Stars are born on opening weekend of college football
One game is only a first date, but that’s all it took for most in the media to make a long-term commitment to UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen. He is being hyped as the next great one.
After one game, Fox Sports added Rosen as a Heisman Trophy candidate, and that’s probably an overreaction. Those are common this time of year.
Still, Rosen has the look and smell of a star, and there is no doubt his future with the Bruins is bright.
“That kid is just a freshman. Expect good things there,” Wynn Las Vegas sports book director John Avello said. “We’re going to get a firsthand look at him this week.”
The first weekend of the college football season could have been directed by Sergio Leone. We got to see the good, the bad and the ugly from teams we were reading about for several months. UCLA’s first impression was positive, and the same goes for UNLV. We’ll see more when the teams meet Saturday in Las Vegas.
Avello opened the Bruins as 31-point favorites over the Rebels, and soon after the line went up Sunday afternoon, some sharp action showed on the home ‘dog.
“It’s a big number. There could be some UNLV money coming,” Avello said. “I upgraded the Rebels a little bit, but we need to see a couple of games.”
UNLV closed as a 22-point underdog in coach Tony Sanchez’s first game, a 38-30 loss at Northern Illinois. Sanchez is going to win a few games this season — and with a 17-3 lead against the Huskies, he had an opportunity to steal one — but for now he’ll do well just to cover the spread. In the ATS column, he’s 1-0.
Senior quarterback Blake Decker is obviously more confident and poised. Devonte Boyd and Kendal Keys can be big-time receivers. But the Rebels are about to step way out of their league, first against UCLA and then at Michigan.
Rosen completed 28 of 35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns in the Bruins’ 34-16 victory over Virginia. The 18-year-old stole the show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., zipping throws into tight windows while also showing a soft touch on deep balls. The UCLA defense is fast and physical.
The Bruins, after one game, look good enough to win the Pac-12 Conference, which had two overhyped title contenders get flattened on the road.It was a bad weekend for Arizona State and an ugly one for Stanford. The Sun Devils, 3-point ‘dogs on a neutral field in Houston, showed little and lost their composure late in a 38-17 loss to Texas A&M. The Cardinal played in a purple haze and fell 16-6 as a 10-point favorite at Northwestern.
But Washington State coach Mike Leach is wearing the dunce cap for his conference after the Cougars, 31-point favorites, were upset 24-17 by Portland State. A $100 bet on the underdog paid roughly $6,000, but that moneyline was offered offshore only and not at Las Vegas books.
Wyoming turned in the worst result in the Mountain West. The Cowboys, 18-point favorites, did not score until the fourth quarter in a 24-13 loss to North Dakota.
Penn State and Texas also went ugly early, with each serving as an example of how poor quarterback play can cripple a team.
Christian Hackenberg is often touted as a top NFL prospect, but I’m not buying it. He was a hack in the Nittany Lions’ opener, completing 11 of 25 passes with a costly interception in a 27-10 loss to Temple. Maybe the Cleveland Browns will pick Hackenberg in the first round, if Kevin Costner is running the team on draft day.
The Longhorns would be better off with UNLV’s Decker at quarterback. Instead, Texas is suffering with Tyrone Swoopes, who was 7-for-22 in an embarrassing 38-3 loss at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish made for easy money as 9½-point favorites.
“The only game we got beat up on was Notre Dame. I couldn’t stop the bleeding, they were betting it no matter what,” Golden Nugget sports book director Tony Miller said. “We would have had a big day if not for that game. Texas is pathetic.”Â
Malik Zaire impressed as the Irish’s new starting quarterback, and their former starter, Everett Golson, had a good debut for Florida State.
Brigham Young quarterback Tanner Mangum triggered what will be one of the season’s highlight plays. Subbing for injured star Taysom Hill, Mangum connected with Mitch Mathews for a 42-yard Hail Mary as time expired as the Cougars stunned Nebraska 33-28 in Lincoln.
The touchdown pass put the score over the total of 58, leaving bettors with either a bad beat or a wild win. If you had a BYU moneyline bet, you were walking around lucky.
You were walking around under a dark cloud if you bet Purdue as a 7½-point underdog at Marshall in Sunday’s only game. The Boilermakers, who drew most of the money, led by four with three minutes to go and lost by 10. That was ugly, but a lucky one for the books.
Ohio State is a 14-point favorite at Virginia Tech as college football replaces the NFL on Monday night. The defending national champions are shorthanded, and sharp money leans toward the Hokies, a home ‘dog with a great defense. It could be a good one.
On this holiday weekend, the NFL was not missed.
— Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.
