currently listed as No.1 on the depth chart,
could miss up to 10 weeks after requiring surgery to repair a cut on his right
foot. This could be a major blow to an Urban Meyer offense that was counting on
Hall to carry the majority of the load in his rushing attack. The senior cut
the bottom of his foot while walking outside his home in Columbus.
Hall rushed
for 405 yards on 99 carries as a junior last season and was fourth on the team
in total rushing yards. He is expected to be replaced by both junior Carlos
Hyde and sophomore Rod Smith until he can return to the starting lineup.
Boise State set to officially leave
the Mountain West
Facing a
June 30th deadline that would have cost Boise State a $5 million
penalty, the Broncos informed the Mountain West Conference that they are moving
forward with their plan to leave the conference after this season. Boise State
had previously agreed to join the Big East for football only while trying to
move the rest of its sports to the Big West Conference, but had not made
anything official with the MWC.
Starting with
the 2013 season, the face of the Big East Conference will change dramatically
with Boise State joining San Diego State, Memphis, Central Florida, Houston,
and SMU as new members. Temple is coming over from the MAC this season. West
Virginia has already departed the Big East for the Big 12 and Pittsburgh and
Syracuse are jumping ship for the ACC after this season.
Cromwell done at Georgia
Isaiah
Cromwell, who was the country’s former No.1-ranked running back and No.
4-overall ranked recruit by ESPN Recruiting in 2011, short and tumultuous stay
with Georgia is officially over. The Bulldogs parted ways with the troubled
sophomore after he was arrested on multiple felony weapon charges the other
night. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 10 years behind bars.
Cromwell
rushed for 850 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman but was benched for the
first quarter of the team’s game against Vanderbilt and suspended for the New
Mexico State game because of disciplinary reasons. Waiting in the wings to take
his are place are two very capable running backs in Keith Marshall and Todd
Gurley, who came to the team as highly sought after recruits. Bovada currently
has Georgia listed as the seventh-favorite to win a national title at 14/1,
which is exactly where the Bulldogs opened at when the 2012 BCS futures college footballs odds
were first released in January of this year.