College football coaches were falling like flies after Week 13. Fans heap their scorn upon coaches with underachieving programs; even Pete Carroll, the brilliant coach of the USC Trojans, heard the boos earlier this season when the team was in the midst of losing to Stanford. The Trojans might end up in the Rose Bowl anyway, but will that be enough to salve Carroll’s pride?

If not, the NFL beckons. The Miami Dolphins were reportedly very interested in luring Carroll out of college to replace Nick Saban, before inking Cam Cameron instead. In 2005, rumors suggested Carroll might be on his way to the pros; last year, stories out of Arizona mused about a Carroll-Matt Leinart reunion. Still, nobody has come up with a suitable offer to pry Carroll from the college ranks.

Carroll has professed his love for USC time and again. It’ll take a lot more than one rough patch to send him packing.

Talk about a huge payout! Twenty-one-year-old S.W. out of Lufkin, Texas is either extremely skilled and/or one lucky dude as he has just picked up a sweet haul on a 12-team college football parlay over at the Bodog Sportsbook. Damn! Betting $20 on the following NCAAF teams, S.W. won $47,921.78! Here’s how he did it:

Team | Pointspread | Game Time
LSU -18½, Thu@8:00p (Win)
Nebraska -21½, Sat@3:30p (Win)
Wisconsin -14, Sat@3:30p (Win)
BYU -4, Sat@5:30p (Win)
TCU -21, Sat@6:00p (Win)
Texas Tech -8½ (-105), Mon@4:00p (Win)
West Virginia -23½, Sat@3:30p (Win)
Pittsburgh -20, Sat@6:00p (Win)
Missouri -4½, Sat@3:30p (Win)
Oregon State -6½, Thu@10:00p (Win)
UCLA -17, Sat@3:30p (Win)
Akron -5½, Sat@7:00p (Win)

Think you’ve got what it takes to bet on college football and win big? Try betting on a 12-team parlay and see what happens! (Don’t know what a 12-team parlay is? Good Lord. Read up on how to bet on football in any good sports betting guide.)

Road trips are part of the college experience. But football players have more to worry about than running out of Doritos or not showering for three days. A schedule littered with away games in hostile territory can ruin a team’s season.

It’s a very rare event for the top college programs to lose at home. The USC Trojans, for example, have won 33 games in a row at home, setting a Pacific-10 record and going 23-8 ATS over the past five seasons at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

But that’s nothing compared to the blue turf at Bronco Stadium. Boise State is an amazing 51-2 at home since 1999 inclusive. Sure, playing against questionable WAC (and before that, Big West) opponents helps, but the Broncos are also 30-12 ATS at home during that span. Don’t hold your breath waiting for BSU to lose at home this year, either.

No doubt you’ve heard of the Heisman Trophy. Maybe you’re even familiar with the Outland Trophy. The “Freshman of the Year Award” isn’t quite as sexy – only been around since 2001, after all. Texas QB Colt McCoy won last year’s honors; who will be the lucky recipient this year?

Quarterback being the marquee position that it is, you’ll probably hear a lot about Washington’s Jake Locker. According to Scout.com, Locker is “a bigger Marques Tuiasosopo with a stronger arm.” That’s high praise for the local boy – he’s from Ferndale, not far from the Canadian border.

Your other strong FOY candidate is running back DeMarco Murray, who will start the season splitting duties at Oklahoma with senior RB Allen Patrick. Adrian Peterson’s shoes may be too big to fill, but if OU challenges for the Big 12 title, Murray’s contribution will put him in the driver’s seat to win the award – provided Patrick doesn’t steal the spotlight.