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09/08/2010 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With one of the toughest games on their schedule already out of the way, the fourth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs now focus their attention on the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech in a non-conference showdown at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
TCU, which lost to Boise State in the postseason to close out the 2009 campaign, opened up 2010 with a fight against nationally-ranked Oregon State and took care of the Beavers with a 30-21 final at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington last Saturday.
"For us, you've heard me say it, it was a like a blind date," commented TCU head coach Gary Patterson after the hard-fought victory. "You don't know what you're going to get...What a great game to play in. I tell ya, if there's a stadium better to play in than this one, as far as the crowd, and all the things that go along with it, I want to know what it is. Because this was awesome."
As for the Golden Eagles, they too were locked up with a nationally-ranked squad in the first week of the season, but in their case the outcome was much different as they fell hard to Arkansas by a final of 44-3 in Fayetteville. Granted, Tech did score the first points of the game, but from the second quarter on the Razorbacks ripped apart the visitors as expected.
"We're leaving a better team than when we came here," remarked Tech head coach Watson Brown. "When you come and play a team that good, in a hostile atmosphere you can't do anything but get better."
In 2009 the Golden Eagles kicked off with a 51-10 thrashing of Pikeville College, so clearly the team bit off more than it could chew by scheduling back-to-back games against nationally-ranked programs to begin 2010. The only true test the team encountered last year was when Kansas State ripped them apart in a 49-7 final in Manhattan.
This game marks the first-ever meeting between these two schools on the gridiron.
A 27-yard field goal by Matthew Barker in the first quarter of Saturday's game may have given the Golden Eagles some reason to believe they could compete against Arkansas, but that was before the Hogs really dialed up their offense and scored 44 unanswered points between the second and third quarters before calling off the dogs. Tre Lamb converted 6-of-13 passes as the quarterback for Tech, leading to 99 yards, but he was also sacked twice and that took the team's overall rushing total down to a mere 79 yards on 43 attempts. Cass Barnes, who converted his one pass attempt for nine yards, topped the team with 31 rushing yards on eight carries.
Sure, the Tech defense may have been feeling good through the first 15 minutes of action, but that was before the Razorbacks broke through and completely demolished the Eagles with 196 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and another 323 yards and three scores through the air. Sandwiched in between a couple of interceptions made by Richmond Tooley and Dustin Dillehay, the defense allowed five straight touchdowns by the Hogs.
Dillehay played a huge role for the Tennessee Tech defense a year ago when he ranked first on the unit with 78 tackles and was also tied for the team lead with three interceptions, which he returned for a combined 70 yards. Tooley was also a player to be reckoned with in 2009 with his three picks and team- leading 12 passes defended and nine breakups, but most of those numbers came against teams that are far from the caliber of TCU and the rest of the schools at the FBS level.
Last season, Dontay Gay led the Golden Eagles in rushing with 556 yards and scored six times on an even 100 carries, yet the team moved away from him for some reason in the opener this time around and he was credited with a mere 15 yards on seven carries.
"We fought hard the whole game," said quarterback Andy Dalton of TCU's victory over Oregon State in the opener. "We knew all we had to do was win by one. We came out and played really hard. We never got too down and we never got too high. We kept fighting. We do whatever it takes to win."
Dalton, who is now first on the all-time wins list as a starting quarterback for the Horned Frogs with 30, was certainly not going to let his teammates down as he converted 17-of-27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, but was also picked off two times and sacked once, which played into the team needing to hang on. With less than a minute to play in the third quarter, Dalton used his feet to get into the end zone on a four-yard bolt to the left side of the end zone. The TD run was the second of the game for Dalton, who is one of the more complete players in the Mountain West Conference again this season.
Running back Ed Wesley also played a significant role in the win as he registered 134 yards and a score on 17 carries, nearly doubling the output of OSU which tallied just 73 yards on the ground.
Finding a replacement for Jerry Hughes, one of the most dominating defenders in the MWC the last couple of years, won't be easy but Wayne Daniels may have already assumed that place on the TCU defense after coming up with two sacks, three total tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the opener.
"We have a lot more to prove," said Daniels after the victory. "We can be a little bit better than we were tonight. We just have to keep working and getting better."
Coach Patterson isn't about to let the Horned Frogs relax and feel good about their win in the opener because the team ran the table in 2009 and ended up getting beaten by a determined Boise State squad in the postseason. The defense will be asked to make big things happen for TCU, just as it did last year when it ranked first among all 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a mere 239.7 ypg allowed. The group may not have been the best at stopping plays in the backfield last season, placing 31st in sacks (2.46 per game) and 50th in TFLs (5.92), but rarely did opponents gain huge yardage because there was always someone there to greet them.
Dalton may not bet the most productive passer in the MWC, but at least he can hit his marks when called upon. Better still, Dalton's ability to gain yards on his own means opponents have to plan for such action and rarely do they make the right decisions on coverage with a group that placed fifth in the nation last season with almost 240 ypg on the ground. There may be a few new faces coming out of the backfield on offense for the Frogs, but they are all cut from the same cloth and will cause opponents like Tennessee Tech to be stretched to their limits.
<< Yellow Jackets and Jayhawks square off in Lawrence
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
take their act on the road for the first time this season, as they invade
Lawrence this weekend, for a showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks in an ACC/Big
XII non-conferenc
<< Fireworks likely in showdown between Ducks and Volunteers
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off perhaps the most impressive
performance in week one of the 2010 college football season, the seventh-
ranked Oregon Ducks take to the road, as they invade SEC Country to battle the
Tennessee Volunteer
<< 13th-ranked Hokies seek quick turnaround against Dukes
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a heart-breaking loss, the 13th-
ranked Virginia Tech Hokies now set their sights on the James Madison Dukes
this weekend at Lane Stadium.
In the most anticipated game of the opening week, it was
<< Instate rivals clash as ninth-ranked Hawkeyes take on Cyclones
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter rivals clash at Kinnick Stadium this
weekend, as the ninth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes do battle with the Iowa State
Cyclones.
The Hawkeyes took care of business in their opener last weekend, as they
tallied
Sunshine State showdown pits Bulls against Gators >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked Florida Gators struggled
a bit in their season opener, and they are undoubtedly eager to get back on
the field this weekend against the South Florida Bulls in a non-conference
affair from The
Hogs host Warhawks in non-conference action >>
Little Rock, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks of the
SEC will attempt to knock off the UL-Monroe Warhawks, a team from the Sun Belt
Conference set to open its season.
In December, ULM announced Todd Berry as the prog
Cavaliers travel across country to tangle with Trojans >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Cavaliers will play their
first-ever game in the state of California on Saturday night, as they take on
the 16th-ranked USC Trojans in a non-conference affair.
Last weekend's opener against Ric
Bragging rights on line as West Virginia visits Marshall >>
Huntington, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - State rivals will square off in Huntington
on Friday night, as the Marshall Thundering Herd welcome the 23rd-ranked West
Virginia Mountaineers to town.
On opening weekend, West Virginia cruised past Coastal
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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