In the FCS Huddle: Coaching at South Dakota re-energizes Glenn

NCAA Football Betting Lines

01/30/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monday's forecast in Vermillion, S.D., was downright balmy for this time of the year - a high into the 50s. Of course, that's not quite the sunshine and 75 degrees being enjoyed in Phoenix.

Some of the friends whom 62-year-old Joe Glenn left behind in Arizona might be getting a kick over his approach to retirement.

"They're doing a better job of it than I did," the new South Dakota football coach said with a laugh.

Glenn hopes a return to his alma mater in Vermillion lasts much longer than a senior moment. South Dakota athletic director David Sayler handpicked Glenn to be the Coyotes' head coach as they head from the disbanding Great West Football Conference into the rugged Missouri Valley Football Conference this year.

There weren't a lot of head coaches on the open market who already had won a FCS national championship. USD gained just that in Glenn, who led Montana to the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) national crown and went on to coach on the FBS level at Wyoming.

"This is the swan song for sure. I'm exhilarated," Glenn said. "The place has kick-started my heart for football. I was a little beat up after the Wyoming thing (he was fired after his sixth season in 2008), to tell you the truth. I got into some broadcasting for a while living in Phoenix, but I know right now the coaching staff, the players have given me a real sense of belonging. It's wonderful to be at my university. I had no idea I'd feel this great. I'm having a ball."

Known for his positive approach, the 1971 USD graduate jumped right into recruiting and assembling his coaching staff following his hiring on Dec. 5.

The recruiting class, to be announced on national signing day Wednesday, features such commitments as Chris Wiseman, a touted defensive end out of Montana, and appears to be on a higher level now that USD is moving to the Missouri Valley, home of the reigning national champion, North Dakota State.

"I'm having more fun recruiting this year than I have in all my years of coaching," said Glenn, whose 188-100-1 career record includes stints at Doane and Northern Colorado as well as Montana and Wyoming. "I have a bunch of coaches that are cracking and hustling and are great at it, very personable people.

"I was talking to Wesley Beschorner, our offensive coordinator and associate head coach, and I asked him, 'How does this compare with classes of the past?' I've been out of it for a little while and I haven't been at South Dakota, certainly, for a long time. I flat-out felt like this is a special class provided we finish strong. We have won over schools that we haven't won over for a while. If you kind of gauge from that, you feel like you're having success."

The Coyotes' recruiting class includes three junior college transfers, Butler Community College (Kan.) teammates Jasper Sanders, a running back, and Dennis (D.J.) Wakes, a safety, and Palomar College safety Devin Taverna, whom Glenn believes will make immediate contributions.

"You have to have an idea of who you can and can't get," Glenn said. "You can sit here, chase around guys whose visits are at Southern Cal and Washington and Notre Dame - and it's hard to get in those homes - but we are competing at a very high level against other schools that are in FCS Division I. It feels good."

As South Dakota moves into a stronger conference, Glenn is faced with improving on what was a solid eight seasons under head coach Ed Meierkort, whose contract was not renewed after the season despite a 54-35 record. The Coyotes, who were 6-5 this past season, would have shared the Great West title if not for a fourth-quarter meltdown against North Dakota in the finale.

Glenn will use spring practices to open up competition at all positions. The Coyotes are losing an influential senior class, including quarterback Dante Warren and All-America offensive tackle Tom Compton, but will return some key players such as leading running back Marcus Sims, wide receivers Will Powell and Jeremy Blount, and defensive end Tyler Starr.

Starr's production on the edge - a Great West-best 14 sacks - plays right into the multiple 4-3 defensive alignment that the Coyotes will use under new defensive coordinator Jason Petrino.

With Beschorner returning to run the offense, USD will no doubt rely on the run because of the talent in the backfield and the need for a new quarterback.

"We're not going to change much. Things aren't broken here," said Glenn, whose new team won at Big Ten member Minnesota two years ago and defeated 2010 FCS national champion Eastern Washington in the DakotaDome this past season.

"The cupboard isn't bear, that's for sure. When I go into the weight room, we've got some big dudes. There's some big corn-fed Midwestern linemen on the team that kind of tip the dome when they walk in. So we've got good size, good skill people, people that can run. Their jumping ability as far as their athleticism - we measured that a little bit - there's some really fine athletes in the program. I'm anxious to see how spring ball turns out."

It's always sunny in Vermillion.

Broadacst NCAA Football Betting News

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

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