No. 8 Nebraska goes down to wire with QB call
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/03/2010 -
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Nebraska fans haven't forgotten that one-point loss to Texas in the Big 12 championship game and they're still celebrating next year's move to the Big Ten.
But the biggest topic of conversation in Big Red country has been about who will start at quarterback when the No. 8 Cornhuskers open the season against Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
Coach Bo Pelini hasn't said whether he'll go with Zac Lee, the senior incumbent, Cody Green, the top backup in 2009, or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez.
``I think it will come down to the last-minute call,'' offensive lineman Ricky Henry said.
Pelini probably can't go wrong regardless of who he chooses for this game. After all, the Sun Belt Conference's Hilltoppers have lost 20 games in a row and are five-touchdown underdogs.
The Huskers have their highest preseason ranking since 2001 and will be in position to make a run at the national championship if their offense improves. The Ndamukong Suh-led defense carried the Huskers a year ago while the offense scuffled along to a No. 99 national ranking.
``We know that we didn't live up to everything that was expected last year,'' receiver Brandon Kinnie said.
Lee started 12 of 14 games and was serviceable, though the Huskers went through a brutal patch where they scored four touchdowns over four games. He had surgery on his right (throwing) elbow after the season, forcing him to miss spring practice.
Green and Martinez did enough in the spring to make it a three-man race that, Pelini predicted, could last until October.
``They've played at a high level,'' offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. ``They've had to, to stay in the hunt. It's been a great competition and it's really, really close.''
Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead give the Huskers a 1-2 punch at running back, the offensive line is deep and the Niles Paul-led receiving corps is experienced.
Jared Crick, Suh's partner on the defensive line, and cornerback Prince Amukamara lead a unit expected to be stingy even with Suh gone to the NFL. The Huskers were left vulnerable at linebacker when Sean Fisher broke his leg last month, and there will be two new starters at safety.
The Hilltoppers will be going against an opponent that has won 24 straight openers. Nebraska has scored at least 40 points 17 times during the streak and given up 14 points or less 16 times.
``For us to have a chance, we have to be on our 'A' game,'' first-year WKU coach Willie Taggart said. ``They have an opportunity to win a national championship this year. But anything is possible ... If we're not sharp, we're not going to have a chance.''
This is another in a line of money games for the Hilltoppers, who'll earn $800,000 for their visit to Memorial Stadium. Since 2008, they've also visited Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia Tech.
``That most definitely is going to help us,'' WKU defensive end Jared Clendenin said. ``We're not going to be in there with those big wide eyes. You know how it is when you walk in a big stadium like that. All you want to do is look around at the fans.''
The Huskers are coming off a 10-4 year in which they won six of their last seven games, including a 33-0 Holiday Bowl win over Arizona.
All that stood between Nebraska and a BCS game was the 13-12 loss to Texas. The Longhorns kicked the winning field goal after one second was put back on the game clock.
Players are wearing reminders on their wrists - red rubber bracelets with the messages ``0.01'' and ``FINISH'' stamped in.
``It still comes up on ESPN Classic, and I can't watch it,'' Kinnie said. ``It still eats at me. We have a lot of motivation, a lot to prove this year.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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