Opening line for the Cal vs Tennessee football game

#1
allvol

allvol

Eternally Optimistic
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#1
A friend of a friend :crazy: works in Vegas and is somehow involved in setting the opening lines for football games. What I've been told is that Cal will start as a 4 1/2 - point favorite. Can anyone confirm this?

Keep in mind that my friend is a huge Cal fan.
 
#2
#2
Wow . . . I know we had a down year, but that is amazing. Almost makes me want to place a bet.
 
#5
#5
Might as well takes bets on whether Phil Steele and or Lindy's will have the Vols in the top 15!
 
#6
#6
(jayisavol @ Mar 23 said:
cal is a good team the line doesnt suprise me
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Doesn't really surprise me either. They are a good team. I'm just thinkig that there's no way I'd lay that many points on Cal with a new offense, in an opener, against an SEC opponent, 2,000 miles from home.
 
#7
#7
(GAVol @ Mar 23 said:
Doesn't really surprise me either. They are a good team. I'm just thinkig that there's no way I'd lay that many points on Cal with a new offense, in an opener, against an SEC opponent, 2,000 miles from home.
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I think they look at how many returning starters each team has, at how many key postions, how good the teams were at the end of last season, and what the preseason rankings are for each team.

Based on that, its not surprising UT is the underdog. They lost a lot of starters, and were not playing that well at the end of the season.

I'm not sure about Cal, who they have returning, and at what position.

The preseason lines/rankings are notorious for being wrong, just look at UT last year.
 
#8
#8
(allvol @ Mar 23 said:
A friend of a friend :crazy: works in Vegas and is somehow involved in setting the opening lines for football games. What I've been told is that Cal will start as a 4 1/2 - point favorite. Can anyone confirm this?

Keep in mind that my friend is a huge Cal fan.
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alright, where can i place my bets at ? :gun:
 
#9
#9
The only thing that surprises me is the fact there is a line out for this game... in March.
 
#10
#10
From collegefootballnews.com

California Spring practice starts March 20, Spring Game April 22
The big spring question is ... Is the team really good or is it overhyped? Cal got on the national map two years ago after just missing in a loss to USC, but it hasn't really won a really, really big game since the overtime victory over the Trojans in 2003. Cal gets the respect, but last year was a disappointment mostly because of shaky quarterback play. With so many options to choose from this year from Steve Levy to Nate Longshore to Joe Ayoob, and a Heisman-caliber back in Marshawn Lynch, the offense will be good enough to challenge for the Pac 10 title. This has to be the year Cal shows it's a true national power.
The most important position to watch is ... Offensive lineman. The quarterback situation will get all the press, but the real key to the season could be the development of the front line that loses heart-and-soul center Marvin Philip, tackle Ryan O'Callaghan and guard Aaron Merz. Center Alex Mack and guard Bryan Deemer have to be stars right away.
Spring attitude... The potential is there for a really, really big season. Cal starts off at Tennessee, and even though the Vols might still be hung over from last year, that would be a fantastic win to give the program a shot of confidence. The offense has too much firepower and the defense has too many returning playmakers to not shoot for the BCS. With all due respect to Oregon State and Arizona, Cal has two nasty road games after the trip to Knoxville playing at Washington State and at USC, so. 9-2 or 10-1 isn't completely out of the question.
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#11
#11
i have a feeling it will be closer to 7 points by the time it matters. this game will tell how tennessee's season will go.
 
#12
#12
also from collegefootballnews.com...

Tennessee Spring practice starts March 2, Spring Game April 8

The big spring question is ... So what really went wrong? It's too easy to blame former offensive coordinator Randy Sanders for everything and looking back, only the Vanderbilt loss was completely inexcusable. Of course, by that point of the season the wheels had completely come off. The defense never got credit for a great season because the offense couldn't score with an attack that struggled in every phase. The offensive line had a bad year, the receiving corps didn't make nearly enough plays, and ...

The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback. Is Erik Ainge the answer? He had a solid freshman season, but wasn't consistent last year forcing the limited Rick Clausen to play way too much. Ainge has next-level talent, but he has to focus and has to be a much sharper decision maker. Jonathan Crompton has a banged up shoulder which should finally be healthy by the start of the season. Bo Hardegree will also get a shot, but the season depends on Ainge and his ability to turn his career around.

Spring attitude... Last year was last year. Tennessee hasn't been a rock at home lately, but it gets most of the big games in Knoxville with three tough road dates at Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas. Any team wanting to win the SEC title has to be good enough to handle away games against Memphis and Vanderbilt. The return of David Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator should jump-start the attack, while there are still more than enough good players to come up with another good defensive year.
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#14
#14
espn college football front page has a articleon cal and their possibly being one of the nations best teams this year.
 
#15
#15
Nothing like an opening line in the Spring to get the blood flowing.
 
#16
#16
I still want to know why we always play huge games the first few weeks of the seaon before we really get settled in as a team!!!!!!!
 
#17
#17
Think of when the deal was inked to play Cal - what they have done in the lat few years didn't even play into it at all. I am just glad we don't have that dreadful week off before the UF game.
 
#18
#18
(VOLracerx @ Mar 23 said:
Think of when the deal was inked to play Cal - what they have done in the lat few years didn't even play into it at all. I am just glad we don't have that dreadful week off before the UF game.
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agreed....teams are different. Some teams can take a bye week...heal...prep up...and come out smokin. The Vols however are the other type...they take a week off and seem to lose steam...their edge.
 
#19
#19
I'll lay a Benny F on the Vols.



Dangit. I told myself I was going to stay away from these threads until AT LEAST June. Oh well. It's all downhill from here.
 
#20
#20
The question i keep asking myself is this. How many teams have come back from finishing with a losing record to win the the SEC the next year?

I do not know of any teams recently. Worst case I remember is Auburn who went 8-5 in 2003 and 13-0 in 2004.

In 1988 UT went 5-6, and in 1989 went 11-1. That was 18 years ago though. It can happen, but it hasn't happened very often in the past.

Before everyone starts flaming, I am only trying to temper everyone's expections. It doesn't happen very often that a team comes back from a losing season to win their conference.
 
#22
#22
I believe UT plays 9-12 games in the State of Tennessee. Nuff said.

Coaching will dictate the season NOT one game against ANYONE team.

UT has the talent to be top 10-15, now that could have been said many times in the past & we should have been top 5 AT LEAST in 05.
 
#23
#23
(RealVol @ Mar 25 said:
I believe UT plays 9-12 games in the State of Tennessee. Nuff said.

Coaching will dictate the season NOT one game against ANYONE team.

UT has the talent to be top 10-15, now that could have been said many times in the past & we should have been top 5 AT LEAST in 05.
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