South Florida cruises in inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl
NCAA Football Betting Lines
12/23/2006 - Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benjamin Williams scored a pair of first- quarter touchdowns to lead South Florida to a 24-7 victory over East Carolina in the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl.
Matt Grothe threw for 81 yards and a touchdown in the first half of his first bowl game before spending the second half with a walking boot on his right leg following an injury.
East Carolina's starting signal-caller, James Pinkney, also sat significant time after a hard hit late in the second quarter. He finished just 8-of-25 for 125 yards and a touchdown.
South Florida (9-4) won its first bowl game under its only head coach in program history, Jim Leavitt, behind a gambling style. The Bulls converted on just 3-of-15 third downs, but rolled the dice successfully on five consecutive fourth-down attempts.
Brandon Fractious, East Carolina's leading rusher on the season with 675 yards, finished with minus-15 yards on the ground. He was replaced by Dominique Lindsay, who rushed for 85 yards on only 12 attempts.
Bobby Good finished with five catches for 116 yards and a score for the Pirates (7-6), who won five of their last six contests to make the bowl appearance.
However, in their first bowl game since 2001, they showed some early jitters. After a muffed kickoff and a near interception on a swing pass, Pinkney faked a handoff out of the shotgun but lost a fumble at the 16-yard line.
On the Bulls' initial snap, Williams darted untouched off left tackle for a touchdown to quickly open a 7-0 edge.
The game's momentum continued to tip toward the Bulls in the first quarter. An East Carolina three-and-out and a short punt allowed USF to set up shop at the 44-yard line.
The yards kept coming in chunks.
Williams worked left tackle again, rushing for 20 yards before losing his footing deep into the secondary.
After Williams was stopped in his tracks on 3rd-and-goal from inside the one- yard line, the running back kept his footing and plunged into the end zone on fourth down for a 14-0 lead.
Williams finished with 67 yards rushing on the contest, 37 of them coming in the first two possessions.
The large lead was short-lived.
Instead of giving East Carolina a choice on fourth down deep in USF territory, the Bulls accepted a penalty to put the Pirates in 3rd-and-26.
The choice proved costly, as Pinkney aired it out down the right sideline to Good, who outjumped his defender for a 48-yard touchdown and a 14-7 game with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
South Florida regained a two-touchdown edge early in the second stanza. Starting on the ECU side of the field, Grothe worked out of the shotgun on third down from the Pirates 37-yard line, tossing a touchdown down the right sideline to a fully-extended Jackson.
Grothe injured his right knee on the next series, one ending in a 38-yard field goal from Delbert Alvarado for a 24-7 lead.
Neither team scored from there.
Game Notes
Pat Julmiste replaced Grothe, finishing 6-of-8 for 49 yards...Rob Kass aired it out for East Carolina after Pinkney's injury, completing 10-of-19 passes for 138 yards...East Carolina was making its eighth bowl appearance...USF compiled six sacks.
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<< Ziani doubles up on Nancy
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goals in a four-minute span to lift Sochaux to a 2-1 win over Nancy at Stade
Bonal on Saturday.
The teams entered the contest separated by only one point,
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Afflalo added 17, leading top-ranked UCLA to a 92-55 rout of Michigan at
Pauley Pavilion.
Darren Collison contributed 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting with e
<< Senators send Flyers to ninth straight loss
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The Flyer
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Florida crushes Ohio State >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending champs gave Greg Oden a
lesson, as Corey Brewer played overwhelming defense and Taurean Green
scored a game-high 24 points in fifth-ranked Florida's 86-60 rout of third-
ranked
Brother Derek big name in Malibu >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The $250,000 Malibu Stakes for three-year-
olds is the opening feature at Santa Anita Park on Tuesday. This is the last
chance for these thoroughbreds to race in 2006 before turning four on New
Year's
No. 21 Oregon stomps Mercer >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brooks scored a game-high 27 points as
21st-ranked Oregon defeated Mercer, 84-64, at McArthur Court.
Brooks was 10-of-20 shooting, but only 1-of-6 from three-point range. Maarty
Leunen chipped in w
No. 10 Crimson Tide rolls over Coppin State >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alonzo Gee scored a game-high 26 points and
added nine rebounds as 10th-ranked Alabama hammered Coppin State, 99-49, at
Coleman Coliseum.
Gee was 12-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three-point
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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