Posted on 12/31/2007 2:11:52 PM

NCAA Football Betting – Insight Bowl Indiana at Oklahoma State

By Charles Jay

LAST POINTSPREAD RESULT: Indiana ended its regular season with a 27-24 home win over Purdue, covering as a one-point underdog. Oklahoma State lost 49-17 to Oklahoma, failing to cover as a 13.5-point dog.

ABOUT INDIANA:

The Good News -- Kellen Lewis is an extremely capable double-threat quarterback. He threw for 26 touchdowns and rushed for 653 yards. His top target, and one of the nation's best, is 6'7" James Hardy, who caught 75 passes for 1075 yards and 16 TD's. The Hoosiers had 42 quarterback sacks, and defensive end Greg Middleton had 16 of them. Austin Starr has converted on 31 of 36 field goal attempts.

The Bad News -- Indiana ended the season ranked 73rd in pass defense, giving up 239 yards a game. And the Hoosiers scored just 12 rushing TD's this season. This program has not been to a bowl game since 1993.

INDIANA TRENDS:

* IND has lost four of its last six games SU

* IND has played its last four games UNDER the total

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE:

The Good News -- Zac Robinson was a do-everything QB for OSU. Robinson passed for 2522 yards and 20 TD's, while throwing just eight INT's - two of them in the last seven games. Robinson also rushed for 777 yards. The Cowboys averaged 246 rushing yards per game, and RB Dantrell Savage has now topped the 100-mark in nine straight games. Adarius Bowman *61 catches for 932 yards), one of the nation's most highly-regraded wide receivers, is back after two games missed with injury.

The Bad News -- Oklahoma State surrendered 32 points per game, and ranked 103rd in total defense (116th in pass defense). The Cowboys were only 2-6 SU against bowl teams this year.

OKLAHOMA STATE TRENDS:

* OKLA ST has covered one of its last five games

* OKLA ST was 1-2 ATS as a favorite

THE BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma State should be able to neutralize, to a certain extent, Indiana's defensive strength - rushing the passer. The Cowboy offensive line has allowed only 11 sacks all year and Zac Robinson is very hard to contain. Both of the All-America caliber wideouts - Bowman and Hardy - will find plenty of room against substandard defensive secondaries. The OSU run game (246 ypg) gives them more balance than Indiana, but Kellen Lewis will keep the Cowboy defense well off-balance as well. Keep an eye on Indiana's James Bailey, who has averaged 27 yards a return. And remember that there is an inspirational motive with the Hoosiers, who lost their well-regarded head coach, Terry Hoeppner, prior to the season when he succumbed to a brain tumor. The bottom line here is that this is one of those games with highly competent offensive personnel. playing against defenses who routinely have a problem stopping even pedestrian opposition.

We'll go "over" the 69 points, as posted in the BetUS NCAA football betting odds.

WHAT: Insight Bowl

WHO: Indiana Hoosiers (7-5 SU, 6-4 ATS) vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-6 SU, 4-6 ATS)

WHEN & WHERE: December 31, 5 PM ET at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ (grass)

BETUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING LINE: OKLAHOMA ST. -4, Total: 69

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(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com loves to help people pick winners. He is a regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room)