Category: College Football (Page 74 of 296)

      2010 College Football Week 10 Picks

      November 5, 2010 /
      FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 14: Quarterback Jordan Wynn #3 of the Utah Utes reacts in the second quarter of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on November 14, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      Well, it finally happened. After several 2-2 and 3-1 weeks, I knew one of these Saturdays would result in either a clean sweep or total disaster.

      Guess which one hit first?

      Michigan State, Missouri, USC and Kansas State all lost handily last week to hand me my first 0-4 Saturday in college football. I haven’t slept in a week, but I’m ready to put it behind me and start fresh. I won’t even talk about a 4-0 weekend. A win would be nice.

      No. 3 TCU @ No. 5 Utah, 3:30PM ET
      I’m well aware of how good TCU is: ninth in rushing offense, No. 1 in total defense, No. 1 in scoring defense, No. 4 in pass efficiency defense. But I don’t know, something doesn’t sit right with me about this year’s TCU team. The Frogs don’t seem as dominant as they’ve been the past three years and I wonder if they’re heading into a buzz saw this Saturday in Utah. I don’t know if the Utes win outright but I think it’ll be close throughout, which is why I’m taking the points. This is a field goal game either way.
      THE PICK: UTAH +4.5

      Hawaii @ No. 4 Boise State, 3:30PM ET
      This is going to be a fun game regardless of the outcome. Boise State is second in the nation in scoring offense, while Hawaii is 11th. While the Broncos defense gets credit for being the stinger of the two units, the Warriors are a respectable 39th in total defense this season. It’s going to be difficult for Hawaii to pick up a win on the smurf turf this Saturday but something tells me they keep this game close. The Warriors are 4-1 against the spread in their last five meetings with the Broncos, so I’ll take the points.
      THE PICK: HAWAII +21

      No. 6 Alabama @ No. 10 LSU, 3:30PM ET
      This is a tough matchup for LSU. The Tigers have the 34th-best rushing offense in the nation but rank a putrid No. 113 through the air. That’s going to be a problem against an Alabama defense that ranks 17th against the run and second in scoring. Baton Rouge is always a tough place to play, but I think the Tide rolls here (no pun intended). ‘Bama is 6-1 against the number in the last seven meetings between these two teams in Louisiana and 3-1-1 ATS in its lat five meetings with LSU. The road team is also 11-2-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings between these two teams, so I’m laying the points with the Tide.
      THE PICK: ALABAMA –6.5

      North Carolina @ No. 24 Florida State, 3:30PM ET
      Given how bad the Tar Heels have looked the past two weeks (they suffered a 33-10 loss to Miami two weeks ago and then narrowly beat the juggernaut that is William & Mary 21-17 last Saturday), I don’t blame people for hoping on the FSU bandwagon for this week. But UNC is 4-1 against the spread in its last five meetings with FSU in Tallahassee, while the underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these two teams. The road team is also 4-0 ATS in the last four overall meetings and I like the Tar Heels to show more fight this week than they have the past two Saturdays.
      THE PICK: NORTH CAROLINA +10.5

      Season Record: 13-15

      College Football, External Sports

      NCAA investigating Auburn’s Cameron Newton

      November 5, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Cameron Newton of the Auburn Tigers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      Allegations have come up that a former Mississippi State football player named Kenny Rogers allegedly solicited money from school officials in exchange for Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton’s signature on a Letter of Intent.

      ESPN.com has the details:

      “He said it would take some cash to get Cam,” Bond said. “I called our athletic director, Greg Byrne, and he took it from there. That was pretty much it.”

      Sources told ESPN.com the former teammate is Kenny Rogers, who played at Mississippi State from 1982 to ’85. Rogers operates a Chicago-based company called Elite Football Preparation, which holds camps in Chicago, Alabama and Mississippi. A Lexis search for that business lists Kenneth Rogers as the contact and his title as “agent.” A Birmingham News story from 2008 said Elite Football Preparation “matches high school athletes with college programs.”

      Bond said the former teammate told him other schools had already offered $200,000, but since Newton really liked Mississippi State and had a relationship with head coach Dan Mullen dating to when both were at Florida, Mississippi State could get him for $180,000.

      Cecil Newton, who is Cameron’s father, denies the family had any involvement in the situation. In the story, Cecil is quoted as saying, “If Rogers tried to solicit money from Mississippi State, he did it on his own, without our knowledge.”

      Newton has been the most talked-about player in college football this season but this is the first time that it’s for the wrong reasons. For what it’s worth, it doesn’t sound like Newton had anything to do with the solicitation, but no player wants to be investigated by the NCAA. And if he didn’t have anything to do with the situation, it’s sad that his name is being associated with a negative story like this.

      Hopefully everyone (Newton, Mississippi State, Auburn) outside of Rogers is clean here and nothing more will come out of the situation for those who are innocent.

      College Football, External Sports

      The Big East will expand, but can they lure TCU away from the Mountain West?

      November 3, 2010 /
      FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 23: Head coach Gary Patterson of the TCU Horned Frogs leads his team on the field against the Air Force Falcons at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU beat Air Force 38-7. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

      The question is not whether or not the Big East will expand, because it will. The question is which teams will it expand with?

      The conference presidents voted Tuesday to push forward with an expansion plan that would increase the football playing membership in the Big East from eight to 10. The Big East has staved off expansion for years but as other conferences have expanded, the Big East must too or face folding entirely.

      The current members of the Big East are in favor of this idea, as scheduling conflicts have been a topic of debate for the past couple of years. While commissioner Jon Marinatto failed to make a move this past summer as the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Big 12 changed dramatically, he’s obviously not going to sit on his hands for very long.

      But who will join the conference? Villanova is an easy fit, but the conference needs to add a big-time program so that it can push forward with a possible television network. That’s where TCU comes in (or rather, could come in).

      With both Utah and BYU leaving the Mountain West next year, TCU could be a perfect candidate to join the Big East. Unfortunately, that would leave Boise State (who is leaving the WAC to join the MWC next year) in the lurch, but the goal for TCU is to position itself to play for a national title. With the current BCS structure in place, that’s a pipe dream for a team like the Horned Frogs, who are annually criticized by voters for playing a weak schedule.

      This will certainly be an interesting story to keep an eye on moving forward but either way, the Big East is as we know it will be no longer very soon.

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 College Football Week 10 Odds

      November 3, 2010 /
      Dec 23, 2009, San Diego, CA, USA; Utah Utes players react after their 37-27 victory over the California Golden Bears in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Photo via Newscom

      No. 3 TCU @ No. 5 Utah, 3:30PM ET
      Let me get this straight. ABC is going to show Nebraska-Iowa State but not TCU-Utah? ESPN is going to show Illinois-Michigan but not TCU-Utah? ESPN3 is going to show Nevada-Idaho but not TCU-Utah? I’m sure there’s nothing these networks can do contractually to show what they want to show, but what a rip off for college football fans. This is the best game of the week and nobody outside of the Mountain West coverage areas will see it. Last year the Utes traveled to TCU and were gorilla-smacked 55-28. But two years ago in Utah, the Utes held the Horned Frogs to just 10 points in a 13-10 victory. Can Utah pull off the upset in their biggest home game of the year? Or can TCU use this game as a catalyst to get into the BCS title game should Oregon or Auburn (or Boise State for that matter) fall? In what will be the Utes last year in the MWC before they move to the Pac-12, this should be one heck of a bout.
      CURRENT ODDS: TCU –4.5

      No. 6 Alabama @ No. 10 LSU, 3:30PM ET
      It’s rare that a huge SEC matchup like this takes a backseat to a Mountain West game, but with TCU and Utah playing this Saturday it’s easy to forget that Bama and LSU will square off. (Although not to SEC fans, of course.) Both teams are coming off bye weeks, although the Tide thumped Tennessee 41-10 two weeks ago and the Tigers fell to Auburn, 24-17. Alabama got the benefit of both Michigan State and Missouri losing last week and has now climbed back into title contention. A win over LSU this week on the road would catapult them into the top-5 because somebody will obviously lose between No. 4 TCU and No. 5 Utah. But they’ll have to get through LSU first, which is 14-1 under Les Miles while coming off a loss.
      CURRENT ODDS: ALABAMA –6.5

      No. 15 Arizona @ No. 13 Stanford, 8:00PM ET
      This matchup features teams tied for second place in the Pac-10, as Stanford is off to its best start in 40 years and Arizona has the tools on defense to shut down Andrew Luck and the Cardinal offense. Stanford currently is fifth in the FBS in scoring at 42.4 points, while Arizona is seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 14.4 points. Something has to give. Luck completed 19-of-26 passes for 192 yards with a touchdown and also ran for a 51-yard score in a 41-0 beatdown of Washington last Saturday. The Wildcats, who are having their best season since 1998, tipped UCLA 29-21 last Saturday. Should be a great one in the Pac-10 this weekend.
      CURRENT ODDS: STANFORD –9.5

      No. 18 Arkansas @ No. 19 South Carolina, 7:00PM ET
      It’ll be a battle of two-loss teams in the SEC when the Razorbacks travel to Williams-Brice Stadium to take on the Gamecocks. South Carolina is in a familiar situation, as this is the third time in four seasons in which the Gamecocks are 6-2. Of course, this is usually the point in the season when things go downhill for Steve Spurrier’s squad. They lost their final five games to finish 6-6 in 2007, their final three games in 2008 to finish 7-6 and four of five last year to finish 7-6. On the other side, Ryan Mallett just lost his best receiver Greg Childs for the season. Childs suffered a patella tendon injury against Vanderbilt last week and is now done for the year. He led the team with 46 catches for 659 yards and six touchdown receptions.
      CURRENT ODDS: SOUTH CAROLINA –4

      2010 College Football Week 10 Opening Point Spreads

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      College Football, External Sports

      Auburn jumps Boise State in latest coaches poll

      October 31, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Cameron Newton of the Auburn Tigers celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the LSU Tigers with Byron Isom at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I figured it was only a matter of time before Auburn jumped Boise State in the human polls. I just thought it would come after a win a little bigger than at Ole Miss — a team that is now 3-5 and lost at home to Jacksonville State.

      But the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches poll is out, and there are the Tigers, 23 points ahead of Boise at No. 2.

      I get it, Auburn has better credentials to this point in the season than Boise State does. It plays a tougher schedule, and is deserving of the No. 2 spot in the polls. (Side note: Saw Oregon for the second time live last night, and my god, the Ducks are good. I mean, I was impressed with the way they blitzed UCLA, but they made USC look slow last night. That’s crazy.)

      What I don’t get is the timing. If you had Boise State No. 2 in your poll last week, what did the two teams do this week that made you change your mind? The Broncos were a little sloppy, and obviously not fully on their game on Tuesday, and still blew Louisiana Tech. To me, that’s the measure of a really good team, one that can still win handily while not at its best. Auburn, meanwhile, looked pretty slick in a 20-point win of its own against Ole Miss. Impressive, for sure, but not so impressive that you would think, “Wow, this is the performance that pushes Auburn to No. 2!”

      Of course, I don’t know how important this jump really is. Boise needed Auburn and/or Oregon to lose anyway, and now that just becomes more evident. The Tigers and Ducks will still be Nos. 1 and 2 in the BCS standings when they’re released tonight, and the Broncos will continue to have to root against other teams for their own self interest.

      A couple other notes from the poll: Missouri falls to No. 14 and Michigan State to No. 15 after some tough losses Saturday. Florida State fell from No. 15 to No. 24 after its loss Thursday. Of course, in the spirit of this always sane poll, that’s one spot in front of NC State, the team it just lost to. Which has the same record.

      College Football, External Sports

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