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09/08/2010 - 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 Swamp.
USF is led by Skip Holtz, who became the new leader of the program in January, and his debut was a memorable one. Last weekend, the Bulls crushed Stony Brook by a 59-14 final, but the level of competition in that tilt was a far cry from what the squad will face on Saturday.
"The goal was 1-0, and we are 1-0," said Holtz after his debut. "I'm proud of the way this team competed, proud of the way we went out there and the way we played."
As for Florida, it beat Miami-Ohio by a 34-12 final in the opener, but the performance of the Gators was a bit concerning. They were held scoreless in the first quarter and did very little offensively in the first game of the post-Tim Tebow era.
"I'm very disappointed with our performance; that's obvious," said head coach Urban Meyer. "I told the team I don't mind coaching guys that want to work. It's when you coach entitlement where it's hard to get guys to react."
Florida returns plenty of talent from a team that went 13-1 in 2009, and the Gators are the first team in FBS history to capture 13 victories in back-to- back campaigns.
Last season, USF finished 8-5 overall, including a win in the Independence Bowl over Northern Illinois, but the Bulls were just 3-4 against Big East Conference opposition and want to prove that they are contenders in that league.
Surprisingly, this game marks the first-ever meeting between USF and Florida on the gridiron.
Last season, BJ Daniels was forced to start at quarterback for USF as a freshman because of an injury to the team's veteran starter. That experience proved to be invaluable, and Daniels impressed everyone with his play. In the opener against Stony Brook, the now-sophomore completed 15-of-22 passes for 264 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for a score, showing off his versatility.
"You've got to treat every game just like the other, but Florida is a great team," said Daniels, looking forward to this weekend's showdown. "They're athletic and they're fast. It will definitely be exciting to go down to Gainesville next week."
Evan Landi, who Daniels calls "Mr. Surehands," made six catches for 104 yards against Stony Brook, while Marcus Shaw paced the ground attack with 86 yards and a score. Moise Plancher, another talented tailback for the squad, has a shoulder injury that has him questionable for this weekend. The Bulls posted 563 total yards against Stony Brook and easily overcame a pair of fumbles.
On the defensive side of the ball, Holtz has to be proud of the way that his team played in the opener. Sure, the Bulls did allow Stony Brook to score a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, but considering the fact that the TD drives covered just 35 and 27 yards, it is hard to pin too much blame on the defense. After those touchdowns, USF shut the door for the rest of the contest.
In total, USF allowed 254 total yards and 12 first downs. The Bulls limited Stony Brook to 2-of-11 success on third down conversion attempts and intercepted an impressive total of four passes. Four different players were responsible for those picks, and while no single player stepped forward with a monumental performance, the overall effort of the defense was strong.
There is no player in the nation that will be more heavily scrutinized this season than Florida quarterback John Brantley, who is replacing Tebow under center in Gainesville. In the opener against Miami-Ohio, Brantley completed 17-of-25 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but his 17 completions covered just 113 yards, proof that few big plays were made through the air. Also, there were major snap issues between Brantley and center Mike Pouncey.
"We have a long way to go as an offense," said Pouncey. "We did some good things, but everybody watching the obvious stuff knows we did terrible."
Jeff Demps ran for 98 yards and a touchdown for the Gators on just eight carries, and Chris Rainey caught a touchdown pass. Florida finished the tilt with a mere 212 total yards and 12 first downs. The squad held possession of the ball for barely over 25 minutes and was 3-of-12 on third-down conversion attempts.
The Florida defense certainly played better than the team's offense, limiting Miami-Ohio to 212 total yards and preventing the RedHawks from scoring a single touchdown. Miami was just 4-of-15 on third-down conversion attempts, a credit to the Gators.
Ahmad Black came through with 12 total tackles, seven more than his closest teammate, and he finished with 1.5 TFLs and an interception. Janoris Jenkins returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown.
<< No. 4 TCU hosts FCS foe Tennessee Tech
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With one of the toughest games on their
schedule already out of the way, the fourth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs now focus
their attention on the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech in a non-conference
showdown at Amon
<< Sooners and Seminoles meet in Top-25 showdown
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with a lot to prove square off in a
tiop-25 showdown in Norman this weekend, as the 10th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners
play host to the 17th-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
The Seminoles got the Jimbo Fisher
<< Yellow Jackets and Jayhawks square off in Lawrence
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
take their act on the road for the first time this season, as they invade
Lawrence this weekend, for a showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks in an ACC/Big
XII non-conferenc
<< Fireworks likely in showdown between Ducks and Volunteers
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off perhaps the most impressive
performance in week one of the 2010 college football season, the seventh-
ranked Oregon Ducks take to the road, as they invade SEC Country to battle the
Tennessee Volunteer
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
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
Grief-stricken Cowboys face tall task in clash with Longhorns >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a game overshadowed by tragedy, the grieving
Wyoming Cowboys take on the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns in a non-conference
affair.
On Monday, 19-year-old Wyoming freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse was killed
Spartans face another uphill battle in bout with Badgers >>
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 bat
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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