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No. 5 Texas' new running game unimpressiveNCAA Football Betting Lines09/05/2010 - AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -Texas spent the offseason loading up a new power running game that was going to get tough yards and first downs when they need it. The Longhorns still have some work to do. By the numbers, Texas was able to grind out 197 yards on 46 carries in a steady 34-17 season-opening win over Rice. Tre' Newton, who had lost the starting tailback job to Cody Johnson, punched in three touchdowns on runs of 1, 1 and 2 yards. Those numbers don't show how a Rice team that went 2-10 last season stuffed Texas on four straight runs inside the Owls' 4-yard line on the first drive, or how they held Texas to 76 yards on 21 carries in the first half. Another 3rd-and-2 in the third quarter produced only one yard when Texas was trying to get out from deep inside its own half of the field. That new power rushing attack was pretty punchless at key times in the game. ``I do know that when you run the ball, most of your rushing yards are going to come late in the third and fourth quarter. That happened some tonight, but you have to be patient, even more than I am right now. I need to continue to work on my patience,'' Texas coach Mack Brown said. Newton led Texas with 61 yards but averaged just 3.4 yards. Johnson, whose 5-foot-11, 250-pound frame had made him Texas' goal-line specialist the previous two seasons, carried the ball four straight times on the goal line on Texas' first drive but couldn't get in the end zone. On fourth down, Texas called a sweep right and Johnson lost four yards. Johnson finished with 59 yards but didn't score. Fozzy Whittaker added 51 yards on nine carries. ``We got the win, so that is the most important goal,'' Newton said. ``I don't know what kind of grade I would give us.'' Brown said he'd wait to evaluate game film to decide who will start next weekend against Wyoming. The running backs were playing behind a line with three new starters. ``Sometimes you see a great run, and there was a huge hole. We'll want to see who made the yards when things aren't there,'' Brown said. ``All three of them are experienced, and all three of them played well. But I feel like that is something that we'll have to see on film.'' Texas fans have gotten used to watching the Longhorns light up the scoreboard after six seasons of Vince Young and Colt McCoy at quarterback. Saturday's grind-it-out attack limited the throws of new starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who went 14 of 24 for 172 yards but no touchdowns. Unlike McCoy the last four seasons, Gilbert was rarely in the shotgun against the Owls. His longest completion was a 47-yard strike to Malcolm Williams down the middle in the third quarter. ``We did a good job running the ball for the most part, but we've got a long way to go before we're where we want to be as a team,'' Gilbert said. Texas left a lot of points on the field. Besides the goal-line stand by Rice in the first quarter, Texas defensive backs Chykie Brown and Aaron Williams both dropped potential interceptions that should have resulted in easy touchdowns, and new kicker Justin Tucker missed field goals of 44 and 54 yards. Tucker also made kicks of 51 and 26 yards. ``We better get a bunch better next week before Wyoming, or we are going to have trouble winning,'' Brown said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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2007 online football betting PreviewMy 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. 2007 College Football Betting PreviewThere 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. Las Vegas Sports LinesThe 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. To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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