EWU home victories would turn opponents red

NCAA Football Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an effort to boost exposure, Eastern Washington University will literally go in the red this year, replacing the traditional grass surface of Woodward Field with red artificial turf.

The move is admittedly PR-driven, as athletic director Bill Chaves attempts to drum up interest in a program which averages around 5,000 attendees per home game.

"The uniqueness of the red field was able to generate an amazing amount of publicity," Chaves said after announcing his plan.

It is commonly believed in sports, however, that winning is the true elixir. The quality of the product on the field ultimately puts people in the seats. Is it possible then that Eastern Washingtons new "Red Zone" will serve not only as a marketing wonder, but also as a decisive in-game home field advantage?

The Eagles already project to be a formidable unit in the upcoming 2010-11 season. They add quarterback, and SMU transfer, Bo Levi Mitchell to an offense which includes Walter Payton Award nominee Taiwan Jones. The defense is again anchored by standout senior linebacker J.C. Sherritt.

So it appears likely that the Big Sky Conference school will improve upon last season's 8-4 record. But will this improvement be further accelerated by the presence of a potentially bewildering playing surface?

The questions have already begun to mount. Will the brown hue of the football blend in with the red turf? Will opposing quarterbacks be able to detect defenders, draped in red, lurking in the secondary? Will practicing on the field give Eastern Washington an unfair advantage come game day? Visiting teams' pregame preparations will surely include at least a mention of the freakish turf, no?

Those affiliated with Eastern Washington know better than to speculate. As Sherritt, the 2009 Buck Buchanan Award runner-up, said, "Playing on FieldTurf's gonna be great, especially later in the year when it gets cold. I'm looking forward to that. The fact that it's red is just a perk." Sherritt chose to downplay the turf color's significance, but will it supply more of a perk than he anticipates? For an answer, one must look no further than the most recognizable turf in college football, the template for freakish turf, the original, the path blazer, the one and only "Smurf Turf" at Boise State.

When Boise State unveiled their now infamous "Smurf Turf" in 1986, opponents generally considered the field to be a joke. Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier relished the insults, seeing them as proof that opponents had the field in mind, thus enhancing Boise States home field advantage.

Upon the 20th anniversary of "Smurf Turfs" inception in 2006, Boise State had posted a 108-30 home record; a decided home-field advantage.

Chaves admittedly had Boise State in mind when conceiving this venture. While visiting the campus in July 2009, Chaves noticed, "It was the middle of July and people were coming with cameras. It was like a scene out of Field of Dreams. You lay it down and people will come."

Eastern Washington will find out how many will come on Sept 18, when it hosts Big Sky rival Montana in the home opener. Will the "Red Zone" be merely a spectacle for media and fans, or will it prove to be the 12th man in the Eastern Washington attack?

If Boise State is the litmus test, then Chaves and company ought to be encouraged. On Sept. 13, 1986, Boise State defeated Humboldt State, 74-0, in the inaugural "Smurf Turf" game. The win still stands as the largest margin of victory in school history.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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