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.
March Madness Bracket
2015-02-15
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Miami Hurricanes vs. Pitt Panthers Betting Preview
2010-09-23
Week 4 College Football betting gets off to a good start tonight the 1-1 Miami Hurricanes head north to take on 1-1 Pitt Panthers. Sportsbook.com currently has the Hurricanes as 4 point road favorites with a Total of 50.
Both schools need their star players to step up in a big way on Thursday. Hurricanes QB Jacory Harris threw four interceptions in the loss to OSU and Pitt’s Dion Lewis has been in a sophomore slump with just 2.9 YPC this year. With an extra week of rest, both teams will be at nearly full strength for this game, but there are a couple key injuries. Miami senior RB Graig Cooper (2,229 career rushing yards) is out with a leg injury, and Pittsburgh is still missing star DE Greg Romeus after undergoing back surgery. Romeus, the reigning Big East co-Defensive Player of the Year, had eight sacks, three forced fumbles and 11 QB hurries last year.
Miami moved the football fairly well against a strong OSU defense, racking up 232 passing yards and 120 rushing yards on 4.3 YPC, but it only had one offensive touchdown. RB Damien Berry carried 16 times for 94 yards and WR Leonard Hankerson caught seven passes for 90 yards. The defense had no answer for Terrelle Pryor, allowing the Heisman hopeful to gain 346 total yards (233 passing, 113 rushing).
After a brilliant freshman campaign (1,799 rush yds, 18 total TD), Dion Lewis has had no room to run this year. He had 10 carries for just 27 yards against New Hampshire, but Pittsburgh tried to get him touches through the air and Lewis had five catches for 52 yards. Junior WR Jon Baldwin has been the standout for Pittsburgh with 10 catches for 171 yards and two scores in the two games this season.
Pittsburgh doesn’t have a lot of signature wins recently, going 1-10 against non-conference ranked opponents since 1996. Miami has won six straight meetings, but these former Big East foes haven’t faced each other since 2003. But the coaches know each other very well, with Miami’s Randy Shannon having played under Pittsburgh’s Dave Wannstedt at Miami and also in the NFL.
Speaking of the coaches, there are a couple interesting betting trends involving each team’s head coach. By the way, to check out additional stats and trends for all of the games, check out the betting guides at Sportsbook.com.
Shannon is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) off an ‘Over’ cover as the coach of MIAMI. The average score was MIAMI 24.7, OPPONENT 23.3.
Wannstedt is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) after allowing 100 or less rushing yards last game as the coach of PITTSBURGH. The average score was PITTSBURGH 28.4, OPPONENT 17.6.
For those that want to bet the Miami (FL) vs. Pittsburgh over/under, consider this trend:
MIAMI is 27-10 UNDER (+16.0 Units) when the total is between 49.5 and 56 since 1992. The average score was MIAMI 27.5, OPPONENT 19.1 – (Rating = 2*).
To check out all of the college football point spreads for this weekend, head over to Sportsbook.com now.