Conference-by-Conference, Week 1 Results

Here are ATS results for each conference from NCAA Week 1, along with some comments. These results will help us over the next couple of weeks while there are still alot of out-of-conference matchups, and will be revisited at bowl season to gauge conference strength… Results of all conference matchups and matchups with 1AA (Sorry, that what I’ll always call ‘em!) competition were not included. $= Denotes Against the Spread

The Good:

Big 12 North:- This much maligned division posted a 5-1$ mark this weekend (4-2 SU). Missouri and Colorado both gutted out tough wins, and Kansas St. put a genuine scare into Auburn, as they had the ball near midfield with a chance to tie on the final drive, after leading the entire game. Kansas bombed an overrated Central Michigan team, and Nebraska had no problem with Nevada. Big East:- This conference somehow remains undervalued despite last season’s strong showing. Only blemish was Syracuse, and the final tally was 4-1$, while only South Florida was sluggish in the conference's 3 matchups with 1AA. Big 10:- A rather soft 5-2 SU/ATS, especially when you take into account Michigan’s shocking loss to Appalachian St. Wisconsin and Iowa both covered, but neither were overly impressive. Minnesota lost to Bowling Green as a 14 pt. favorite. Pac 10: 6-2 SU/ 5-3 ATS, with a respectable SU/ATS loss by Washington St. in Madison. Washington and Arizona St. were both very impressive in blowout wins.

The Bad:

ACC: Thought this conference would be improved this season, but that wasn’t the case in Week 1, although it must be noted that 4 of the conferences top 8 teams played against each other (BC, Wake, Clemson, FSU) . Some really bad performances as Virginia got waxed in Laramie, Virginia Tech struggled with East Carolina, and NC St. lost at home to UCF. 3-3 SU/ 2-4$ were the final numbers. MAC: 3-7$ despite two outright upset wins by Kent and Bowling Green. Expected conference frontrunners Toledo and Central Michigan were thoroughly spanked SEC: The nation’s deepest conference simply could not live up to the hype, logging a 1-5$ mark (4-1 SU). Georgia was the only team to cover the pointspread from the SEC. Neither division really seperated itself from the other.

Too Early to Call:

Big 12 South: 3-2 SU/ 2-3$. Texas really struggled, winning by 8 as a 38 pt. favorite over a game Arkansas St. While Texas Tech and Oklahoma killed overmatched foes, Baylor and Oklahoma St. were beaten soundly. Also worth noting that Texas AM was outyarded in its win over 1AA Montana St. Conference USA: Only 3-6 SU, but 5-4 $. Rice’s lost to 1AA Nicholls St. certainly doesn’t help anything. Neither division really seperated itself. Mountain West: 4-3 SU/ATS, and worth noting that loser Utah was up 7-0 midway through the 2nd when they lost QB Johnson and RB Asiata. Probably the most underrated in this last category as loser Colorado St. lost by 3 in OT at Colorado, although Utah must be downgraded due to injuries. Sun Belt: Of course there were no straight up wins here (there never is!), but 3-3$ record with competitive performances by Troy, Lafayette, and especially Arkansas St. suggest some improvement in the Sun Belt. WAC: 1-3 SU/2-2 ATS, but too many 1AA matchups to really judge just yet. I think this can be a strong year for the WAC, but was suprised at San Jose’s total no show against Arizona St.