Ask the Professors Volume 2: Q&A With Dana Lane

The Bilo College Football Report is bringing back an old favorite from the archives this season in the form of our "Ask the Professors" series. This series has brought together radio hosts, bloggers, sports beat writers, and many others from across the country and Canada to discuss college football topics ranging across the board. Throughout the season, I will bring opinions from across the spectrum to the reader once again in a series of thoughtful Q&A sessions with individuals from all corners of the sports media world on several topics involving the world of College Football.
This week we are joined by Dana Lane, of Dana Lane Sports. Dana has a wealth of knowledge in the sports betting industry, and is a fixture in the Las Vegas sports community. You can read his bio here: http://danalanesports.com/about/
Dana will be a recurring guest on "Ask the Professors" throughout the 2016 College Football season. Thanks to Dana for taking the time to contribute to this feature!


1. With the SEC finishing week one at 7-7, how should bettors react to the conference and their struggles moving forward, and should the week one results affect long term projections on those schools?

Dana Lane: I don't think that bettors should shy away from the SEC as a whole. Each one of those results was a separate entity with neither having anything to do with the other. One week isn't a trend. 

Besides, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri isn't ever a big shock when they lose unless it's to South Alabama. The other three were against respectable opponents in Wisconsin, FSU, and Clemson. 

I expect a bounce back week straight-up and ATS. 

2. The PAC-12 seemed to come up short in week one, specifically with Washington State falling to Eastern Washington. Will the PAC-12 likely recover to push for a Final 4 bid in 2016, or should we look to other conferences for prospective finalists?

Dana Lane: Similar answer to question number one. We just simply need to see more. Like the SEC I expect the Pac-12 to have a very good week even though they were 7-5 last week. The conference should have a 7-8 win week even with a couple bye's. 

3. With Houston beating Oklahoma, what are the chances that the Big 12 gets left out of the Final 4, and how should bettors react to oklahoma moving forward?

Dana Lane:  I don't think we can count anyone out right now, including Oklahoma. Let's see what we have from TCU but with their schedule it's hard to believe that they will run the table. Oklahoma can put itself right back into the discussion beating Ohio State and TCU in back to back weeks. That's the beauty of playing in a power conference, early losses mean nothing especially against Houston who could have been playing for a title last year had it not been for a silly slip up against UConn. 

As far as a general reaction to Oklahoma I can say I don't have much interest in laying 45 points his week but to label the whole season at this point would be lazy. 

4. With Alabama crushing USC 52-6, is Alabama going to look like a favorite in every other game they play this season?

Dana Lane: After one game I can't see a scenario where they would be a 'Dog' in any game. They were only a 'Dog' once last season and they crushed after the Bulldogs started 4-0 and 'Bama didn't yet have the complete public confidence after squeezing by Mississippi. Alabama has only been an underdog once since 2010. 

5. Which teams surprised you the most in week one, and which disappointed the most?

Dana Lane: Surprises was South Dakota State staying with TCU until the fourth quarter. I'm not sure Gary Patterson thought that Kenny Hill would have to throw 49 times to get the win. 

Disappointments has to include USC. Losing by 46 to Bama can demoralize a team for the rest of the season. This was a game where they could really measure themselves and they failed miserably.