Kelly passes first test

A few prominent teams flopped, a few pitiful teams were involved in total fiascos and then there was Notre Dame and coach Brian Kelly, who made a positive first impression.

The curtain has been raised on the college football season, which appears will be a wild one. There's much to review from the opening weekend, and yet the best matchup is saved for last as Boise State takes on Virginia Tech today.

The warmup to Week 1 of the NFL brought long-awaited signs of life to Las Vegas sports books.

"Coming off a dead summer, any business seemed like good business," Cal Neva sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. "It was a solid start to the season."

The same was true of Kelly's debut with the Fighting Irish, who toughed out a 23-12 victory over Purdue. It was not a spectacular shootout, but it was optimistic in that Notre Dame showed it can run the ball and get nasty on defense.

"It looks like Kelly is the real deal," Bogdanovich said. "I was impressed with Notre Dame because they looked more organized and they looked like a football team again."

No disrespect to the arrogant Charlie Weis, but good riddance and good luck with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The next hurdle for the Irish will be taller. Michigan, led by sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson, visits Saturday. Notre Dame opened as a 4½-point favorite.

Robinson completed 19 of 22 passes for 186 yards and rushed for 197 yards in a 30-10 thrashing of Connecticut. He unseated Tate Forcier as the starter and got coach Rich Rodriguez off the hot seat, at least for a week.

"The winner of that game is going to come out with a lot of confidence and a chance for a big season," Bogdanovich said.

There were 37 games on the main betting board Thursday through Sunday and favorites went 19-16-2, including 14-14-1 on Saturday. Purdue-Notre Dame was a push for most bettors.

The miracle cover on the underdog side came from UNLV, which was statistically dominated in a 41-21 loss to Wisconsin. The line closed with the Rebels getting 20½ or 21 points.

At least three questions emerged from the game. How did Mike Clausen beat out Omar Clayton for the starting quarterback job? How did the Badgers not win by more than 30 points? Why did UNLV coach Bobby Hauck order a 48-yard field-goal attempt with his team trailing by 20 midway through the fourth?

Nevertheless, the Wisconsin bettors got burned again, and that was a major factor in helping Las Vegas books turn a minor profit for the week. Bogdanovich said there were "a ton of Wisconsin parlays."

Other high-profile teams that flopped and failed to cover big numbers were Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. The Gators, favored by 39, struggled mightily to put away Miami (Ohio), 34-12.

"The disappointment was Florida. They looked terrible. Maybe Urban Meyer should have retired," Bogdanovich said. "They were the shock of the week for me."

But the biggest fiasco, by far, was from New Mexico. Oregon rolled up 720 yards total offense in a 72-0 victory. The Ducks, favored by 35, led 59-0 at halftime and could have hung 100 points on the board. The Lobos were held to 107 total yards.

Thirty-nine games were posted on the "Extra Added" board at the Las Vegas Hilton. Two stood out.

Mississippi was upset by Jacksonville State 49-48 in double overtime. Kansas, in coach Turner Gill's ugly debut, fell 6-3 to North Dakota State.

Mississippi and Kansas were each 29-point favorites.

Boise State, behind quarterback Kellen Moore, will try to slay another giant tonight. The Broncos opened as 3-point favorites, but action on Virginia Tech has dropped the line to Boise minus-1.

The schedule for the second week gets better. Ohio State opened as a 10-point favorite over Miami in the marquee matchup. Also, Alabama (-11) hosts Penn State, and Oklahoma (-8½ hosts Florida State.

UNLV is a 22½-point underdog at Utah, and few people will be running to the window to wager on the Rebels.

n BOTTOM LINES -- Cal Neva is one of three sports books offering college contests, and the deadlines are Saturday for all three. The others are at Leroy's and Station Casinos.

I'll be co-hosting a new radio show, the "Las Vegas Betting Line," with the Review-Journal's Adam Hill. The one-hour show, on KDWN-AM (720), debuts at midnight and will air weeknights. Tonight's guest is Bruce Marshall of The Gold Sheet and VegasInsider.com.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.