11/12/2008 - Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Florida State Seminoles have their sights set on an ACC title and they will try to keep those aspirations alive against the Boston College Eagles this weekend in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles enter the weekend tied with Wake Forest atop the Atlantic Division standings at 4-2, with just two league games remaining in the season. FSU lost to Wake Forest earlier in the year, so it is going to need some help if it wants to participate in the ACC Championship game. Last weekend, the program kept its hopes for an ACC title going with a 41-27 victory over Clemson. The win improved the Seminoles to 7-2 overall, making them bowl eligible for the 27th straight season. That is now the longest active streak in the nation.
As for BC, it stepped out of league play last weekend and defeated Notre Dame, 17-0, for the sixth straight time. The triumph put a stop to a short two-game slide and landed the program bowl eligibility for the 10th year in a row, at 6-3 overall. The Eagles however, now head back to ACC play, where they have gone just 2-3 thus far.
In terms of the all-time series, FSU holds a 4-2 edge over BC and that includes a 27-17 upset of the second-ranked Eagles last season.
On the year, BC is averaging 26.8 ppg on the strength of 151.8 rushing ypg and 173.0 passing ypg. Those numbers aren't spectacular, but they have been good enough for the Eagles to remain competitive. In a defensive struggle last weekend, BC managed just 246 total yards in a 17-0 victory. A majority of those yards came from the ground attack, which amassed 167 yards in the contest. Montel Harris headed the charge with 120 yards on 23 carries. It was the third 100-yard effort of the season by Harris, who paces the team with 531 rushing yards in eight games. Quarterback Chris Crane added 40 yards on nine carries last weekend and he also threw for 79 yards and a touchdown. The dual- threat gunslinger leads BC with seven rushing touchdowns, but he has struggled some with his arm, throwing for nine scores against 12 interceptions. Brandon Robinson has been one of his top targets and he guides the team with 470 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Last weekend, Robinson pulled in a nine- yard touchdown pass from Crane for the lone offensive score of the game.
Where the Eagles have thrived this season has been on defense, as they are holding opponents to just 16.9 ppg and only 276.6 total ypg. The unit has fared well in shutting down the run (101.8 ypg) and has also thrived against the pass, picking off 18 throws compared to just five touchdowns allowed through the air. Last weekend, BC intercepted four passes and limited Notre Dame to just 292 total yards in picking up its third shutout of the campaign. The Eagles forced five total turnovers in the game, bringing their total to 26 in that department. Paul Anderson accounted for two picks last game, one of which he returned 76 yards for a touchdown. He now has a team-best five interceptions on the season.
Despite committing 19 turnovers, the Seminoles have been one of the better offensive teams in the ACC this season, producing 35.9 ppg and 396.1 total ypg. The unit has found a lot of success on the ground, where it has rushed for 205.2 ypg and 21 touchdowns thus far.
"It's amazed me that we've been able to run the numbers we have; it's amazed me," stated coach Bowden. "But I sure hope we keep it up because it's probably a very big key on that offense, no doubt about it."
Last weekend, FSU put its ground attack on display, gaining 266 rushing yards in a 41-27 win over Clemson. Jermaine Thomas led the charge with 94 yards on 11 carries, while Antone Smith added 57 yards and two scores on eight totes.
"When my number is called, I just wanna go out there and make sure I get the job done," said Thomas. "A lot of coaches are really excited about me doing what I'm doing, I just want to keep it rolling."
Thomas is averaging an incredible 8.4 yards per carry this season, while Smith paces the squad with 632 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. The duo have really thrived and have also received help from quarterback Christian Ponder, who ranks third with 289 rushing yards. Ponder has also had some success with his arm, passing for 157.9 ypg, with 11 scores and eight picks. Last weekend, Ponder displayed his versatility by rushing for 30 yards and a touchdown and throwing for 153 yards and another score.
Defensively, FSU is loaded with talent and it shows, as the unit is holding opponents to 19.3 ppg and a mere 265.6 total ypg. The Seminoles have had success against each the run (102.9 ypg) and pass (265.6 ypg), while also bringing down opposing quarterbacks 28 times this season. In last weekend's win, FSU posted six sacks, while limiting Clemson to 316 total yards of offense. The Seminoles even created a pair of turnovers, one of which was an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown by Neefy Moffett. The defense also stepped up on third down, limiting Clemson to just a 2-of-15 effort. The Seminoles have been outstanding on third downs this season, as foes are converting just 18 percent of the time against them. Everette Brown highlights the defense with 15 TFLs and nine sacks and that includes a three-sack performance against Clemson last weekend.
<< Gem State rivals meet in Moscow
Moscow, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting a perfect record across the board these
days, the ninth-ranked Boise State Broncos continue to focus on one game at a
time as they pay a visit to Moscow, Idaho to challenge the Idaho Vandals to a
Western A
<< Terrapins host Tar Heels in pivotal ACC clash
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 17th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
have their sights set on the ACC title, and a win over the Maryland Terrapins
is essential to keep that dream alive.
North Carolina has won two straight games and f
<< Top-ranked Tide host struggling Bulldogs
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The nation's top-ranked team puts its
undefeated record on the line this weekend as the Alabama Crimson Tide host
the Mississippi State Bulldogs in SEC action.
Not much has gone right for Mississippi State t
<< No. 12 Missouri visits Iowa State in Big 12 action
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Missouri Tigers have seemingly
become an afterthought in the powerful Big 12 Conference, but they carry an
impressive 8-2 record into this weekend's road clash with the Iowa State
Cyclones.
Missou
Bearcats battle Cardinals in Big East brawl >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats try to
remain in the thick of the Big East race this Friday, as they tangle with the
Louisville Cardinals at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
The Bearcats are coming off thei
Winless Wizards welcome Jazz to town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The injury-riddled Washington Wizards try and find the win
column for the first time Wednesday when they welcome the Utah Jazz to the
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The short-handed Wizards, who are toiling without star guard Gil
Cardinal seek upset of sixth-ranked Trojans >>
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked USC Trojans are once again
the class of the Pac-10 Conference, and they will take on the Stanford
Cardinal on the road this weekend.
USC is ranked in the Top 25 in every national offensive and
Utes bring perfect mark to San Diego for clash with Aztecs >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of five remaining unbeatens in the
Football Bowl Subdivision, the eighth-ranked Utah Utes try to remain perfect
this weekend as they challenge the San Diego State Aztecs in a Mountain West
Conference showdow
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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