Posted Wednesday, October 08, 2008 02:03 PM
Defensive Underdogs are Superior Wagers
By Doug Upstone
Look to Play On a college football team that allows 275 or less yards per game, particularly in the role of underdog.
The first part of this system makes all the sense in the world, since the number of teams we’re talking about is very few from year to year. The old cliché, "defenses win championships" holds up, even in weekly situations, because if any team is holding opponents to 275 or fewer yards, they should be in almost any game they are playing in.
To prove the point, we went back five years to discover how good these defensive gems actually were. It must be noted, this perspective is based on the whole body of work for the season, not the individual games and team ranking at that moment. This strengthens the point at the end of any particular year. However, during the course a season, starting this week, you should have confidence to consider any team for a potential wager. Never base a selection on one aspect, yet if you have other reasons to like specific team, this could be the clincher as a reason to officially make such a wager.
Starting in 2003, the two best teams in the country that season were LSU and Oklahoma. Both teams had exceptional regular seasons and were chosen to play in the BCS championship in New Orleans. The Tigers ended up holding teams to 252 yards per game on the way to BCS title and were monster money-makers at 11-2 that season. The only time t... [More]