1. #1
    SBRforum Staff
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    Week 1 Review

    College Football: Week 1 Review

    By: SBR Staff
    How much can college pigskin handicappers read into the first weekend of action? Here are a few relevant tidbits gleaned from the scoresheets with a brief look ahead at Week 2 action.

    Notre Dame fell behind 10-0 at Georgia Tech Saturday night, and looked like they might go to halftime with a goose egg on the scoreboard.

    But the Irish offense responded with a clutch scoring drive, and the defense -- the major concern of this team coming into the season -- shut out the Yellow Jackets in the second half.

    Still, bettors know that despite the 14-10 season-opening win, ND failed to cover the spread as seven-point favorites. Notre Dame hosts Penn State Saturday.

    The Florida Gators opened head coach Urban Meyer’s second season in charge by overcoming a sluggish first half before rolling to a 34-7 win over Southern Mississippi. A few questions popped up during the offseason concerning the quarterback position at Florida, but senior Chris Leak started and completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for 248 yards and three TDs. The Gators iced the game by scoring a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cover a 21-point spread. Florida plays host to Central Florida Saturday.

    The Tennessee Volunteers, coming off a 5-6 season a year ago, were rare home underdogs (albeit by just two points) Saturday vs. the highly regarded Cal Bears. But the Vols led 14-0 at halftime, then scored three TDs in the third quarter to take a 35-0 lead on their way to a 35-18 win. Tennessee hosts Air Force Saturday.

    The Oklahoma Sooners, 23-point favorites over the visiting UAB Blazers Saturday, could only muster a 7-7 halftime tie before eventually winning 24-17, coming nowhere close to covering the spread. Oklahoma hosts Washington Saturday.

    The Clemson Tigers may have beaten Howard Schnellenberger’s Florida Atlantic Owls 54-6 Saturday, but the victory could be costly. LB Anthony Waters, the Tigers’ leading tackler a season ago, was carried off the field in the third quarter after suffering a knee injury and could be out for a while. More news on Waters’ condition will become available after he undergoes an MRI on that left knee sometime this week. Clemson visits Boston College in the ACC opener for both teams Saturday.

    Texas Tech’s new gunner is apparently Graham Harrell. The fifth QB to start the season for the Red Raiders over the past five years, Harrell threw for 342 yards and five TDs in leading TT past SMU 35-3 Saturday as 27-point favorites. The Raiders visit UTEP Saturday.

    Top-ranked Ohio State led visiting Northern Illinois 28-0 after the first play of the second quarter on their way to a 35-12 win as 17-point home chalk Saturday. QB Troy Smith led the way for the Buckeyes by going 18 of 25 passing for 297 yards and three touchdowns. On the other side of the field, Huskies RB Garrett Wolfe tallied up 171 rushing yards and 114 receiving yards on the day. Ohio State travels to the Lone Star State for a Top 10 battle with Texas Saturday.

    The Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 4½-point road underdogs Saturday at North Carolina, got an unexpected 201 rushing yards and three TDs out of RB Ray Rice on their way to a 21-16 upset of the Tar Heels. Rutgers hosts Illinois Saturday.

    Michigan State, 30-point favorites over the visiting Idaho Vandals, never came close to providing some good news for its financial backers Saturday. The Spartans struggled all day and led by just a TD with 10 minutes remaining before settling for a 27-17 win. Idaho rushed 36 times for 113 yards on the day, holding the ball for 32 minutes. Michigan State hosts Eastern Michigan Saturday.

    The Michigan Wolverines outrushed the Vanderbilt Commodores 246-42 in their 27-7 win at the Big House Saturday, but they also didn’t cover as 27-point favorites. Big Blue hosts Central Michigan Saturday.

    Penn State, 18-point chalk over the visiting Akron Zips, led by just a 17-9 margin in the third quarter. But the Nittany Lions then scored 17 unanswered points to grab a 34-9 lead. Penn State backers then saw Akron QB Luke Getsy hit David Harvey on a beautiful 27-yard scoring pass on fourth down with less than three minutes remaining to make things interesting. The Zips kicked the extra point to make the final winning margin 18, which gave early Penn State bettors a win, while others who jumped in with late action were lucky just to garner a push. The Nittany Lions visit South Bend Saturday to take on Notre Dame.

    And the Wisconsin Badgers got a solid (9-15, 124 yds) performance from QB John Stocco, who was questionable before the game after having knee surgery a month ago, and scored on a blocked punt to beat the Bowling Green Falcons 35-14 as 11-point favorites Saturday night in Cleveland. Wisconsin hosts Western Illinois Saturday.

    Altogether, the AP Top 10 went 9-1 straight up over the opening weekend, 7-3 against the spread.

  2. #2
    koko
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    No mention of the Trojans?

  3. #3
    pags11
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    pretty good article...

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