Saturday, November 11, 2006
CFB
Here are news and notes from OffshoreInsiders.com
private clipboard. They are compiled from hometown newspapers
and the team’s own press releases. Join us Saturday morning at JoeDuffy.net for late
breaking information.
Central Florida-Memphis
Sun Sentinel
UCF Coach George O’Leary said
this week that a lot of the focus for the remainder of the season would be to
get younger players some quality game action. O’Leary said Saturday’s lineup
would only feature one senior starter on each side of the ball. He didn’t
elaborate beyond that, but based on playing time the past few weeks, that
appears to be WR Mike Walker on offense and DE Chris
Welsh on defense.What that means is that the Knights’
usual starter at center, Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, likely
will sit so junior Kyle Smith can play, and that QB Steven Moffett will do the
same so that probable 2007 starter Kyle Israel can get more comfortable in the
offense. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top
sports service in their highest ranked sports.
Tennessee-Arkansas
Tennessean
Redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton
will make his first career start at quarterback for
when the 13th-ranked Vols take on No. 11
Arkansas on Saturday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.Erik
Ainge, who started the first nine games of the
season, returned to practice on Thursday despite a sprained right ankle. Crompton took most of the snaps with the first-team offense
every day in practice this week. He did the same thing last week, but Ainge was given the starting nod against LSU.Limping to a 1-of-6 start against the Tigers, Ainge was pulled at the end of the first quarter. In the
first significant playing time of his career, Crompton
went 11-of-24 for 183 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Joe Duffy’s
sports betting selections are at www.GodsTips.com
Wisconsin-Iowa
JS Online
After watching practice Thursday night,
of
optimistic senior quarterback John Stocco could play Saturday at
Stocco, who has made 35 consecutive starts in the
last two-plus seasons, suffered a right-shoulder injury last week in UW’s 13-3
Big Ten Conference victory over
Approved sportsbooks are
at www.linetrackers.com
Miami-Maryland
Miami
Kirby Freeman has been dreaming about this opportunity for
years.
But the
of
start his first game Saturday at
said the moment won’t be about him.”We’re playing for
[
this weekend,” Freeman said of his teammate, who was shot to death Tuesday
night outside his
running abilities, Freeman has completed 25 of 50 passes for 308 yards, three
touchdowns and four interceptions in his UM career. He has rushed 14 times for
72 yards. Stevie Vincent’s BetOnSports360.com
is pioneer in forensic handicapping and part of OffshoreInsiders.com
Wake Forest-Florida State
Miami
Despite a clean bill of health, wide receiver De’Cody Fagg will
not start against No. 18 Wake Forest on Saturday. Junior Joslin Shaw will get his third consecutive start for the Seminoles.Just having Fagg
available will be a plus for quarterback Xavier Lee, who will make his third consecutive start. Fagg (6-3) is one of three Seminoles receivers taller than
six feet. The others are Greg Carr
(6-6) and tight end Caz Piurowski
(6-7). They should provide matchup problems for the Demon Decaon’s
starting cornerbacks, who are both listed at under six
feet. Join us Saturday morning at JoeDuffy.net for late
breaking information.
South Carolina-Florida
Miami
Standout middle linebacker Brandon Siler could miss Saturday’s game against
Carolina
ligament in his knee. Siler has 54 tackles and three sacks and is an Academic
All-District III selection. Freshman linebacker Brandon Spikes, a prized recruit, is ready to step in if Siler can’t
play. Joe Duffy’s sports betting
selections are at www.GodsTips.com
Temple-Penn State
Philadelphia
Joe Paterno’s distaste for the
spotlight trumped his urge to coach. The injured
yesterday that he would honor his physician’s wishes and not attend the game at
Beaver Stadium tomorrow against
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and offensive coordinator Galen Hall will
share Paterno’s responsibilities with the other
position coaches. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top
sports service in their highest ranked sports.
Post Gazette
Starting against
is going to commit himself to the running game in hopes it will open up the
passing game for quarterback Anthony Morelli. For the
season, the offense has been 50-50 run-pass. That’s far too many passing
attempts to Hall’s liking. Last season when
and played in the Orange Bowl, the Lions ran the ball 60 percent of the time
and passed 40 percent. This season, opposing defenses are concentrating their
efforts on making sure
cannot throw the ball deep. This leaves the defenses more susceptible to short-
to mid-range passes. But because
inefficient defenses do not have to commit more defenders to stop the run and
can drop players into coverage.
has struggled to score in conference games all season. The Lions are averaging
16.9 points per game in Big Ten play. Only Purdue and Northwestern have scored
fewer points. In the past four games, the offense has scored three touchdowns.
That’s a far cry from the production of last season when the Lions were second
in the Big Ten in scoring with 34.4 points per game and scored at least three
touchdowns in nine of 12 games. Through 10 games this season, the offense has
scored three touchdowns in a game four times and only twice in conference play. Joe Duffy’s sports betting selections are
at www.GodsTips.com
UNLV-San Diego State
Sign on San Diego
redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Craft, who has made four straight starts
following early-season injuries to Kevin O’Connell and Darren Mougey, has been given the starting nod for tomorrow night’s
game against UNLV. Though coach
Chuck Long announced Monday that Craft and O’Connell would split time at the
position against the Rebels, he wanted to wait until the team had completed its
week of practice before announcing a starter. O’Connell, who is close to being
completely healthy after suffering torn ligaments in the thumb on his throwing
hand in the season opener, relieved Craft in the fourth quarter of last week’s
27-24 loss at
had missed six straight games. Craft,
who was 6-of-15 for 98 yards before being replaced by O’Connell last week, has
completed 51-of-89 passes for 611 yards and four TDs
as a starter while being intercepted just twice. Long said free safety Brett Sturm and cornerback Donny Baker, both of whom are nursing
ankle injuries, are questionable for tomorrow’s game. WR Chaz Schilens, who suffered a mild concussion last week
and has a sore shoulder, is likely to play. Join us Saturday morning at JoeDuffy.net for late
breaking information.
Colorado State-Utah
Desert News
lineman Jason Boone, who has started 21 consecutive games at right tackle, has
been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules. Through
nine games this season, Boone had participated in 568 plays with 18 knockdowns,
12 cuts and eight pancake blocks. He’ll likely be replaced in the starting
lineup by junior Jeremy Inferrera. Joe Duffy’s GodsTips.com, Stevie Vincent’s BetOnSports360.com and MasterLockLine.com are all now part of the OffshoreInsiders.com
Network.
Rice-Tulsa
Houston
Following a rugged 0-4 start that was a product of a
grueling schedule and a rash of injuries, the Owls (4-5, 3-2 C-USA) have
recovered to win four of five, including their first in-season three-game win
streak in five years. A victory Saturday would give the Owls a 4-3 road record,
which would be their first winning road mark since 1997.By pushing the Owls
through training and providing constant positive reinforcement, Graham has the
Owls two wins shy of being bowl eligible for the first time since 2001. Join us
Saturday morning at JoeDuffy.net
for late breaking information.
Pittsburgh-Connecticut
Tribune-Review
The big plays that sprinkled Pitt’s early season success
have dried up. The Panthers, who made numerous big plays in each of their first
seven games, are being forced to drive the length of the field without the aid
of large chucks of yardage. In the two-game losing streak to Rutgers and South
Florida, Pitt has mustered only two plays that covered more than 20 yards—a
42-yard pass to Marcel Pestano last week and a
25-yard pass to Derek Kinder against Rutgers that ended with a fumble. By
contrast, the Pitt offense had 15 touchdown plays of at least 20 yards in its
first seven games. And that doesn’t count two long interception returns and a
97-yard kickoff return. Stevie Vincent’s BetOnSports360.com
is pioneer in forensic handicapping and part of OffshoreInsiders.com
Stanford-Washington
Seattle
After all the talk this week of lots of competition for
jobs on Washington’s offense, the starting lineup Saturday against Stanford
could look pretty much the same as it has.
Coach Tyrone Willingham said Thursday that Carl Bonnell will again be the starting quarterback. Coaches
said Bonnell would split reps in practice this week
with backup Johnny DuRocher after his struggles last
Saturday against
Willingham said Thursday, “All our quarterbacks have done well for the week,”
but said Bonnell would remain the starter. He also
said the offensive line will likely remain the same, at least to start the
game. Erik Berglund has been challenging Ben Ossai
for the starting left tackle job but Willingham said Ossai
is likely to start.One change that will take place is
Kenny James returning as the starting tailback in place of Louis Rankin after missing
the past two games with a sprained ankle. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top
sports service in their highest ranked sports.
San Francisco Chronicle
Injuries continue to plague Stanford as coach
Walt Harris said Thursday it is “doubtful” fifth-year senior safety David
Lofton will play again this season. Lofton, who made six starts, is believed to
have a stress fracture in his foot. He missed last week’s USC game, watching
from the sideline on crutches. Joe Duffy’s sports betting selections are at www.GodsTips.com
Washington State-Arizona State
Seattle
Holding an “audition week” the second week of November isn’t
exactly ideal for a team with bowl aspirations. But that is what the Washington
State Cougars have done this week to sort out their depth at wide receiver
following high ankle sprains to Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus
that have the standouts sidelined for Saturday night’s game at
Cup. The expected starters against ASU are Brandon Gibson, already the No. 3 receiver, senior
Chris Jordan, who is back from knee surgery and not 100 percent, and Charles
Dillon, who has seen action in every game and also will return punts and
kickoffs against ASU.
Oregon State-UCLA
LA Times
which will face UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, has won four consecutive
games and could finish as high as second in the Pacific 10 Conference. But the
turning point for the Beavers was not the start of their winning streak,
according to Coach Mike Riley. Things began to come together for
loss at home to
“We played great defense in that game, but we just couldn’t score,” said Riley
of the Beavers, who are 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-10. “Our defense has
played well since then, and on offense we’ve been able to find better balance.”
Oregon State’s ground game is led by 5-foot-9 junior running back Yvenson Bernard, who is second in the Pac-10 in rushing,
averaging 101.5 yards despite being slowed in recent weeks because of an ankle injury.Bernard, who did not play in the Beavers’ victory
over three-time defending Pac-10 champion USC two weeks ago, has rushed for at
least 100 yards in 10 of his last 16 games.
Joe Duffy’s sports betting selections are at www.GodsTips.com
Nebraska-Texas A&M
Dallas
Twice for Texas A&M this
season, the discrepancy between seven and three points equaled the difference
between victory and defeat. Against the Big 12, A&M has scored 14
touchdowns on 25 trips to the red zone. Its 56 percent success rate ranks ninth
in the conference.
Texas-Kansas State
Dallas
Five weeks into the season, Prince replaced five starters
and moved another, leaving only two seniors in the starting lineup. After wins
at
and
be gaining confidence behind freshman QB Josh Freeman and freshman TB Leon Patton
of W.T. White. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top
sports service in their highest ranked sports.
Kansas City
The Wildcats have been a rare bump in the road for
coach Mack Brown. K-State (2-2) and
(4-5) are the only two teams Brown doesn’t have a
winning record against in the Big 12.