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09/21/2011 - Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what promises to be one the toughest battles of the college football weekend, the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide welcome the 14th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks to Tuscaloosa for an SEC clash.
Bobby Petrino's Arkansas squad is off to a 3-0 start. The first two wins came easily by a combined score of 103-10 over obviously inferior opponents. Last weekend's clash with Troy proved to be much more competitive, and while the result was a 38-28 triumph, the margin was a bit too close for comfort.
"I wasn't real happy with the way we finished the game," said Petrino. "I think we have a lot to work on to get ready for Alabama."
Alabama is also 3-0, and like Arkansas, two of the three victories to date have been blowouts. Last weekend, the Crimson Tide dominated both sides of the ball in rolling to a 41-0 win over North Texas. With Florida coming up on October 1, Nick Saban's team has two outstanding opponents lined up in back- to-back weeks.
"Arkansas has a very good team, so we're going to have to execute a lot better, but your effort, your mental and physical toughness, all those things should be at the same level all the time if you're playing the way you're supposed to play to be to the best kind of player you can be," said Saban..
Alabama extended its edge to 11-8 over Arkansas in the all-time series between the programs with a 24-20 triumph over the Razorbacks last season.
Tyler Wilson threw for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 23- of-36 passing to lead Arkansas to the 10-point win over Troy last Saturday. Ronnie Wingo ran all over the Tojan defense, racking up 108 yards and two scores on 19 tries, while Joe Adams led the receivers with eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown for Arkansas. Cobi Hamilton added five catches for 81 yards.
Through three outings, Wilson is completing 68.6 percent of his passes for 822 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. Adams has 15 catches to pace the club, while Hamilton has a club-high 252 receiving yards. As for Wingo, he has rushed for 225 yards and two scores, while Kody Walker has five rushing touchdowns to his credit.
Defensively, Arkansas certainly could have played better against Troy. The Razorbacks yielded 457 total yards and 22 first downs. The Trojans were able to rack up 373 passing yards with three touchdowns coming through the air, and all three of those scoring passes came in the final 31 minutes of the ball game.
"I think in the second half that we stayed on the field too long, but we'll get everything settled before Alabama," said Arkansas defensive tackle DeQuinta Jones after the win.
The Razorbacks are yielding only 12.7 ppg as well as 305.7 total ypg, numbers that were even better before last weekend's affair. Arkansas has been outstanding against the run, permitting a mere 87.7 ypg at a clip of 3.3 ypc. It is impressive to note that the team has yet to allow a rushing touchdown through 12 quarters of football.
Switching focus to Alabama, Trent Richardson rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, and Eddie Lacy added 161 yards and two scores on nine rushing attempts as Alabama rolled over North Texas last week.
"The offensive line did pretty good and they established themselves in the second half," said Richardson. "They really got their head into it, and that really made a big difference in the game. It always feels good to run behind the offensive line like that."
A.J. McCarron completed 15-of-21 passes for 190 yards for the Crimson Tide, as he is firmly entrenched as the club's quarterback. McCarron and company made good on more than half of their third down conversion attempts and overcame a pair of fumbles. There isn't a star receiver on the roster, but many individuals are capable of respectable contributions as pass catchers.
Through three tilts, 'Bama is posting 38.7 ppg and 475.7 total ypg. Saban's offense has been tremendously well balanced, accounting for 242 ypg on the ground and 233.7 ypg through the air. Richardson has rushed for eight touchdowns already while gaining 6.3 ypc, and McCarron has completed 64.0 percent of his passes for 579 yards and two scores.
While the offense was piling up the points against North Texas, the Alabama defense was stellar, limiting the Mean Green to 11 first downs and 169 total yards. Running the ball against the Tide is always an up hill battle, and UNT found that out the hard way by gaining a mere 68 yards on 32 attempts. Meanwhile, Alabama yielded just 13-of-31 pass completions for an average of only 7.8 yards per connection.
Opponents are earning a mere 6.0 ppg and 170.0 total ypg against the Crimson Tide through three contests. Alabama is yielding a mere 55.3 rushing ypg at a clip of 2.0 ypc, and the defense has permitted just 45-of-117 pass attempts to be completed.
<< 10th-ranked Ducks soar into Tucson to challenge Wildcats
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Oregon Ducks hit the road this
weekend for their Pac-12 Conference opener against the Arizona Wildcats in
Tucson.
Oregon, which reached the BCS National Championship Game a year ago, began the
2
<< South Dakota faces uphill climb in clash with No. 6 Wisconsin
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps the most obvious mismatch of the
college football weekend pits the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers against the
South Dakota Coyotes of the FCS.
South Dakota competes in the Great West Conference and ente
<< Commodores and Gamecocks square off in battle of unbeatens
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having survived yet another scare, the 12th-
ranked South Carolina Gamecocks will take on a surprising group of Vanderbilt
Commodores in Columbia this weekend.
Vanderbilt is undoubtedly feeling good after crus
<< Padres turn to Bass in finale with Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie right-hander Anthony Bass makes the second start of
his career, and first since June, when the San Diego Padres visit Coors Field
to wrap up a three-game series today against the Colorado Rockies.
A 23-year-old, Bas
No. 2 LSU visits No. 16 West Virginia >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked LSU Tigers of the SEC and
the 16th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big East Conference will
collide in what should be a physical battle from Morgantown.
LSU owns the nation's longe
No. 9 Nebraska hits road to battle Wyoming >>
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hitting the road for the first time this
season, the ninth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers make their way to Laramie this
weekend to challenge the Wyoming Cowboys in non-conference action at War
Memorial Stadium.
Illini attempt to break Broncos in Champaign >>
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Illinois will host its fourth
consecutive game to start the season when the Western Michigan Broncos head to
Champaign to battle the Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium.
Winning on the road in
No. 20 TCU welcomes FCS foe Portland State to Fort Worth >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that TCU head coach Gary Patterson has
his 100th win with the 20th-ranked Horned Frogs under his belt, he can now
start looking forward to his next century mark as he prepares his team for its
first-ever me
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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