SPORTS WAGERS
Florida State-10½ over Auburn
The SEC was a true power this entire season. The Conference has already produced six Bowl winners this season in eight attempts with the only two losers being Alabama and Georgia. Alabama was a 17-point choice over Oklahoma and Georgia was a nine-point favorite over Nebraska. The argument against Auburn is that many of their wins were deemed lucky and that argument has merit. Auburn ramped up the late-game drama down the stretch with a miraculous 73-yard tipped touchdown reception to beat Georgia and a 107-yard touchdown return of a missed field goal to stun Alabama, victories that pushed Auburn into the SEC title game and paved a path to the BCS. Take away those two wins and two or three others that they won by four points or less and this is an 8-4 football team. No one has been able to stop the Auburn ground game of late but in order to do so, you need two things to contain or stop it: time to prepare, and fast, athletic linebackers.
Florida State has had five weeks to put together a defensive game plan and practice containing this unusual Auburn option offense. The Seminoles have quick and talented LBs in Terrance and Telvin Smith, plus DE Christian Jones provides an athletic defender on the edge. Florida State has been exceptional against the run for most of the season and we expect nothing less here. The Seminoles barely broke a sweat this entire season. They won their first three games by a combined score of 157-26 before defeating Boston College in Week 4 by 14 points. No team would come within 27 points of FSU the rest of the way. As a 5-point choice over Clemson, FSU buried them early and walked off with a 51-14 victory. As a 21-point choice over Miami, FSU whacked them by 27. FSU is loaded with future NFLers and we’re not talking about five or six of them. We’re talking about 20 or more. Even if Auburn is the toughest opponent that Florida State will face this season is it really going to matter? The Auburn defense is ranked 104th in the nation in pass defense. Five quarterbacks threw for more than 300 yards and two had more than 400 yards on this Tigers defense. Auburn needed a last-second score to beat Mississippi State and of course those two aforementioned miracles over Georgia and Alabama. They were also 14-point losers to LSU. In that game, the Tigers gave up 457 yards (228 rushing). The Tigers were out-gained in four games this season and barely out-gained their opponents in three other games. Well, the clock has struck midnight and this Cinderella or rag to riches story is about to come to an end in a big way.
Florida State-10½ over Auburn
The SEC was a true power this entire season. The Conference has already produced six Bowl winners this season in eight attempts with the only two losers being Alabama and Georgia. Alabama was a 17-point choice over Oklahoma and Georgia was a nine-point favorite over Nebraska. The argument against Auburn is that many of their wins were deemed lucky and that argument has merit. Auburn ramped up the late-game drama down the stretch with a miraculous 73-yard tipped touchdown reception to beat Georgia and a 107-yard touchdown return of a missed field goal to stun Alabama, victories that pushed Auburn into the SEC title game and paved a path to the BCS. Take away those two wins and two or three others that they won by four points or less and this is an 8-4 football team. No one has been able to stop the Auburn ground game of late but in order to do so, you need two things to contain or stop it: time to prepare, and fast, athletic linebackers.
Florida State has had five weeks to put together a defensive game plan and practice containing this unusual Auburn option offense. The Seminoles have quick and talented LBs in Terrance and Telvin Smith, plus DE Christian Jones provides an athletic defender on the edge. Florida State has been exceptional against the run for most of the season and we expect nothing less here. The Seminoles barely broke a sweat this entire season. They won their first three games by a combined score of 157-26 before defeating Boston College in Week 4 by 14 points. No team would come within 27 points of FSU the rest of the way. As a 5-point choice over Clemson, FSU buried them early and walked off with a 51-14 victory. As a 21-point choice over Miami, FSU whacked them by 27. FSU is loaded with future NFLers and we’re not talking about five or six of them. We’re talking about 20 or more. Even if Auburn is the toughest opponent that Florida State will face this season is it really going to matter? The Auburn defense is ranked 104th in the nation in pass defense. Five quarterbacks threw for more than 300 yards and two had more than 400 yards on this Tigers defense. Auburn needed a last-second score to beat Mississippi State and of course those two aforementioned miracles over Georgia and Alabama. They were also 14-point losers to LSU. In that game, the Tigers gave up 457 yards (228 rushing). The Tigers were out-gained in four games this season and barely out-gained their opponents in three other games. Well, the clock has struck midnight and this Cinderella or rag to riches story is about to come to an end in a big way.
