College Football Lines
Saban still not satisfied
2013-04-22
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. Spring practice is finished for Alabama, and coach Nick Saban is less than satisfied with his team, as usual.
It really wasnt because of those nine turnovers in Saturdays spring game, either. Saban said some Crimson Tide players are too comfortable with their circumstances, but he notes that he found cause for discontent at springs end for each of the three national championship teams in the past four years.
Unabashed praise just isnt his spring thing.
I spoke to a bunch of different alumni groups [Saturday] and they all want me to make a comparison between this years team and last years team and the team before that and the team before that, Saban said after the A-Day game. I wasnt happy with any of those teams at this point.
If I was happy with them, we wouldnt have summer conditioning, we would not have fall camp, we wouldnt have 30 practices to get ready for our first game against Virginia Tech. Wed just pack it in and say, All right, lets go to Atlanta and play the game. Were not there yet.
Bama has more than four months before that opener in the Georgia Dome to get there.
AJ McCarron completed 19 of 30 passes for 223 yards and a 40-yard touchdown to Kenny Bell but also was intercepted twice before an announced crowd of 78,315. McCarrons White team won 17-14 against the Crimson, led by the first-team defense.
The offenses combined for six interceptions and three lost fumbles, mistakes that Saban said werent characteristic of the spring as a whole. He roamed the field surveying the action in slacks and a sports coat.
The biggest thing that I was concerned about is how would the team go out there, he said. What would be their energy, their enthusiasm and their attention to detail. Mental intensity. I dont think that there were enough guys that answered that question in a positive way to my liking. But Im never satisfied.
T.J. Yeldon had 69 yards rushing, 60 receiving and scored the winning touchdown on a 7-yard run with 1:04 left to earn MVP honors of the spring game for the second consecutive year. The 1,000-yard rusher is set to replace potential first-round NFL draft pick Eddie Lacy.
McCarron set up the winning score with a 50-yard pass to Christion Jones, who played both receiver and cornerback as he has all spring.
Alec Morris led a drive down to the White 11 in the final minute but threw two incompletions to end the game while going for the win instead of the tie. The winners get a steak dinner and the losers beans and weenies.
Its unclear what the menu would be for a draw.
Alabama played seven quarterbacks and kept with the coaches plan to get a bunch of reserves in the game in the third quarter.
Blake Sims, last years No. 2 quarterback, completed 5 of 10 passes for 52 yards but was intercepted by Nick Perry on each of the first two drives. Early enrollee Cooper Bateman, a highly recruited freshman, had two of his three attempts picked off.
McCarron cautions against making too much of those mistakes.
Its just like playing in an all-star game, he said. You dont get in a rhythm. Its not a real game, but its fun. Its fun to go out there and try to make plays happen and get to do some trick plays and stuff.
McCarron had an interception returned 86 yards for a touchdown by safety Vinnie Sunseri on the final play before halftime and chased him all the way to the goal line. Since he was in a black, non-contact jersey, McCarron only needed to get two hands on him.
AJ almost caught me, Sunseri said. I never would have heard the end of that.
Like their coach, Sunseri & Co. left spring with high ambitions and standards going into next season.
Were trying to be an unbelievable team, Sunseri said. With coach Saban there, hes definitely going to let us know when we mess up. Thats what we need. Weve got a great leader. Weve got a great quarterback. And weve got a lot of guys that are surrounding him trying to do something special.
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Alabama Crimson Tide vs. LSU Tigers Betting Odds and Preview
2010-11-05
Sportsbook.com Alabama vs. LSU Lines: Alabama -6.5, Total: 44
Two one-loss SEC teams coming off a bye, clash in Baton Rouge with the hope keeping national championship dreams alive. Alabama can boost its BCS resume if it beats LSU, then No. 21 Mississippi State and finally Auburn ranked second in the BCS.
LSU needs to beat Alabama, Ole Miss and No. 17 Arkansas (and hope Auburn loses) to have a shot at the SEC title. But all these wins won’t be easy; LSU has the worst November ATS record (3-12) among BCS schools over the past four seasons. Obviously the college football betting crowd is aware of this as 89 percent of Alabama vs. LSU point spread bettors are backing the Tide.
Alabama leads the all-time series 45-23-5 (66%), but the teams have split the past 18 meetings. Other than surrendering 35 points to South Carolina, the Crimson Tide defense has not allowed any of their other seven opponents to score more than 20 points.
Although they are known for their rushing attack, Alabama has just as many 300-yard passing games (four) as 200-yard rushing games (four) this season. QB Greg McElroy has not thrown an interception in his past four games, which is a span of 108 pass attempts. He threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns in Alabama’s 24-15 win over LSU last season.
RB Mark Ingram also had a big day against LSU in 2009 (144 rushing yards, 30 receiving yards), but he has struggled a bit this season. Ingram has not rushed for 100 yards in any of his past four games, averaging just 59 YPG on 4.5 YPC. He averaged 118 rush YPG and 6.1 YPC in last year’s Heisman-winning season.
LSU entered its last game against Auburn ranked as the sixth-best rushing defense in the nation (84 YPG), but was steamrolled for 440 rushing yards (8.5 YPC) in the 24-17 loss to Auburn. It won’t get much easier against an Alabama team with Ingram and Trent Richardson carrying the pigskin.
On offense, LSU has been pretty weak this year. The Tigers rank 113th in passing offense (139 YPG), 101st in total offense (318 YPG) and 73rd in scoring (25.5 PPG). Junior RB Stevan Ridley began the season averaging 111 rushing YPG in his first five games, but that number has been cut in half to 55 YPG over his past three contests. QB Jordan Jefferson has not thrown a touchdown pass in seven straight games, but has tossed seven interceptions during these 101 pass attempts.
After checking out some college football betting trends at Sportsbook.com, most of the numbers are pointing towards Alabama covering the point spread.
The road team is 13-3-2 ATS (12-6 SU) in the past 18 meetings, with Alabama posting an 8-1 ATS record in the past nine games at LSU
Les Miles is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) in home games versus good rushing defenses - allowing <=120 rushing yards/game as the coach of LSU. The average score was LSU 27.3, OPPONENT 21.7 - (Rating = 4*).
As far as the ‘total’ is concerned, these two betting trends indicate the ‘under’ is the way to go and Sportsbook.com’s bettors agree as 74 percent of the cash is on the ‘under’.
LSU is 8-0 UNDER (+8.0 Units) in a home game where the total is between 42.5 and 49 over the last 2 seasons. The average score was LSU 23.5, OPPONENT 10.4 - (Rating = 3*).
Play Under - Road teams where the total is between 42.5 and 49 (ALABAMA) - dominant team - outgaining their opponents by 125 or more yards/game, after outgaining opp by 225 or more total yards in their previous game. (35-11 over the last 10 seasons.) (76.1%, +22.9 units. Rating = 3*).
To bet on this game or to check out all of this weekend’s college football betting lines, head over to Sportsbook.com now.