College football appears headed to a four-team playoff. Penn State coach Bill O’Brien as one of its proponents. He said that he is a big believer in playoffs. He added that let the best team win. He said that he is just a rookie head coach and just worry about Penn State, but at the same time, playoff football in the NFL is a neat experience, and the best teams rise to the top and the champion is a true champion.

Last week in Florida, Conference commissioners, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and other top college football officials met and before the next round of Bowl Championship Series meetings in June in Chicago, they have agreed to consider several four-team playoff scenarios.

Until the 2014 season, proposed BCS changes would not go into effect and some key issues still need to be ironed out. At bowl sites or on the campus of the top two seeds, the semifinal games could be played. Also under consideration is whether to include teams that did not win a conference championship.

Finally, it needs to be decided whether to determine the four teams or create a selection committee similar to that used in basketball or stick with the current formula of polls and computer rankings.

The top two teams in the final BCS standings play for the national championship under the current BCS rules. In one of the five BCS bowl games, Champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC conferences automatically receive a spot – Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and BCS National Championship Game. In the system’s 14-year history (2005 and 2008), Penn State only came close to playing for a BCS championship twice.

TCU is coming off a down year after their star quarterback, Andy Dalton, moved on to the NFL to play for the Cincinnati Bengals. Louisiana Tech is in over their head against the one-time national championship contenders but the game may be closer than many think.

The Horned Frogs come into this game favored over the Bulldogs by 10.5 points but the game opened up with TCU favored by 12.5 points. The early money moved line down two full points with 65% of the money going down Bulldogs who have shown the ability to cover big numbers.

The Moneyline on this game does not give much value for anyone betting TCU. TCU is -420 after opening at -420 and the Bulldogs are +330 on the Moneyline after opening up at +335. The money coming in on the Bulldogs on the Moneyline was minimal with 55% of the money going on the Bulldogs.

Why is the money coming in on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs? The Bulldogs have covered five of their last six games when the point spread is 10.5 points or more. The Moneyline is not affected by this stat because the Bulldogs can cover but rarely win in this spot. make sure you check out the latest line movements prior to placing any football bets online.

Meanwhile TCU is looking a little rough when playing on a neutral field. In the Horned Frogs last four games on a neutral field they have failed to cover the Pointspread.

Having suffered a four game losing streak through the middle of their schedule they put things back to rights when No. 20 Texas Tech hosted them two weeks ago. Like sacrificial lambs the Tech suffered a 41-7 loss to Iowa State thus giving hope to their fans of making a decent bowl game.

Meanwhile Oklahoma State is cutting a swath of destruction through the entire Big 12. Coach Mike Gundy refuses to let his foot off the pedal when he gets a big lead and his policy of running up the scores is finding him little support from his Big 12 conference coaches.

Brandon Weeden, the Cowboys quarterback, has a chance of breaking through the 4,000 passing yards mark this season during the match against the Cyclones but if not then, he should break that milestone in the season finale against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Iowa State may not be fielding any outstanding, next level type talent this season but they more than manage to string together a good 60 minutes of game and that is all any football team really needs to do. The Cyclones will mount a tough defence for the first half of this game that should prove to be a bit of a struggle for Oklahoma State.

If the Cowboys can weather the best storm Iowa State has to offer the game will be theirs and will likely show no mercy in this NCAA football match up.

2010 was a step up for Jones, who threw for 38 touchdowns and only 4,718 yards. Jones increase production is a result attributed to his coach, Bob Stoops, committing to the run and allowing Jones some freedom in the passing department.

Jones is piling up the numbers early this season. His last game against the Missouri Tigers resulted in 448 yards and three touchdowns. Jones has only scored one touchdown in his in each of his last two games prior to the big day against Missouri.

Being mentioned for the Heisman Trophy can have different effects on different players. Some will rise to the occasion and take the run for the trophy seriously and others will say their team is more important than individual accolades.

Many experts are on the fence about Jones and his commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners. If Jones does make a serious run at the Heisman he will be gone from Norman in a matter of weeks as he heads for the NFL Draft. With that in mind it will be interesting to see how Stoops plays Jones in the coming weeks.

Jones can solidify himself as a one of the greatest Sooners in the history of the school if he can beat the Texas Longhorns and win the BCS Championship Game. Jones is the key to the success of his team and his value is immeasurable.

Make sure you check out all of the prop bets on Heisman Trophy candidates at your favorite online sportsbook.

The Cowboys are not innocent in the recent defections from the Big 12 but at the moment they are a Big 12 representative and the conference is looking for them to represent this weekend.

The Aggies are favored by three-points as the home favorite, according to the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook and with good reason. If you can’t make it to Las Vegas before the kick off you can always get in on the action at the online sportsbook Legends.com.

The Aggies are solid this year. The battle between two of the most powerful teams in the Big 12 promises to be the game of the week. The Aggies rank No. 8 in the college football rankings and the Cowboys rank No. 7. Las Vegas places special emphasis on a college team on their home turf.

This confuses the average bettor but the line is never a consideration in college football. This game is all about pride and desire. Who wants it more?

Cowboys quarterback, Brandon Weeden is the leading passer in college football and he is capable of dissecting this Texas A&M defense. Weeden is a surprise candidate for the Heisman Trophy early in the season and if he comes through in this huge game he will be the runaway leader for the coveted trophy.

Ryan Tannehill, the Aggies senior quarterback is battle tested and capable of destroying this average defense. The edge in the quarterback department goes to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Weeden but don’t write off Tannehill.

The outlook on this game is simple: Expect scoring and plenty of it. Enjoy a great college football team between two of the best in the Big 12.

I’ve heard many people say that you always want to be against the Top 25, because the sportsbooks believe the public will almost always be on the side of the ranked team. I’ve heard that you should always be the underdog if they are playing at home. I’ve even heard specific rules like, always take the lesser ranked team if they are favored. Some I like, some I don’t, but the bottom line is, good teams and bad teams can win against the spread.

I like good teams that stumble out of the gates. If you remember back to last year, Virginia Tech was the perfect example of this. They lost their opener to Boise State, then lost their 2nd game in embarrassing fashion. After that, the kicked butt. Nobody talked about them until late, but by season’s end, their 0-2 start made Hokie loyalists money, as they finished 10-3 against the spread.

They weren’t the only money maker in college football. Here are some of the teams that fared well against the spread last season: North Carolina State (9-3), Ohio State (10-2-1), Illinois (8-4), Oklahoma State (10-3), Central Florida (10-3), Tulsa (8-4), Northern Illinois (10-2-1), Boise State (9-4), Stanford (8-3-1), Auburn (9-3-1), Washington State (8-3), Arkansas (9-3), Hawaii (10-3).

Not all of those are great teams and not all of them are losers – don’t be tricked, there’s great value in winners and losers alike!

Stanford Cardinal’s Andrew Luck will be at or near the top of the list. Although Luck opted to return for his junior year in Palo Alto, he would have been the first player taken in this year’s NFL draft. This season, the Stanford signal caller is the betting odds favorite (3/1) to win the Heisman Trophy. Andrew threw for 3,338 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Denard Robinson was a lethal two way threat last year passing for 2,750 yards and rushing for 1,702 yards with a combined 32 touchdowns. Although he is actually closer to 5-9, he is listed as 6-foot.

As evidenced by his 4,718 yards passing and 38 touchdowns, Landry Jones was a force in 2010. In the preseason rankings he will be carrying an added burden this year as the QB for the top team.

Robert Griffin holds the school record for yards (6,073) and TD passes (40). Last season with 22 touchdowns, he threw for 3,501 yards. He might be the most athletic and intelligent QB of the bunch.

If Case Keenum stays healthy he could end up with every major NCAA career record but the one he wants most is career passing yards. Keenum has 13,586 and the record is 17, 072 held by Hawaii’s Tommy Change.

Matt Barkley had 2791 yards passing and 26 touchdowns for a Trojan team that was and will be, on NCAA probation.

While gaining 486 yards on the ground and five scores, Darron Thomas was a dual threat passing for 2,881 yards and 30 touchdowns.

On Saturday, in Stanford’s annual spring game, Quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 165 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Cardinal to a 42-3 rout of the White.

Luck said that there was a lot of points on the board, so he guessed it worked out.

David Shaw was impressed by Luck as he wound up a touchdown in all four of his drives.

Since Jim Harbaugh left to coach the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, this spring has been a transition for both of them. Under the new coach-quarterback duo, this game was the first chance to see what the Cardinal offense would look like.

On all four of his possessions Luck led the Cardinal to TD drives, and he finished 16 for 22 passing. Zach Ertz, who caught all three touchdown passes and finished with 64 yards receiving, he also found a new favorite target in tight end.

Luck said that seeing where this team’s going to go, he thought that a little bit of it was feeling each other out.  He further added that for this offseason, for this summer, for training camp, the spring provides a good base of something to work on. Guys realize it’s going to take a lot more work to be a good team and they are starting to step up.

Several starters are back from a 12-1 team that finished fourth in the final AP poll and Luck returns at quarterback after putting off being the NFL draft’s likely No. 1 pick, since the unbeaten 1940 team finished second, the school’s best ranking.

Michigan State University

In online sportsbook the Michigan State Spartans are at 125-1 to win the 2011 BCS National Championship in College Football Betting.

Sims, who pleaded guilty in September, was sentenced to one year of probation and 15 hours of community service for receiving and concealing stolen property. His lawyer had argued Sims wasn’t directly involved in the theft and was only involved as a middleman.

The sophomore player will take part in workouts when the Spartans open spring practice Tuesday, head coach Mark Dantonio said when he announced Sims’ reinstatement Monday.

“He’s done everything we asked him to do,” Dantonio said. “He’s been compliant in every respect.”

Meanwhile, tight end Brian Linthicum and linebacker Max Bullough will sit out the first few practices of the spring as part of the program’s internal discipline, Dantonio said.

Both were arrested in early March in Aspen, Colo. Linthicum was charged with misdemeanor assault and eluding police, and Bullough, 19, with possession of alcohol by a minor and eluding an officer. The players are scheduled to appear in court April 19.

The NCAA has asked the Pac-10 College Football team to provide documents relating to its use of two recruiting services.

The Ducks were 12-1 SU last season and lost to Auburn in the BCS title game as a 2-point underdog in College Football Odds.

The move comes after Oregon officials told ESPN.com the school paid $25,000 in the spring of 2010 for recruiting services.

NCAA officials want a closer look at Oregon’s recruitment of running back Lache Seastrunk, a redshirt freshman from Temple, Texas, who was one of the country’s most highly recruited prospects in 2010, according to sources close to the inquiry.

ESPN.com reported this that the NCAA is specifically asking what role Texas-based trainer Willie Lyles played in Seastrunk’s decision to attend Oregon.

“We have been asked to provide a series of documents by the NCAA and intend to fully cooperate,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. “I reiterate that it is our belief that the purchase of such services is within the allowable NCAA guidelines.”

Oregon reportedly paid $25,000 to Lyles of Complete Scouting Services in Houston. He has been a mentor to Ducks running back Seastrunk and also has worked with running back LaMichael James, a Heisman trophy finalist.

The NCAA has a bylaw that states a student-athlete can permit a scouting service or agent to provide personal information to a school as long as any fee is not based on placing the player at a school.