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09/05/2010 -
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -Texas spent the offseason loading up a new power running game that was going to get tough yards and first downs when they need it.
The Longhorns still have some work to do.
By the numbers, Texas was able to grind out 197 yards on 46 carries in a steady 34-17 season-opening win over Rice. Tre' Newton, who had lost the starting tailback job to Cody Johnson, punched in three touchdowns on runs of 1, 1 and 2 yards.
Those numbers don't show how a Rice team that went 2-10 last season stuffed Texas on four straight runs inside the Owls' 4-yard line on the first drive, or how they held Texas to 76 yards on 21 carries in the first half.
Another 3rd-and-2 in the third quarter produced only one yard when Texas was trying to get out from deep inside its own half of the field.
That new power rushing attack was pretty punchless at key times in the game.
``I do know that when you run the ball, most of your rushing yards are going to come late in the third and fourth quarter. That happened some tonight, but you have to be patient, even more than I am right now. I need to continue to work on my patience,'' Texas coach Mack Brown said.
Newton led Texas with 61 yards but averaged just 3.4 yards. Johnson, whose 5-foot-11, 250-pound frame had made him Texas' goal-line specialist the previous two seasons, carried the ball four straight times on the goal line on Texas' first drive but couldn't get in the end zone. On fourth down, Texas called a sweep right and Johnson lost four yards.
Johnson finished with 59 yards but didn't score. Fozzy Whittaker added 51 yards on nine carries.
``We got the win, so that is the most important goal,'' Newton said. ``I don't know what kind of grade I would give us.''
Brown said he'd wait to evaluate game film to decide who will start next weekend against Wyoming. The running backs were playing behind a line with three new starters.
``Sometimes you see a great run, and there was a huge hole. We'll want to see who made the yards when things aren't there,'' Brown said. ``All three of them are experienced, and all three of them played well. But I feel like that is something that we'll have to see on film.''
Texas fans have gotten used to watching the Longhorns light up the scoreboard after six seasons of Vince Young and Colt McCoy at quarterback. Saturday's grind-it-out attack limited the throws of new starting quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who went 14 of 24 for 172 yards but no touchdowns.
Unlike McCoy the last four seasons, Gilbert was rarely in the shotgun against the Owls. His longest completion was a 47-yard strike to Malcolm Williams down the middle in the third quarter.
``We did a good job running the ball for the most part, but we've got a long way to go before we're where we want to be as a team,'' Gilbert said.
Texas left a lot of points on the field.
Besides the goal-line stand by Rice in the first quarter, Texas defensive backs Chykie Brown and Aaron Williams both dropped potential interceptions that should have resulted in easy touchdowns, and new kicker Justin Tucker missed field goals of 44 and 54 yards. Tucker also made kicks of 51 and 26 yards.
``We better get a bunch better next week before Wyoming, or we are going to have trouble winning,'' Brown said.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.
<< Smyth wins Senior Masters by three
Woburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ireland's Des Smyth posted a three-under 69
Sunday to win the Travis Perkins Senior Masters by three strokes.
Smyth finished the event at 10-under-par 206. The victory was Smyth's third on
the European Seni
<< TV ratings for Notre Dame opener up 77 percent
NEW YORK (AP) -The start of the Brian Kelly era attracted a large television audience for Notre Dame.Saturday's preliminary rating was up 77 percent from last year's opener. NBC said Sunday that the Fighting Irish's 23-12 win over Purdue drew a 2.3
<< Slovenia routs Australia to reach quarterfinals
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaka Lakovic scored 19 points in
Slovenia's 87-58 rout of Australia to reach the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA
World Championships.
Primoz Brezec added 12 points for Slovenia, which will play
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 5th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Slovenia 87, Australia 58
Turkey vs. France, 2 p.m.
Veteran coach Jack Crowe leads JSU to huge victory >>
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -Jack Crowe has been coaching football for 40 years, but even he was at a loss to describe how Jacksonville State pulled off the unthinkable with a 49-48 double-overtime victory over Mississippi on Saturday.Not only was it undoubt
Defense comes up big for Mountaineers >>
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -West Virginia is accustomed to scoring in bunches. What stood out after the season opener was an effort unseen from its defense in quite some time.The Mountaineers earned their first home shutout win in 13 years on Saturday,
Clijsters, Venus roll into quarterfinals in New York >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters
and Venus Williams each recorded straight-set victories in fourth-round play
Sunday at the 2010 U.S. Open.
Clijsters needed just 59 minutes to post a 6-2 ,6-1
Verdasco moves on to fourth round at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fernando Verdasco was a third-round
winner Sunday at the U.S. Open.
The eighth-seeded Spaniard dispatched Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-2, 3-6,
6-3, 6-2. Verdasco was a quarter-finalist here l
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
Many 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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