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09/08/2010 - Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Spartans continue their early- season trek through some of the most treacherous waters imaginable as a week after taking on the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, they head north to battle the 11th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
This is the second straight year that San Jose State has opened the season against two teams in the Top-25, and the Spartans last beat a ranked opponent in 2000 when they topped No. 9 TCU at home in a 27-24 final. The last time SJSU won against a ranked foe on the road was when it knocked off No. 9 Baylor in 1980, 30-22.
Last week's 48-3 shellacking at Alabama spoiled the head coaching debut of Mike McIntyre, who took over for the retired Dick Tomey.
Wisconsin is 1-0 on the young season after beating UNLV last Saturday, 41-21. It was the 26th straight non-conference victory for the Badgers, who will be looking to win their 15th straight home opener this weekend. Under current coach Bret Bielema, UW is 12-0 against non-league foes at home.
This game marks only the second meeting between these two schools in football, the first encounter going to the Badgers, 56-10, at Spartan Stadium on September 13, 1997.
The Spartans gained just 175 total yards in last week's dismantling at Alabama, as senior QB Jordan La Secla completed a mere 7-of-14 passes for 85 yards with an INT. The SJSU ground attack didn't fare much better, accounting for 89 yards on 3.1 ypc. Brandon Rutley finished with 52 yards on 13 totes, and the Spartans were limited to seven first downs, going a paltry 1-of-13 on third-down conversion attempts.
La Secla, while disappointed in the outcome, tried to be optimistic when asked about SJSU's effort on offense against one of the top defenses in the country, "I feel like we did some good things. We showed we had some big play capability and we moved the ball pretty well at times. The score wasn't what we really wanted it to look like. Other than that we answered some questions on offense that we can move the ball. The next step is getting it into the end zone."
Despite the absence of Heisman-winning RB Mark Ingram, the Alabama offense had a field day against the San Jose State defense, scoring on five of its eight first-half possessions and racking up 591 total yards for the game -- 257 rushing and 334 passing. The Crimson Tide averaged 8.3 yards per offensive play, converted 7-of-13 third-down chances and scored on 3-of-4 trips to the red zone.
Linebackers Tiuk Tuipulotu and Vince Buhagiar logged nine tackles apiece for the Spartans in the loss, while CB Peyton Thompson was credited with seven stops and three PBUs.
The Badgers controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in their 20-point win at UNLV last Saturday night. A year after leading the nation in time of possession, the Wisconsin offense held onto the ball for 38:19 in the opener, using a punishing ground attack to hammer the Rebels into submission.
Running backs John Clay and Montee Ball ran for two TDs each and combined with James White to post 261 rushing yards on the night, while QB Scott Tolzien completed 15-of-20 passes for 197 yards with an INT. In all, the Badgers racked up 475 yards of total offense to just 217 for UNLV.
Defensively, Wisconsin permitted the Rebels just 10 first downs with an average of 4.1 yards per offensive play. UNLV finished with 112 yards on the ground, snapping a streak of 10 games where the Badgers held the opposition below 100 yards rushing. They also made plenty of plays in the backfield, logging four sacks and six TFLs, picking up where they left off last season when they led the Big Ten Conference in both categories. The UW defense also got a score of its own when Aaron Henry returned a fumble 20 yards at the start of the third quarter.
Linebacker Jean St. Culme led the Badgers with seven tackles, while fellow backer Chris Borland made two of his five stops in the UNLV backfield. Defensive end J.J. Watt seemed to be all over the field, making four tackles, forcing the fumble that led to Henry's TD, and batting down three passes at the line of scrimmage.
Coach Bielema was pleased with the overall effort put forth by his defense, "My hat goes off to the defense because I thought they played well all day."
<< Bragging rights on line as West Virginia visits Marshall
Huntington, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - State rivals will square off in Huntington
on Friday night, as the Marshall Thundering Herd welcome the 23rd-ranked West
Virginia Mountaineers to town.
On opening weekend, West Virginia cruised past Coastal
<< Cavaliers travel across country to tangle with Trojans
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Cavaliers will play their
first-ever game in the state of California on Saturday night, as they take on
the 16th-ranked USC Trojans in a non-conference affair.
Last weekend's opener against Ric
<< Hogs host Warhawks in non-conference action
Little Rock, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks of the
SEC will attempt to knock off the UL-Monroe Warhawks, a team from the Sun Belt
Conference set to open its season.
In December, ULM announced Todd Berry as the prog
<< Sunshine State showdown pits Bulls against Gators
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked Florida Gators struggled
a bit in their season opener, and they are undoubtedly eager to get back on
the field this weekend against the South Florida Bulls in a non-conference
affair from The
Bruins host Cardinal in Pac-10 opener >>
Pasadena, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Stanford Cardinal kicks off
its Pac-10 Conference slate against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Stanford vaulted into the national rankings following a convincing 52-17
victory over Sacramen
Cardinals shoot for needed series win in Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took a lot longer than expected, but Milwaukee reliever
Trevor Hoffman finally picked up his 600th career save. The St. Louis
Cardinals would have preferred that he waited a few more days.
The Cardinals will try to rebo
Aaron `saddened' by Bonds, Clemens steroid stories >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Hank Aaron's verdict on baseball's steroid scandal: ``Saddened.''Aaron, long reluctant to weigh in too strongly on the stories involving steroids and baseball, said Tuesday he'll keep sticking with that tact in the cases of Roger Clem
Vikings-Saints: Great way to get going >>
Maybe this time Brett Favre won't get picked off with victory in his grasp.In as juicy a season opener as the NFL could provide, Favre marches the Minnesota Vikings into New Orleans on Thursday night for a reprise of January's NFC championship game.
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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