Bowden among those enshrined into College Football Hall of Fame

NCAA Football Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Bowden, the winningest coach in major college football history, led a group that was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Other notables included former Heisman Trophy winners Mike Rozier and Charlie Ward, as well as defensive standout Bruce Smith and the NFL's all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith.

Bowden turned Florida State into a perennial power since taking over in 1976, guiding the Seminoles to 29 bowl appearances and a pair of national championships while accruing a staggering 286 wins in 365 games. He is the only head coach to guide an NCAA team to at least 11 straight bowl victories.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno was also enshrined as was Bruce Smith, who was a fierce defensive lineman for Virginia Tech before starting a sensational pro career with the Buffalo Bills in 1985. A two-time First-Team All-American, Smith set Hokie records for single-game sacks (four), single-season sacks (22) and career sacks (46). He made 180 career tackles during his college career from 1981-84.

Emmitt Smith had similar success on the offensive end during his playing days with the University of Florida from 1987-89. Smith set 58 school records with the Gators and amassed 3,928 yards and 36 touchdowns in just three seasons. Prior to winning three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, Smith was a unanimous First-Team All-American and an SEC Player of the Year while with the Gators.

Ward is one of the most accomplished college football players ever, winning a national championship, a Heisman Trophy and a slew of other accolades as signal-caller for Florida State from '91-93. He is a two-time ACC Player of the Year winner and broke 19 school records before opting to play for the New York Knicks rather than try his hand at the NFL upon graduation.

Rozier, a former Nebraska running back, ran for 2,148 yards in 1983 alone to become only the second player in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-yard plateau in a single season. He set NCAA records for single-season rushing yards per game (179) and rushing TDs (29) en route to a Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award. Rozier played eight seasons in the NFL with the Oilers and Atlanta Falcons.

The rest of the 2006 Class consisted of running back Bobby Anderson (Colorado, 1967-69); defensive back Bennie Blades (Miami-Florida, '85-87); tackle Carl Eller (Minnesota, '61-63); defensive lineman Steve Emtman (Washington, '89-91); safety Thomas Everett (Baylor, '83-86); defensive lineman Chad Hennings (Air Force, '84-87); offensive lineman Chip Kell (Tennessee, '68-70); quarterback Mike Phipps (Purdue, '67-69); and linebacker Jeff Siemon (Stanford, '68-71).

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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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