SPORTS BETTING

• Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Missouri Tigers 8:30 ET

  Posted on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT by North Shore Sports, INC

  
  

  After falling just short of the BCS last season, the Missouri Tigers (12-2 in 2007) will hope to find themselves in contention for a national championship once again in ’08. That conquest will begin on Saturday night when they take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (9-4 in 2007) in the 2008 edition of the “Arch Rivalry.” The game will be played at the neutral site of the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, and can be seen nationally on ESPN. The Illini are amongst the dark horses that can knock out favored Ohio State in the Big 10. They were tabbed the #20 team in the AP’s first poll of the season, while the Tigers come in a Top 10 team ranked #6 in the nation. In last year’s meeting between these two rivals, the Tigers held off a furious comeback by Illinois, preserving a 40-34 victory in the 4^th quarter that allowed the Tigers to win both SU and ATS for their college football bettors. The game easily flew over the closing ‘total’ of 57.
  

  The Tigers were amongst the favorites of college football bettors in 2007. They were a cash cow that went a whopping 10-3 ATS on the year, which included an impressive 7-1 mark ATS away from Columbia. Six of their eight road games also resulted in games that went over the ‘total’. QB Chase Daniel returns after his Heisman Trophy finalist performance in 2007, and hopes to be back in New York in ’08. The fact that he’ll be joined by sixteen other returning starters should make the Tigers a favorite amongst NCAA football bettors once again this season.
  

  Illinois bettors closed out  2007 with a mediocre 7-6 mark ATS that included a disappointing 49-17 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl as 13-point underdogs. They have faced three opponents at neutral venues since 1999, and haven’t fared well going 0-3 ATS in those contests (0-2 in ’07). QB Juice Williams had a breakout season a year ago, accounting for almost 2,500 yards of offense and 20 total touchdowns. RB Rashard Mendenhall has since moved onto the NFL and replacing the first round draft pick won’t be easy, but look for sophomore Arrelious Benn to pick up the slack and excel in every facet of the game.
  

  Sportsbook Oddsmakers have installed the Tigers nine-point favorites with a ‘total’ of 60 for this Big 10/Big 12 showdown. The recent NCAAF Betting trends point towards a Missouri romp. The Tigers are 12-3 ATS in their L/15 games overall, and you should consider putting the ‘over’ on your football betting card as well this weekend. In their eight games away from Columbia last season, Missouri averaged 38.0 PPG. The Illini put up their fair share of points away from Champaign as well. They averaged 28.1 PPG on the road in the very defensive-minded Big 10.
  

  Bookmaker.com is the home for all of your football betting needs, which includes spread, ‘total’, and moneyline wagers. Before you turn on ESPN for this rivalry game, be sure to login to your account and get your football bets down for this game and all of Week 1’s NCAA football betting action!