No. 1 Alabama breaks in youngsters in rout
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/06/2010 -
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Alabama took advantage of an opening rout to get plenty of youngsters on the field.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide's top tackler in Saturday night's 48-3 route of San Jose State was freshman linebacker C.J. Mosley. The leading rusher was redshirt freshman Eddie Lacy. Both the kicker and punter were freshmen.
And coach Nick Saban said he had other freshmen ready to go, including No. 3 quarterback Phillip Sims.
Besides the kickers, 13 players made their first college starts for the Tide: seven defenders, two offensive linemen, tailback Trent Richardson and their long snapper.
It was enough to make Saban consider giving his players a refresher course on little things like what to wear on the road.
``It's the first time since we've been here that I have felt the need to talk about things that you take for granted, like the dress code for a trip,'' Saban said. ``We had guys who had been here for two or three years that know what's going on. Now we have a significant number of guys that don't know what's going on, haven't played before and haven't traveled before, that I find myself saying I need to spend some time explaining this stuff that we explained three years ago.''
The road dress code can wait another week. The Tide (1-0) is preparing to host No. 19 Penn State, coming off a 44-14 win over Youngstown State, in what will surely be a more telling game for the youngsters.
Saban has had freshmen play key roles in each of his three seasons with Alabama, ranging from Rolando McClain to Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Richardson. Two opened as starters in both 2007 and 2008, only the second and third time that's happened at Alabama.
Make that four. Punter Cody Mandell and kicker Cade Foster both started in their first college games. Both had nice debuts and answered a couple of the team's biggest question marks.
Mandell's first two punts each went for 52 yards. Foster made field goals of 41 and 24 yards.
The Tide also started junior college cornerback DeQuan Menzie, six sophomores and a redshirt freshman.
Mosley led Alabama with seven tackles. Starting linebacker Courtney Upshaw sprained his ankle, but Saban said he should be available against Penn State. Redshirt freshman quarterback A.J. McCarron completed 9 of 15 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown.
Richardson got his first start in place of Heisman Trophy winner Ingram, who is out because of a knee injury. Fellow sophomore Damion Square started for defensive end Marcell Dareus, serving a two-game NCAA suspension pending the results of Alabama's appeal.
The defense gave up a 49-yard pass and a 32-yard run, but only 94 yards on the other 46 plays. San Jose State converted only 1 of 13 third downs. Mosley's seven tackles led the team.
``We have a lot of young guys, but they have shown a lot of improvement,'' said sophomore safety Robert Lester, who had an interception and a sack in his first start. ``They have been able to learn the system quickly and go out there and show that. You don't see many freshmen like C.J. Mosley come in and lead the team in tackles like he did and make that many big plays.''
Other freshmen who played included cornerback John Fulton and linebacker Jalston Fowler.
Saban said even more freshmen were ready to go, including Sims in case there's an emergency situation later.
``One of the toughest decisions that you have to make as a coach is if I play a guy in a game like this, he loses a whole year,'' he said. ``So unless he's going to play a significant amount ... then you don't play the guy.
``Phillip is really ready to play and I'd love to play him. You don't have a crystal ball. I'm telling you all in advance that. You can second-guess me for all this if it happens.''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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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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