Online sportsbook: Boise State will have D.J. Harper in 2012

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

It might be a bit of a rebuilding season in 2012 for Boise State’s football team when betting NCAA futures at the WagerWeb.com on-line sportsbook, but the Broncos have gotten some good news in that running back D.J. Harper has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and will play this fall as a senior.

Boise State has been a perennial Top-10 team, good to bettors at the on-line sportsbook and BCS bowl contender but loses quarterback Kellen Moore to graduation. All Moore did was win the most games in NCAA history and set every school record possible. Coach Chris Petersen also has just six starters returning, which is the fewest in the nation. The Broncos bring back just three starters on offense, two on defense and kicker Dan Goodale, whose miss vs. TCU this year cost Boise State a possible spot in the national championship game.

Harper’s return should help Boise State’s on-line sportsbook odds. He missed most of the 2009 and 2010 seasons with a torn ACL, but likely will be Boise State’s No. 1 running back entering spring practices. Harper ran for a career-high 557 yards in 2011, placing him second on the Broncos behind fellow senior Doug Martin. With Martin moving onto the NFL and Harper both eligible and healthy, Harper should finally have his first shot at serving as the Broncos’ every- down back.

He looked well on his way towards becoming a major contributor for the Boise offense in 2009, his first junior year, when he ran 44 times for an average of 6.5 yards per-carry over the Broncos’ first three games. But a torn ACL suffered in that third game put Harper on ice for the rest of that season, and a second torn ACL in the same knee limited his impact in 2010, when he again appeared in only three games. For his career, Harper has rushed for 1,642 yards and scored 25 total touchdowns. He could be a darkhorse Heisman candidate at the on-line sportsbook.

The NCAA generally gives athletes five years to complete four years of competition. However, there is an exception available if an athlete misses two seasons because of injury. Boise State is awaiting word from the NCAA on a sixth year for offensive lineman Cory Yriarte. He missed two full seasons with an ACL injury and seems like a clearer case for a sixth year than Harper.

Boise State opens the 2012 season at Michigan State – bet on NCAA futures now at the WagerWeb.com on-line sportsbook.

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Saturday NCAA basketball: No. 1 Kentucky at Vanderbilt

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

Top-ranked Kentucky is invincible at Rupp Arena, but the Wildcats face their toughest road test since suffering their only loss of the season when they visit Vanderbilt on Saturday night – Place your college basketball bets at WagerWeb.com.

The Commodores (17-7, 6-3 SEC), a preseason Top-10 team, broke a two-game losing streak with a 76-61 win over LSU on Wednesday. Festus Ezeli scored 21 points, John Jenkins added 20 points and Jeffery Taylor 19 to lead the way. The Commodores led by 11 three times but couldn’t put LSU away. Andre Stringer hit two free throws to pull the Tigers within 63-59. Ezeli had a one-handed dunk, then Taylor stole the ball leading to a 3-pointer by Jenkins with 4:07 left. LSU did hold the SEC’s best 3-point shooting team to 35 percent (7 of 20), well below Vanderbilt’s 42.9 percent average beyond the arc.

Vanderbilt held the Tigers to 14.3% from beyond the arc. It was the third time this season the Commodores have held an opponent to less than 15% shooting. The Commodores improved to 3-6 when they have been outrebounded by their opponent.

Kentucky was incredibly impressive on Tuesday, beating No. 7 Florida 78-58. Star freshman Anthony Davis had 16 points and four more blocks and fellow frosh Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Kentucky easily passed its toughest Southeastern Conference test to date for its 49th straight home win. Davis has blocked at least two shots in every game this season. He leads the nation with 4.8 blocks per game.

It was Kentucky’s largest margin of victory against a Top-10 team since a 99-65 win over No. 8 Indiana on Dec. 7, 1996. Kentucky’s has won the last four games by at least 20 points, the first time since 1993 that the Wildcats had defeated four-consecutive regular-season SEC opponents by at least 20. UK limited Florida to 34.9 percent from the field. Kentucky entered the game leading the nation in field-goal defense at 35.8 percent. UF’s 22.2 percent from 3-point range was a season low for the Gators.

The Wildcats (24-1, 10-0) matched their best start in league play since 2005 thanks to three freshmen starters who have jelled into a formidable defense to go along with their high-powered offense.

Vandy’s Ezeli loomed large in the two Kentucky-Vanderbilt games last season, with each team winning at home. In the first, Jenkins made six three-pointers and scored 32 points. In all, Vandy made 11 three-pointers in an 81-77 victory. Ezeli came close to beating Kentucky in Rupp Arena. He scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Jenkins managed Vandy’s only two three-point baskets. But when Ezeli couldn’t handle a feed into the post in the final seconds, UK escaped with a 68-66 victory.

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NCAA Basketball Odds: Volunteers Head to Lexington to Battle Wildcats

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Dustin Scott

The Tennessee Volunteers were one of Kentucky’s 21 victims already this season; they’ll try to get some revenge on the Wildcats on Tuesday night when those schools hit the hardwood at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

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The top-ranked Wildcats head into Tuesday night’s contest at 21-1 straight up (7-14 against the spread) on the season, and they’re coming off a 74-50 road win over LSU.

Terrence Jones led the way with 27 points for Kentucky in that win over the Tigers last time out, while Anthony Davis pitched in with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Miller added 13 points in the contest for the Wildcats.

And Kentucky knocked off Tennessee 65-62 on the road when those schools met on January 14, with Davis tossing in a team-high 18 points in that contest. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was good for 17 points that day, and Jones scored 10 points.

Cameron Tatum picked up 16 points for the Volunteers in that defeat on January 14, and Jeronne Maymon was good for 15 points and 10 boards.

Maymon also led Tennessee with 15 points and 19 rebounds in their 64-49 win over Auburn on Saturday, which put them at 10-11 straight up and 11-7-1 against the spread on the season.

Kentucky has won four straight games against Tennessee and eight of the last 10 meetings both straight up and against the spread versus the Volunteers.

For totals bettors the UNDER is on a seven-game winning run on the OVER/UNDER in Kentucky/Tennessee contests. The Wildcats are 7-12-1 on the OVER/UNDER this season, and the Volunteers have gone 5-12-2 for totals bettors so far this year.

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Chip Kelly spurns Bucs, will return to Oregon

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

Backers of the Oregon Ducks football team are breathing a huge sigh of relief today with the news that head coach Chip Kelly will return to the school after nearly taking the head coaching job with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was thought that Kelly’s departure was a done deal – he and the Bucs were down to simply negotiating contract details. But on Monday, Kelly said he was staying put. Some media outlets reported he took the job and then changed his mind, citing unidentified sources.

“I am flattered by the interest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ organization,”Kelly said in a statement, released by the UO athletic media services department. “I enjoyed meeting with the Glazer family and General Manager Mark Dominik but after numerous discussions, I concluded that I have some unfinished business to complete at the University of Oregon.”

Kelly did not address how close he came to taking the Tampa Bay job. Considered to have one of the most innovative minds in college football, Kelly caught the nation’s attention during an eight-year run as the offensive coordinator at the University of New Hampshire.

After several seasons coaching on both sides of the ball at various schools, Kelly directed a Wildcats offense that averaged more than 400 yards per game in seven of his eight seasons and more than 30 points per game in his final four seasons. Kelly moved to Oregon as its offensive coordinator in 2007 and his potent spread offense was an immediate success as the Ducks led the Pac-10 in scoring with 38 points per game and in total offense with 468 yards per game.

The Ducks led the Pac-10 in scoring again in 2008, improving their points per game average to 41.9 and their yards per game average to 484.8 while setting school records in both categories. Those stellar offenses prompted Oregon to promote Kelly to head coach in March 2009. He responded by leading the Ducks to three straight Pac-10 titles and three consecutive BCS bowl games.

Kelly’s potential departure was seen as similar to Pete Carroll, who left Southern Cal for the Seattle Seahawks before the school was hit with NCAA sanctions. Oregon was notified last fall it is under NCAA investigation for its dealings with Willie Lyles and his scouting service. The school acknowledged paying Lyles $25,000 for information on recruits.

The situation is strikingly familiar to the Bucs coaching search in 1996 when then Florida coach Steve Spurrier came close to taking the job before deciding to remain with the Gators. The Bucs wound up hiring Tony Dungy, whose son, Eric, is now a receiver for Kelly at Oregon.

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Alabama man arrested after YouTube video shows him sexually abusing LSU fan (video)

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

An Alabama man was arrested late Wednesday in connection with a video appearing to show someone in a University of Alabama jacket abusing an unconscious Louisiana State University fan after Alabama beat LSU for the BCS football championship.

Brian Downing, 32, of Smiths Station, Ala., was booked on charges of sexual battery and obscenity. He was videotaped Jan. 9 “placing his genitals on an LSU fan’s face. The LSU fan appears to be heavily inebriated and practically unconscious,” a police statement said.

That videotape, the last minute of which shows a man in a red Alabama jacket simulating a sex act, went viral on the Internet.

Police said sex crimes detectives met Downing at his attorney’s office in New Orleans, where officers arrested him. Downing looked at the ground as officers escorted him in handcuffs into the jail. Neither he nor the officers answered questions.

Downing’s actions were videotaped about 11:45 p.m. Jan. 9, at a restaurant on Bourbon Street, police said.

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College Football Season Not Over: East-West Shrine Game on Saturday

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Allen James

Sure, you probably thought the college football season ended on Jan. 9 when Alabama beat LSU for the national championship, but you would be mistaken: The annual East-West Shrine Game is Saturday from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg with the West opening as a 1.5-point favorite on Bovada’s NCAA football odds.

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Being perfectly honest, the result doesn’t much matter. What this is all about is a job interview for prospective NFL players. The top players generally avoid this game so they can stage their own personal workouts for NFL teams. But there are 246 former East-West Shrine Game players on current NFL rosters. The game, featuring only seniors, has been played every January following the college football season since 1925 and is the oldest standing NCAA all-star game. There are 20 players from non-FBS schools on the rosters this year. More of the bigger-name seniors pass this game up for the Senior Bowl.

The East has won the past three Shrine Games, including 25-8 last season in Orlando. Some of the bigger names playing this year are Florida QB John Brantley, Michigan State WR B.J. Cunningham(both East), Northwestern QB Dan Persa, Arkansas WR Jarius Wright and Michigan WR Junior Hemingway (all on West).

Probably the most scrutiny will be on Brantley, a former top recruit who never came close to living up to expectations. But he probably never had a chance at Florida considering he had to follow in Tim Tebow’s shoes. Brantley was 15-9 as a starter at UF with 30 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Wright is probably the top pro prospect on either roster. He caught 66 balls for 1,117 yards and 12 TDs for the Razorbacks this year.

Former Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress coaches the West team this year, while former Georgia Tech, San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions head coach Bobby Ross leads the East.

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Barrett Trotter won’t be Auburn’s starting QB next season

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

The 2012 quarterback derby at Auburn just got a little more wide open as former starter Barrett Trotter announced that he wouldn’t return to the Tigers next season. It’s uncertain whether he will transfer to another school — he’s already graduated, so he could play immediately at a Division I school — or make himself available for the NFL draft. The deadline for that was Sunday.

Trotter, who started seven games in 2011, announced that he wasn’t intending to transfer, but wouldn’t be back with Auburn’s football team. He graduated in August with a degree in communications and is enrolled in graduate school at Auburn.

“My four years at Auburn has been a great experience and I’m thankful for the opportunities that I’ve had, however, I have decided to forgo my senior season,” Trotter said in a statement “I’m truly blessed to have been a part of winning seasons and championships during my time at Auburn.”

Trotter began the season as Auburn’s starter, beating out sophomore Clint Moseley and freshman Kiehl Frazier during training camp. Trotter led the Tigers to a 4-2 record in 2011 before losing his starting job to Moseley during Auburn’s 17-6 win against Florida. He didn’t play in the next five games and wasn’t supposed to in the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Virginia as Trotter didn’t take snaps with the regulars in practice leading up to the bowl.

However, when Moseley went down injured against the Cavs, Trotter he turned in one of his best games of his career, completing 11-of-18 passes, with at least three drops, for 175 yards and a touchdown in Auburn’s 43-24 win. He figured he wouldn’t play and was not wearing his knee brace. Trotter hit 92-of-167 passes for 1,184 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions for the season.

With Moseley and Frazier coming back, it looked as if Trotter would be in the same situation he was in this past season. Auburn’s offense struggled against better defenses with Moseley as the starter and Frazier coming in for mostly running plays. Newcomer Zeke Pike is the only other QB on the roster.

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Top recruit Gunner Kiel spurns LSU for Notre Dame

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

Recently here at WagerWeb.com, I wrote about how arguably the top prep quarterback recruit in the nation, Gunner Kiel, had verbally committed to LSU and was going to enroll in school this week. It thus wouldn’t have been shocking to see Kiel be the Tigers’ starting quarterback to open the fall as LSU tried to get back to the national championship game.

But the problem with verbal commitments is that they aren’t binding, and LSU learned that the hard way on Tuesday when Kiel officially committed to Notre Dame. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Kiel seems to be a perfect fit for Irish coach, Brian Kelly. In his senior season at Columbus (Indiana) East High School, Kiel threw for 2,517 yards and 28 touchdowns. Kiel also has game on the ground. He was the second leading rusher for Columbus East this past season. Kiel had 482 yards, 11 touchdowns on 109 carries.

Kiel is expected to enroll in South Bend by the end of the week — possible as soon as today, the first day of classes for the spring semester — putting him on pace to join a crowded depth chart in spring practice.

Kiel clearly is a bit wishy-washy. In August, Kiel initially pledged his loyalty to Indiana, where his brother, Dusty, was a backup quarterback who wound up starting the Hoosiers’ first two Big Ten games before being relegated to the bench for the second half of the season. Gunner Kiel subsequently backed out of his commitment to IU in October, just after big bro had been yanked from the lineup for good (as of last weekend, Dusty Kiel is no longer a Hoosier, either), and eventually settled on LSU instead on Dec. 27. Early in 2011, Kiel had said Alabama and Oklahoma were his finalists.

Had Kiel signed and enrolled at LSU, he would have been the highest ranked quarterback to come to LSU since Ryan Perrilloux signed with the Tigers in February of 2005 as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the country out of East St. John High near New Orleans. Kiel was hailed as one of the most significant recruits in LSU history, partly because he was from so far away.

With the graduation of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee, former Georgia transfer Zach Mettenberger now seems the likely starter for the Tigers. Notre Dame’s depth chart is much more crowded, led by presumed starter Tommy Rees.

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No debate: Alabama sweeps final college football polls

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

Some voters in the Associated Press college football poll said before Monday night’s BCS national championship game that they might vote LSU as the national champion even with a loss to Alabama considering the Tigers won at the Tide during the season and beat a record eight ranked teams during the year.

Well, Alabama’s 21-0 domination on Monday ended any thoughts of that.

Alabama received 55 first-place votes in the final Associated Press poll after Monday night’s victory at the Superdome in New Orleans. The AP final top 10: Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Arkansas, USC, Stanford, Boise State, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

The USA Today poll, conducted by voting coaches, is contractually bound to name the BCS winner its national champion. The AP poll is not bound by that rule and can name an independent champion. It happened in 2003 when LSU won the BCS title game but USC earned the AP trophy.

No. 3 Oklahoma State was hoping a close Alabama win might convince enough voters to produce a split result. There was also a chance an ugly Alabama win might keep LSU at No.1. The Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide, 9-6, in the regular season matchup.

But LSU received only one first-place AP vote while Oklahoma State received four. Coach Nick Saban led Alabama to its second AP title in the last three years and joined Bear Bryant (five) as Crimson Tide coaches with multiple championships.

It wasn’t just that the Crimson Tide won, but the way they won, that ended the split title debate. While Alabama’s 384 yards of offense resulted in only one touchdown, its dominant defense held LSU to only 92 yards and allowed the Tigers to cross midfield only once.

Asked whether his team still deserved consideration for a No. 1 vote, LSU coach Les Miles was noncommittal.

“The only thing I can tell you is, we think we had a great year,” Miles said. “This football team had as great a run as anybody in the country, playing eight nationally ranked teams. I think this team has accomplished a lot. I think that’s for the voters to decide.”

The final USA Today coaches’ poll top 10: Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Arkansas, Boise State, Stanford, South Carolina, Michigan and Michigan State.

Final AP poll (with first-place votes):

1. Alabama (59)

2. LSU (1)

3. Oklahoma State (4)

4. Oregon

5. Arkansas

6. USC

7. Stanford

8. Boise State

9. South Carolina

10. Wisconsin

11. Michigan State

12. Michigan

13. Baylor

14. TCU

15. Kansas State

16. Oklahoma

17. West Virginia

18. Houston

19. Georgia

20. Southern Miss

21. Virginia Tech

22. Clemson

23. Florida State

24. Nebraska

25. Cincinnati

Others receiving votes: BYU, Auburn, Northern Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Rutgers, North Dakota, Penn State, Virginia

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National Championship Game: LSU (13-0) vs. Alabama (11-1)

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Guillermo J.P

The college football season comes to a close on Monday night at the Superdome in New Orleans when top-ranked LSU and No. 2 Alabama meet in the first regular-season rematch in BCS championship game history. The Tide are 2.5-point college football bets favorites – a ton of late action moved this line toward Alabama.

It’s the rematch everybody has been talking about since Nov. 5 when LSU squeaked past Alabama 9-6 in OT. The Tide fairly outplayed the Tigers that day but missed four field goals. If Alabama should beat LSU, particularly in a close game, then the vote in the final Associated Press poll in the hours following the game could get really interesting. Yes, we could see a split national champion. Two things are for sure. The SEC will lose its first BCS national championship game (7-0 entering this one) but also win its sixth straight national title.

Even though No. 3 Oklahoma State is clinging to hope of finishing first in The Associated Press rankings should Alabama grind out an unimpressive win, it seems likely the winner will be on the field tonight in New Orleans. The Crimson Tide are going for their second title in three years, while LSU hopes to finish on top for the second time in five seasons.

The key matchup is Alabama running back Trent Richardson vs. LSU’s front seven. Richardson finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting after rushing for 1,583 yards, second-most in school history. But he was held to 89 yards on 23 carries in the Tide’s 9-6 overtime loss to LSU on Nov. 5, one of only three times this season he failed to reach 100 yards. . LSU was caught off guard and didn’t cover him on passes for 39 and 22 yards, so that surely has been addressed in preparation. The Tigers allowed just 85.5 yards per game on the ground, ranking third in the nation behind the Crimson Tide and Florida State. This is expected to be Richardson’s final collegiate game as he will turn pro.

For LSU, cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, just 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, has been a game changer for the Tigers. “Honey Badger” was a Heisman finalist as a sophomore, leading the team in tackles (70), ranking first in the nation in fumble recoveries (five) and third in forced fumbles (six). He returned two of the fumbles for TDs. In addition, he’s a huge threat on special teams, ranking second nationally with a 16.2-yard average on punt returns, including two more scores.

The Tigers defeated eight teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time. The can become the second team ever to beat four teams ranked in the Top 5. The last time LSU and Alabama played at a neutral site was 1958. The Tigers beat the Tide 13-3 in Mobile, Ala., and won the national championship.

Three other top-ranked teams have been subjected to rematches in bowls — Florida State vs. Florida at the end of the 1996 season, Ohio State vs. UCLA in 1975 and Michigan State vs. UCLA in 1965 — and none could complete a sweep.

Only Alabama has played the Tigers within 13 points this season. Their average margin of victory is 28. That has a lot to do with a defense that ranks second to Alabama’s, allowing just 252.1 yards and 10.5 points a game. But dig beneath the surface, and an offense that ranks 105th among 120 major-college teams in passing yardage and 74th in total yardage has real redeeming qualities.

Quarterbacks Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson combine for the nation’s sixth-best touchdown passes-to-interceptions ratio (21 to four). LSU outrushes opponents by an average of 130 yards and, all told, the offense produces almost 4½ TDs a game. Nobody has committed fewer than the Tigers’ eight turnovers.

The Big Easy has been very good to LSU. The Tigers have won each of their past three national championships in New Orleans. LSU defeated Ohio State 38-24 in the BCS Championship Game in the Superdome to claim the 2007 title. Then-LSU coach Nick Saban guided the Tigers to a 21-14 victory over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to win the 2003 national title, and LSU defeated Clemson 7-0 in the 1959 Sugar Bowl to finish 11-0 and win the ’58 national championship.

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