THIS & THAT..........EXTENDED FRIDAY EDITION
There's a number of injuries to discuss in the Oklahoma-Miami(Fla) game tomorrow night. OU coach Bob Stoops said late yesterday freshman Landry Jones will start at quarterback for the injured Sam Bradford. Altho Bradford was able to practice, Stoops said his arm wasn't in game shape. Jones has thrown 9 touchdowns in Bradford's absence. Miami will be without 3 defensive starters & their nickel back. For the 2nd week in a row, defensive linemen Marcus Forston & Andrew Smith will not play. Forston has a broken jaw & Smith an unnamed leg injury. Free safety JoJo Nicolas won't play either with an injured shoulder. Nickel back Randy Phillips won't dress for the game because of a forearm injury. Oklahoma's front 7 on defense is probably the best in college football & should make Miami QB Jacory Harris' life miserable. I think this will be the difference in the game, I just can't lay 7 points on the road with a freshman QB.
Arizona State's leading receiver, Kyle Williams, won't play Saturday against Oregon State. The senior wide receiver has 24 catches this season but has a strained hamstring that won't allow him to play versus the Beavers.
Think this economy hasn't affected even the most rabid fan base? For the first time since 1973, Notre Dame may not sellout tomorrow against Washington. The streak of 207 consecutive sellouts at the nearly 81,000-seat Notre Dame Stadium, might end as there are nearly 800 tickets remaining for the 2:30 CDT kickoff.
In a move that is waaaay overdue, the Syracuse Orangemen have announced they will name their field after Ernie Davis. If you haven't seen the movie "The Express", see it. It's a great story about Davis & how he became the first black Heisman Trophy winner in 1961. The bio-pic shows what life was like playing big-time college football before the civil rights movement. Davis was the first player selected in the NFL draft but never played a game. He was diagnosed with leukemia & died at the age of 23.
Pittsburgh's running back Willie Parker is doubtful for Sunday night's showdown with San Diego. The recently benched Rashard Mendenhall & Mewelde Moore will fill in for Parker. The Chargers are 0-13 at Pittsburgh in the regular season.
Buffalo starting cornerback & kick returner, Leodis McKelvin, was placed on I.R. last night because of a broken leg. This certainly has been a season for McKelvin to forget. He cost his team on opening night when he ran a kickoff out of the endzone with no blocking & fumbled. Tom Brady made the Bills pay for the mistake, throwing a touchdown pass to Ben Watson for the winning score. McKelvin returned home to find his lawn had been vandalized by some teens. He broke his leg last Sunday in Buffalo's loss to New Orleans.
Another player from Samoa is mourning the loss of family members. Miami Dolphins defensive tackle, Paul Soliai lost an aunt & uncle & has 10 other family members who are listed as missing after a tsunami engulfed the islands of Samoa, American Samoa & Tonga.
Here's why I don't lay big points in college games. In last night's Colorado-West Virginia game, the Mountaineers(a 17-point favorite) were leading 35-17, when with 3 seconds left, Colorado scored a garbage time touchdown to get the 'backdoor cover'. Once you get over that 16-point threshold, the team that's ahead feels pretty safe & giving up a score isn't such a big deal, they're ahead by 3 scores. I liked West Virginia, but I almost never pull the trigger on a favorite of more than 10-points.
There aren't too many great matchups in college football tomorrow. Except for OU, the rest of the Big-12 contenders are idle, as is top-ranked Florida. I actually have an opinion on 2 of the biggest marquee games. I've never been one to handicap the TV Guide, but I really do like these 2 games. I might make a small wager on Auburn too, have to see how things go in the afternoon.
LSU travels to Georgia as a 3-point underdog. LSU struggled with Washington & Mississippi State & they are 9th or worse in total offense, rushing, passing & 3rd down efficiency in the SEC. They play Florida next week. I don't see them winning or covering in Athens tomorrow afternoon, so Georgia is the play. CBS, 2:30 CDT.
USC travels to Cal for a regionally televised game Saturday night. USC is 3rd in the nation stopping the run, they shut down Cal RB Jahvid Best last season. Oregon shut him down last week. Cal lost WR Nyan Boateng 2 weeks ago with a broken foot & he's not ready to return. True freshman QB Matt Barkley returns from injury to start for SoCal. The Trojans lost running back Stafon Johnson for the season this week in one of the most bizarre injuries I've ever heard of, his hand slipped off the bar as he was bench pressing 315-pounds & the bar came down on his throat, nearly killing him. Johnson had 47 carries & 5 touchdowns this season. That leaves Joe McKnight as the only experienced back & coach Pete Carroll likes to keep McKnight's carries to less than 25. USC looked very ordinary last week against a horrible Washington State team. I don't see a high scoring game, but I like Cal getting 4 1/2 at home in what is essentially a must-win game. ABC, 7:30 CDT in a regional telecast, some parts of the country will see OU-Miami.
Arizona State's leading receiver, Kyle Williams, won't play Saturday against Oregon State. The senior wide receiver has 24 catches this season but has a strained hamstring that won't allow him to play versus the Beavers.
Think this economy hasn't affected even the most rabid fan base? For the first time since 1973, Notre Dame may not sellout tomorrow against Washington. The streak of 207 consecutive sellouts at the nearly 81,000-seat Notre Dame Stadium, might end as there are nearly 800 tickets remaining for the 2:30 CDT kickoff.
In a move that is waaaay overdue, the Syracuse Orangemen have announced they will name their field after Ernie Davis. If you haven't seen the movie "The Express", see it. It's a great story about Davis & how he became the first black Heisman Trophy winner in 1961. The bio-pic shows what life was like playing big-time college football before the civil rights movement. Davis was the first player selected in the NFL draft but never played a game. He was diagnosed with leukemia & died at the age of 23.
Pittsburgh's running back Willie Parker is doubtful for Sunday night's showdown with San Diego. The recently benched Rashard Mendenhall & Mewelde Moore will fill in for Parker. The Chargers are 0-13 at Pittsburgh in the regular season.
Buffalo starting cornerback & kick returner, Leodis McKelvin, was placed on I.R. last night because of a broken leg. This certainly has been a season for McKelvin to forget. He cost his team on opening night when he ran a kickoff out of the endzone with no blocking & fumbled. Tom Brady made the Bills pay for the mistake, throwing a touchdown pass to Ben Watson for the winning score. McKelvin returned home to find his lawn had been vandalized by some teens. He broke his leg last Sunday in Buffalo's loss to New Orleans.
Another player from Samoa is mourning the loss of family members. Miami Dolphins defensive tackle, Paul Soliai lost an aunt & uncle & has 10 other family members who are listed as missing after a tsunami engulfed the islands of Samoa, American Samoa & Tonga.
Here's why I don't lay big points in college games. In last night's Colorado-West Virginia game, the Mountaineers(a 17-point favorite) were leading 35-17, when with 3 seconds left, Colorado scored a garbage time touchdown to get the 'backdoor cover'. Once you get over that 16-point threshold, the team that's ahead feels pretty safe & giving up a score isn't such a big deal, they're ahead by 3 scores. I liked West Virginia, but I almost never pull the trigger on a favorite of more than 10-points.
There aren't too many great matchups in college football tomorrow. Except for OU, the rest of the Big-12 contenders are idle, as is top-ranked Florida. I actually have an opinion on 2 of the biggest marquee games. I've never been one to handicap the TV Guide, but I really do like these 2 games. I might make a small wager on Auburn too, have to see how things go in the afternoon.
LSU travels to Georgia as a 3-point underdog. LSU struggled with Washington & Mississippi State & they are 9th or worse in total offense, rushing, passing & 3rd down efficiency in the SEC. They play Florida next week. I don't see them winning or covering in Athens tomorrow afternoon, so Georgia is the play. CBS, 2:30 CDT.
USC travels to Cal for a regionally televised game Saturday night. USC is 3rd in the nation stopping the run, they shut down Cal RB Jahvid Best last season. Oregon shut him down last week. Cal lost WR Nyan Boateng 2 weeks ago with a broken foot & he's not ready to return. True freshman QB Matt Barkley returns from injury to start for SoCal. The Trojans lost running back Stafon Johnson for the season this week in one of the most bizarre injuries I've ever heard of, his hand slipped off the bar as he was bench pressing 315-pounds & the bar came down on his throat, nearly killing him. Johnson had 47 carries & 5 touchdowns this season. That leaves Joe McKnight as the only experienced back & coach Pete Carroll likes to keep McKnight's carries to less than 25. USC looked very ordinary last week against a horrible Washington State team. I don't see a high scoring game, but I like Cal getting 4 1/2 at home in what is essentially a must-win game. ABC, 7:30 CDT in a regional telecast, some parts of the country will see OU-Miami.
Comments