posted May 22, 2008 at 15:53 in NCAA F Betting Trends

You’ve got to hand it to new Nebraska coach Bo Pellini. There hasn’t been this much excitement in Nebraska football or online football betting since the Cornhuskers had guys named Tommy Frazier and Eric Crouch leading the team downfield.

Pellini is a disciplined man. One of the things he has done while at Nebraska is visit the local bars, searching for his players, figuring out exactly which ones on his team are going to cause problems. It makes sense since Pellini comes from the football factory that is LSU. Hopefully, Pellini’s excellent contacts in the Deep South will help him recruit the speed players on offense and defense that’s now needed to contend in every single college football conference in the United States.

The key for online sportsbook followers and sports betting fans will be whether or not the changes that Pellini has made, and will continue to make during his first season in Lincoln, will translate to viable online wagering on Nebaska to win the 2008 – 2009 BSC National Championship.

The BetUS NCAAF online odds on the Cornhuskers right now are 80 to 1. Nebraska has always been a good program and with the return of Tom Osborne in an administrative role and the addition of Bo Pellini, the Cornhuskers should make a run at the Big 12 title. But will that translate to an undefeated season and a chance to win the BCS Championship?

First, the Cornhuskers return enough players on both offense and defense to make some noise. They return six on both sides of the ball. The key players on offense are Marlon Lucky and quarterback Joe Ganz. Ganz played very well when spelling the oft-injured Sam Keller last year. Lucky is an underrated, undersized, hard-nosed running back - - the type of guy that coach Pellini is going to love.

On defense the team returns key players in its secondary in safety Larry Asante and cornerback Armando Murillo. Both players will need to step things up in the Wild, Wild West that the Big 12 has become. There will be a lot of pressure on Murillo to cover those Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma wide receivers one on one.

Pellini also decided to switch undersized Cody Glenn from I-back to linebacker. Supposedly, the kid has really responded and there’s talk of Glenn gaining a starting position this year. Glenn ads needed speed to the Cornhuskers’ line-backing corp. Anybody who has watched Pelini’s defenses at LSU the past few years understands how important the line-backing corp is in his overall schemes.

But the question still remains, with all of these changes, are the Cornhuskers a legitimate threat in the exceptionally tough Big-12 Conference?

Maybe. It depends on the approach that Pellini and Osborne take to this season. Of course, everybody would like to win in their first year, but Pellini’s hope is get this team to a bowl game and not get the team, and himself, embarrassed against the likes of Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma. That means no more 55 point losses.

The schedule, as always, is going to be demanding. Nebraska plays Virginia Tech and Missouri back-to-back. Then, towards the end of the season, they’ve got a four game stretch where they have to play Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado. All four teams made it to bowl games last year. Oklahoma won the Big-12.

That put’s Bo Pellini in a tough situation this year. He needs to win enough games to recruit well but he can’t overextend himself. Any promises made in Lincoln are expected to translate onto the field.

Pellini knows this and has already tried to quiet the maniacal denizens that call themselves Cornhusker fans. He has admitted that not too much should be expected from Nebraska this upcoming season.

I’m inclined to agree with him, but the 80 to 1 BetUS online sportsbook odds keep slapping me in the face. Strange things can happen in college football and this is Nebraska. I’m going to have to take those sports betting odds, albeit at a small wager, and cross my fingers and hope that Pellini, in true SEC fashion, is downplaying the fact that the Cornhuskers do have a shot to not only win the Big -12 but to upset Florida, Ohio State or USC in the BCS National Championship game.

NCAA football betting has started, and BetUS sportsbook already has tons of college football Futures betting available for those of us who can't wait. Bet on the Heisman winner, Conference and Divisional winners and, of course, the 2008 BCS National Championship winner. Bet NCAA Football Futures in our sportsbook today in the Future / props section!