Updates Saturday at www.joeduffy.net

Saturday, September 2, 2006 

 

From JoeDuffy.net

CFB

Weather

Akron-Penn State: 90 percent chance of rain

Marshall-West Virginia: 50 percent chance of rain, wind gusts to 23 MPH

Northern Illinois-Ohio State: 30 percent chance of rain 

Wisconsin-Bowling Green: 40 chance of rain, winds NE 20 MPH

Virginia-Pittsburgh: 70 chance of rain

 

Here are news and notes from Godspicks.com private clipboard.  They are compiled from hometown newspapers and the team’s own press releases.

 

Southern Cal-Arkansas

Shreveport Times

Arkansas All-SEC tailback Darren McFadden is not expected to play when the Hogs open the season against USC at home Saturday night on ESPN because of a broken left big toe. After surgery on July 29 a stabilizing pin was taken out on Aug. 21, and McFadden thought his trouble was over. Until he put weight on the toe. “It was much worse than I thought,” he said. “That’s when it really started sinking in … I might not be ready.” Arkansas might not either. The Hogs lost at USC, 70-17, last season. Bet now through the Greek, home of the 21 percent sign up bonus  

Utah-UCLA

Associated Press

As expected, UCLA coach Karl Dorrell announced Monday that Ben Olson has beaten out Patrick Cowan and will start at quarterback for the Bruins on Sept. 2 when they open the season against Utah at the Rose Bowl. Olson played briefly in relief of starter Drew Olson last season, completing 2-of-4 passes for 11 yards. The 23-year-old Olson enrolled at UCLA last winter after transferring from BYU. He had been on a church mission for the previous two years after redshirting as a freshman in 2002. Olson, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound sophomore, was one of the country’s top recruits before deciding to attend BYU. The left-hander passed for 2.989 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior at Thousand Oaks High in 2001.  Bet the NFL now at -107 juice! Check out the latest odds at CanBet. 

 

Washington State-Auburn

Associated Press

Indeed, Auburn has lost three of its last four openers, beating only Louisiana-Monroe en route to a 13-0 season in ‘04. (The Tigers also lost a close game at USC in 2002).

It’s a remarkable statistic for a team that has managed to win 35 games during that four-year span. A similarly punchless performance against Washington State would spoil all the enthusiasm and expectations surrounding this team. Indeed, Auburn has lost three of its last four openers, beating only Louisiana-Monroe en route to a 13-0 season in ‘04. (The Tigers also lost a close game at USC in 2002). It’s a remarkable statistic for a team that has managed to win 35 games during that four-year span. A similarly punchless performance against Washington State would spoil all the enthusiasm and expectations surrounding this team. Both were far better the rest of the season, leading the SEC’s best offense. Irons only started nine games but wound up rushing for 1,293 yards and closing the regular season with six consecutive 100-yard games. Cox posted the fourth-best single-season passing total in school history (2,324 yards) and was the league’s No. 2-rated passer in his first season as starter, guiding a 9-3 team. A revamped defense will have to come through for Auburn to stake that claim. With linebackers Tray Blackmon and Kevin Sears suspended for an unspecified number of games - probably including the date with LSU - converted safeties Will Herring and Steve Gandy won’t have much grace period to master their new positions.

Akron-Penn State

CSTV

The biggest change for Penn State in ‘06 unquestionably is at quarterback, where junior Anthony Morelli faces the task of trying to replace Big Ten Offensive MVP Michael Robinson, who put together a tremendous season in leading Penn State back. “Michael Robinson was as good of a college football player and had as much of an impact on our football team as any player I’ve ever coached in all the years I’ve been around,” Paterno said. While Robinson will be missed, there is a great deal of optimism surrounding the new junior quarterback, who was Robinson’s backup last season, completing 13-of-20 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in occasional action. With the new quarterback though, you can expect some things to change due to the different style of play by Morelli. “Last year, Robinson could run the option or do something with his athletic ability to get us out of a jam,” Paterno said. “We don’t have that anymore. We have a different type of back. We have a true quarterback that’s going to have to be able to read coverages and him and the offense have to get comfortable with each other and we’ll see what happens.” “Morelli is more of a pocket passer so we’re going to have to give him a little more time and we’ll have to adjust to that,” Brown said. “We can’t just assume that if we mess up here, that Mike is just going to run off with the ball because he’s not back there. Morelli is back there. So, we’ll just have to give him more time and allow him to learn the game.” Another question mark on Penn State will be its offensive line, who must replace four starters from last season. Brown returns as the only starter and will be looked upon to lead the unit. Bet the NFL now at -107 juice! Check out the latest odds at CanBet. 

 

Hawaii-Alabama

UWire

And last season, despite a 5-7 record, the Warriors showed us a young offense loaded with talent. Colt Brennan emerged as the clear starter and went on to lead the NCAA in passing yards, something Jones feels will happen again this season. Freshman wide-receivers Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen each posted 1,000-yard seasons and became impact players. Once Nate Ilaoa snapped into shape, he was a bruising running back that complimented Hawaii’s aggressive passing game.   Bet now through the Greek, home of the 21 percent sign up bonus  

Virginia-Pittsburgh

Post Gazette

The Panthers had the Big East Conference’s leading receiver (yards per game) eight of the past nine seasons and became the first school to produce two Biletnikoff winners (Antonio Bryant and Larry Fitzgerald). This year’s group, however, has not progressed as expected and, if things don’t improve in a hurry, Pitt could easily be referred to as “Wide Receiver, Who?” The Panthers are set to finish camp tomorrow and likely will do so with a depth chart at wide receiver that is unsettled. And unlike other positions, such as the defensive line, where the depth chart is cloudy because so many players have performed well, the receiver position is unsettled because of inconsistency. Hill pointed out that the receivers’ failure to progress as fast as he would like hasn’t been completely about a lack of ability. There have been injuries—McGee (calf) and Turner (ankle) have missed some time—and off-field issues—Porter left the team for a day and senior Joe DelSardo has been suspended for two weeks—that have hindered their progress as well. The group also is extremely inexperienced—Kinder and DelSardo are the only two with more than five receptions in a game. But the explanations for the state of the receiving corps don’t erase the fact that there is a game to be played in 11 days and the Panthers have only two receivers ready to play.  Bet this game now through BetUs. Check out the lines now

California-Tennessee

Associated Press

While playing Cal at home might seem like a good deal for Tennessee, the Vols want to believe the Bears have the upper hand. The Volunteers have lost six straight game at home to top-10 teams. Bet now through the Greek, home of the 21 percent sign up bonus