Midway through a busy opening Saturday of the college football season, Las Vegas oddsmaker Ed Salmons couldnt help himself. He had to look.Wisconsin, a double-digit underdog, had just taken a 13-0 lead on LSU early in the second half. The public had pounded LSU. The point spread moved across the market, growing from -10 to as high as -13. Seemingly every parlay, every teaser was hooked to the Tigers.Salmons logged on to the Westgate SuperBooks what if screen, a computer program that calculates how much the book would win or lose if a game ends with a specific outcome, and plugged in the score: Wisconsin 13, LSU 0.I expected to see a certain result, and it came three and half times more than what I thought, Salmons said. It was probably the biggest college football winner weve ever had.And thats not even counting the implications to the books national championship futures market. More money was bet on LSU to win the national title than any other team in the offseason at the SuperBook.Bolstered by the Badgers 16-14 upset of LSU, Las Vegas sportsbooks cruised to a profitable opening weekend that sent a pair of Texas upstarts shooting up the odds board to win the national championship and left Clemson bettors scratching their heads.Two Texas contenders?Houston moved from 80-1 to 20-1 to win the national championship at the Westgate, after the Cougars impressive 33-23 win over Oklahoma. Houston has been an underdog four times under coach Tom Herman and won each game outright. The Cougars opened at 100-1 to win the championship back in January. Salmons said the SuperBook took 29 bets on Houston at that price, ranging from $5 to $300, Salmons said.This feels like Boise State from a few years ago, except Houston has more good will built up with its wins over Florida State and Oklahoma, Salmons said. I dont there will be anyone arguing against them if they go undefeated.Texas also made a significant leap up the odds board, moving from 100-1 to 20-1 at the Westgate, after the Longhorns win over Notre Dame on Sunday. The Texas-Notre Dame game on Sunday was the most heavily-bet game of the weekend at Las Vegas sportsbook operator C.G. Technology. The largest point spread bet William Hills Nevada sportsbook had taken heading into the week was $44,000 on Texas +4. The Longhorns beat the Irish 50-47 in double overtime.Texas A&Ms overtime win over UCLA didnt garner nearly the amount of respect that Houston and Texas received. The Aggies remained at 100-1 to win the national title at the SuperBook.Clemson-AuburnC.G. Technology vice president of race and sports Jason Simbal said his book couldnt buy an Auburn bet all week. Eight of every 10 bets had Clemson, and 80 percent of the total money wagered was on Dabo Swinneys Tigers, who closed as 8-point favorites at most sportsbooks.Leading 19-13 late in the fourth quarter, Clemson drove from its own 25-yard line to Auburns 23. The Tigers faced a 3rd-and-10 with 50 seconds to play and were just looking to run out the clock. But running back Wayne Gallman ran out of bounds after a 6-yard gain, leaving Swinney with a decision on 4th-and-4.He elected not to risk kicking a field goal that would have put Clemson up by nine and instead went for it on fourth down, handing the ball again to Gallman, who failed to pick up the four yards.There was lots of grumbling at the end of Clemson-Auburn, of course, South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews joked. But I loved it.Auburn, with no timeouts, took over and moved into position to get a pair of Hail Mary attempts into the end zone. But Clemson survived for a 19-13 win.Everybody was on Clemson all day, and then a lot of people re-bet, parlays with Alabama-to-Clemson, Simbal said. Getting Auburn to cover there kind of capped off a good day.Not everyone was disappointed by Swinneys decision. A bettor at William Hills sportsbook at the Hyatt in Lake Tahoe staked $122,000 (ticket on left) on Clemson winning straight-up at -320. The bettor netted $38,125.Odds and ends? The Kent State-Penn State game attracted the only six-figure bet reported this weekend by MGMs sportsbook. A regular house player backed the Nittany Lions, who closed as 23.5-point favorites, but failed to cover in a 33-13 win. However, the MGM gave that six-figure victory back Monday night, when Florida State rallied from behind and covered the spread in a 45-34 win over Ole Miss.With the parlays that kicked in from this weekend, we need Mississippi a little more than usual, MGM assistant manager Jeff Stoneback said in the hours leading up to Monday nights game. We can lose close to six figures if Florida State covers the game with the parlays tied in.? William Hills sportsbook took a $40,000 moneyline bet on Tennessee (-1,300) to beat Appalachian State straight-up Thursday night. The bettor won $3,076.90 when the Volunteers, who trailed heading into the fourth quarter, prevailed in overtime.? Three off-the-radar games attracted the most action from respected players at the SuperBook. Salmons said sharps targeted Wyoming against Northern Illinois, Western Michigan against Northwestern and Southern Miss against Kentucky. All three underdogs won outright.? Nevada Gaming Control released revenue numbers for July last week. The states books won $11.8 million on baseball in July, making it the most profitable month ever for baseball, according to gaming control. Overall, the books netted an $11.1 million win in July, their 36th straight winning month.? Alabamas 52-6 rout of Southern Cal produced the biggest loss for Caesars sportsbooks. Ten times as much money was bet on the Crimson Tide than the Trojans. Carolina Hurricanes Gear . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Carolina Hurricanes Shirts . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Fake Hurricanes Jerseys .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras.INDIANAPOLIS -- Hes the hometown hope, the Butler University alum and die-hard Indiana Pacers fan who has put his modest, one-car program on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 ahead of powerhouse programs from Penske Racing and Andretti Autosport. Theres more, though, and it runs as deep as blood. The unflappable Ed Carpenter is also the stepson of series founder Tony George. That means his family tree has roots tracing all the way back to Tony Hulman, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway after World War II, and includes Mari Hulman George, who still serves as speedway chairman and on Sunday will proclaim once more, "Gentleman, start your engines!" So to say that much of Carpenters life has been lived in Gasoline Alley, where he spent his formative years, is about as fitting for him as the maxim that "haste makes waste." It also means that the Carpenter is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I started racing quarter midgets when I was 8 years old, and at that point, I was already part of the Hulman family. Thats the way its always been for me," said the 32-year-old Carpenter, whose quiet voice and disarming smile belie a fierce competitive streak. "I dont feel the pressure," he insisted moments later, as if driving home the point. "As far as the local fan base and support, its fun. I dont think that translates into pressure." Perhaps its not that Carpenter feels pressure, but that he no longer recognizes it. Hell be making his 10th start in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," but his first from the pole. And while peering eyes have been trained on him most of his life, Carpenter insists that the pressure he endures on a daily basis has never managed to overwhelm him. "I dont like to say it means more to me because Im from here," Carpenter said, "but it does mean a lot because of how much I love this place." His first memories of Indianapolis go back to 1991, when he sat in the balcony overlooking the track and watched Rick Mears qualify for the pole. Even then, Carpenter knew that he wanted to one day drive over the hallowed ground that has been in his family for decades. He proved at a young age that he could find victory lane, too, winning national championships in midgets and sprint cars. He graduated to Indy Lights and made his IndyCar debut in 2003, when he was hailed as part of the next wave of young American drivers who might someday wrestle the series back from a surge of foreign stars such as Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti. But things got sidetracked along the way, as they often do in racing, and Carpenter became an after-thought.dddddddddddd. He started to bounce around to different teams, trying to find magic once more. It wasnt until 2011, when he hooked up with Sarah Fisher Racing, that he won his first IndyCar race. And last year, after founding his own team, he surprised everyone but himself when he took the checked flag at the series finale at California. "Hes really a talent, and hes been developing for a long time, and hes become a special driver," said veteran Buddy Lazier, who also has a single-car team for this years Indy 500. "Its a huge inspiration," Lazier added. "Absolutely." That success would eventually come to Carpenter didnt come as a surprise to those closest to him. Time after time, they point out that he never gets too high or low -- that he keeps an even keel in the roughest of waters, and remains grounded during the best of times. "We all look at sports and talk about sports like its the end-all, be-all, right? But when youre in it, you realize theres a lot more to life," said Butler basketball coach Brad Stevens, whos known Carpenter for about six years. "I think hes got a great perspective on it." It was that perspective that stood out to former Masters and U.S. Open champion Fuzzy Zoeller, whose spirits company sponsors the No. 20 car that Carpenter will be driving on Sunday. "He doesnt run hot and cold, like 90 per cent of athletes do. Hes very, very calm," Zoeller said. "He doesnt get too fired up, he doesnt get too down, and thats very impressive. "Its a difficult thing," Zoeller added, "because they only have one car. But hey, dreams are made, right? You have to start with something." While he insists that pressure seems to run from his shoulders like water, Carpenter admits that hell be anxious when Sunday dawns. Hes not immune to the pageantry of the Indianapolis 500, the fly over and Jim Nabors and everything else that makes it such an iconic event. This is in his blood, after all. Its part of his very fabric. Nor does he know what his emotions will be like when the green flag drops, and he leads the field of 33 cars into the first corner with nothing in front of him but pavement. But its a moment that he intends to relish. "I mean, if someone out there tells you they dont get butterflies or dont get antsy, theyre flat-out liars," Carpenter said with a smile. "Theres no way people dont walk out from driver intros and see the crowd and dont feel that. I get goose bumps just thinking about it." ' ' '