Grief-stricken Cowboys face tall task in clash with Longhorns
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/08/2010 -
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a game overshadowed by tragedy, the grieving
Wyoming Cowboys take on the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns in a non-conference
affair.
On Monday, 19-year-old Wyoming freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse was killed
and three teammates were injured in a one-car accident.
Christian Morgan's injuries were serious but seemingly not life-threatening.
Trey Fox, who was driving and apparently fell asleep at the wheel, suffered
moderate injuries. As for J.J. Quinlan, the extent of his injuries wasn't
initially reported.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ruben's family," Wyoming athletics
director Tom Burman said. "Our thoughts are also with the students who were
involved in the accident and their families as well."
None of the four men saw action in Wyoming's 28-20 season-opening victory over
Southern Utah last weekend, but that doesn't lessen the impact of the tragedy.
Texas coach Mack Brown issued a statement to offer his sympathy.
"It's such a sad day to see a life taken so early," Brown said. "Our thoughts
go out to Ruben's family, and we pray for them and the families of the injured
young men."
Wyoming, a member of the Mountain West Conference, is under the guidance of
Dave Christensen, now in his second year as the leader of the program. Last
season, Christensen's group was picked to finish last in the MWC, but the
group posted a 6-6 mark during the regular season and went on to shock Fresno
State in the New Mexico Bowl. Now Christensen faces his toughest task of all,
getting his team mentally prepared to play a football game that suddenly feels
rather insignificant.
The Longhorns began the 2010 campaign with a 34-17 victory over Rice and
weren't as dominant as many expected. Texas is considered a national title
contender, but that seems to be the case every year.
Texas has won all three previous meetings with Wyoming, including a 41-10 romp
over the Cowboys last season.
Last season, Wyoming ranked near the bottom of the FBS in scoring, as the club
averaged just 18.3 ppg. Sure, the Cowboys did manage 28 points against
Southern Utah in the opener, but the level of competition was sub par.
Austyn Carta-Samuels completed 26-of-32 passes for 319 yards with three
touchdowns and one interception for the Cowboys. Zach Bolger was the best of
the receivers, racking up 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five catches.
The high-powered passing attack made up for a weak ground game that mustered a
mere 36 yards on 25 carries.
"A win is a win", said coach Christensen. "I thought Austyn did a good job of
keeping his composure, and I thought our receivers did a good job of getting
open."
Defensively, Wyoming permitted 384 yards to Southern Utah and failed to come
up with a single takeaway. The Cowboys did not allow many big plays through
the air, yielding just 8.8 yards per completion. The run defense certainly has
room for improvement, and Texas will undoubtedly pound that ball at the
defensive front of Wyoming.
Shamiel Gary and Brian Hendricks both recorded 14 tackles for the Cowboys in
the opener, and Marcell Gipson forced a pair of fumbles.
With Colt McCoy now playing in the NFL, Texas has turned the quarterback
reins over to Garrett Gilbert. In the national title game a year ago, Gilbert
took over for an injured McCoy early in the contest and played fairly well at
times. He didn't do anything overly impressive in the opener against Rice,
completing 14-of-23 passes for 172 yards, but the young signal-caller was able
to avoid mistakes.
"Offensively we stayed pretty simple," said coach Brown. "It's amazing in a
first game not to have any fumbles, no interceptions and no sacks. That may be
the first time we've ever done that. We're proud of the guys for doing that."
Tre' Newton only rushed for 61 yards on 18 carries, but the Texas tailback
reached the end zone three times. The 'Horns finished with 369 total yards and
have plenty of room for improvement.
Keenan Robinson returned a fumble 10 yards for a touchdown for Texas against
Rice, and the defense played fairly well in that contest. The Owls were
limited to 219 total yards, and one of their two touchdowns came in the final
minute of the contest, long after the outcome had been decided. Texas
permitted just 88 rushing yards on 42 attempts and were fairly solid against
the pass with the exception of a 47-yard touchdown.
<< Bragging rights on line as West Virginia visits Marshall
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on Friday night, as the Marshall Thundering Herd welcome the 23rd-ranked West
Virginia Mountaineers to town.
On opening weekend, West Virginia cruised past Coastal
<< Cavaliers travel across country to tangle with Trojans
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first-ever game in the state of California on Saturday night, as they take on
the 16th-ranked USC Trojans in a non-conference affair.
Last weekend's opener against Ric
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SEC will attempt to knock off the UL-Monroe Warhawks, a team from the Sun Belt
Conference set to open its season.
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a bit in their season opener, and they are undoubtedly eager to get back on
the field this weekend against the South Florida Bulls in a non-conference
affair from The
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Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vaulting into the AP poll at the 20th
position, the Utah Utes are at home again this week as they kick off their
Mountain West Conference schedule against the UNLV Rebels at Rice-Eccles
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ranked and defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide square off against
the 18th-ranked
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Pasadena, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Stanford Cardinal kicks off
its Pac-10 Conference slate against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Stanford vaulted into the national rankings following a convincing 52-17
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(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."
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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