Line it up: Nebraska Cornhuskers and early betting odds

What to do when you are Jonesing for college football in the July heat? Look ahead at the betting lines, of course.



NFL lines are easier to get, but the knowledgeable and comical Blatant Homerism has posted the early lines for some of college football's "big games" from Las Vegas' Golden Nugget Casino. Gotta love a casino posting lines for games in November when falls camps have yet to begin.



The Huskers, who have variously been listed as 50-1 to win the BCS championship in January, have been favored by many to win the Big 12 North. The two games that appear to be the key (going by these way-too-early lines) come Thursday, Oct. 8 in Columbia against Missouri and Nov. 14 in Lawrence against Kansas.



The Huskers are a pick-em at Mizzou, which actually means the Huskers are favored by 3 or so.

Kansas is favored by 2 1/2 over Nebraska, making that game basically even in the oddsmakers' minds.



Nebraska is a 6-point underdog at Virginia Tech, which opens as a 4-point dog to Alabama in their Sept. 5 game in Atlanta.



In the other games listed, the Huskers are favored by 7 over Mike Leach's Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma is favored by 9 1/2 over the Huskers in Lincoln and NU is a 6-point favorite over Colorado on Nov. 27



Some of the other lines: Texas is a 3-point favorite over Oklahoma; Oklahoma State is a 3-point favorite against Georgia; Oklahoma is favored by 10 at Miami. The Sooners are also favored by 9 at Texas Tech and by 10 1/2 at home against Oklahoma State.


Florida, considered by almost everyone as the preseason No. 1, is an 11-point favorite at LSU.

McBride joins Harris Poll as voter

Former Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride will be one of the 114 voters in the Harris Poll that is part of the BCS standings, and McBride intends to take his job seriously.


As he told the Journal Star's Steven Sipple about evaluating teams: “I’ll tell you what’s really important. You look first at how many snaps the offensive line has played together. You look at our old teams at Nebraska, when we were really good, those guys played together for two years.”

McBride figures the Cornhuskers in the 15 to 18 range, according to Sipple's article. McBride also sees Florida as the top team. The Harris Poll consists of media, former coaches, players, administrators and others. Trev Alberts was one of the voters last season. Voting does not begin until the fourth week of the season.

Click for the rest of Sipple's interview with McBride

Few tickets remain for Cotton Bowl

Cotton Bowl officials say less than 2,000 reserved tickets remain for the Jan. 2 game, which will be played at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Tickets are $100 for seats on the upper sideline. Parking passes are a pricey $40 for the game, which will pit a Big 12 team against an SEC team. You can see available seats here.

The Cotton Bowl had been played at Fair Park in Dallas since 1937.

The Cornhuskers are 1-3 in Cotton Bowl games, playing last in 2007 when they lost to Auburn 17-14.

Non-conference home games on pay-per-view

The Cornhuskers' three home non-conference games will be available through pay-per-view on Big 12 Special Order Sports.

The Cornhuskers will open with Florida Atlantic at 6 p.m. on Sept. 5. They will play Arkansas State on Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. Nebraska's Sept. 26 game against Louisiana-Lafayette will be Homecoming and also will mark the Huskers' 300th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.