Bookmaker Week 1 Lines

To date, MTSU has 73 scholarship players, of which 69 are able to play. And of those 69, there are some who still haven't practiced yet.
The good news is MTSU is so young that by the time coach Rick Stockstill and staff bring in their next signing class, the program will be close to or right at the maximum number of 85 scholarship players.
The bad news is the Blue Raiders will open the season in 19 days against Troy with some serious issues.
Although two linemen who didn't really figure into the big scheme of things quit this week, it still leaves the Blue Raiders with only nine scholarship players in the offensive trenches.
So, they're basically an injury away from inserting a true freshman up front. Not good.
If MTSU was a veteran team, playing with 69 scholarship players wouldn't be that big of a deal. However, Stockstill recently pointed out that almost 50 of the players are freshmen or sophomores.
That probably puts MTSU as the youngest team in the country. It bodes well for the future, but football fans are all about right now.
With that in mind, one has to wonder if the Blue Raiders can overcome the lack of numbers this season.
 
More on the current MTSU situation...


I'm very concerned," MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said. "It's just where we are, and there's nothing we can do about it. Hopefully in the next couple of years we can get our numbers up where we don't have this conversation anymore.
"It's a huge concern, and it's a huge problem. We just don't have enough bodies to practice long. We're not even two deep right now on the offensive line."
Ritter, a backup center, played in five games in his career. According to Stockstill, Ritter said he was leaving the team because he was tired of dealing with multiple injuries. Sophomore lineman J.C. Moore quit the team on Monday.
MTSU was already limited on the line less than one week into fall camp.
Sophomore tackle Mark Fisher (shoulder) and true freshman guard Brandon McLeroy (foot) are out with injuries. Walk-on Derek Cardaci has played on the second team, but he is out with an unspecified injury.
Colin Boss recently returned to practice from a hamstring injury, but MTSU's linemen were cut down to nine players again when guard Evon Lettsome suffered a knee injury late in Thursday's practice.
Baylor transfer Jeremy Michel is working out on second team, but he must sit out the season to fulfill NCAA transfer rules.
That leaves five starters — center Jake Padrick, guards Chris Hawkins and Jamal Lewis, tackles Mark Thompson and Mike Williams — and only four active scholarship players on the second team, including three true freshmen.
Freshman guard/tackle Alex Stuart will likely play this season. Stockstill still hopes to redshirt freshmen Travis Lilienthal (former Riverdale center) and Rogeric Govan.
Ritter's departure also leaves only nine players remaining in MTSU's senior class. But more pressing is that only nine offensive linemen are currently available to play in a game.
Stockstill said a usual Division I-A roster includes between 17 and 19 offensive linemen.
MTSU's scholarships were cut in 2006, Stockstill's first season, by academic shortcomings under the previous coaching staff.
MTSU currently has 66 scholarship players healthy and eligible to play this season.
 
SMU fall practice quick soundbite...


DALLAS (SMU) - Head Coach June Jones and the SMU Mustangs have wrapped up their first week of fall practice and are continuing their preparations for the 2008 season. SMU held its first two-a-day session on Saturday and will hold more in the upcoming weeks. Jones has been impressed with the team so far, but says much improvement is needed before the season opener at Rice on Aug. 29.

"I saw improvement, but there are still a lot of mental errors. We've got to start eliminating them here in the next 10 days."

At the quarterback spot, five players - Winston Gamso, Bo Levi Mitchell, Braden Smith, Logan Turner and Justin Willis - are taking reps and Jones is not yet ready to narrow the field of competitors.
"It's hard to evaluate people when they're thinking so much. They're still learning and I'll evaluate them when I know they know what they're doing. We'll narrow it down about two weeks before the Rice game."
 
I have a feeling things are going to be a little worse than folks are letting on out in Bruin-land, so gonna take my shot with Tenn while the line is at 6, as I think it will jump to 6.5 or 7 later this week. Just a feeling I have, nothing confirmed at this point.

TENN -6 110
 
Looking over a few things with SMiss right now. I know many will be on ULL, but I actually lean SMiss in this one. Gotta check on a few things first though.
 
Also looking over all my Sunbelt teams - ULM, FAU, Arkie State, as well as doing a deeper dive into the KU vs FIU matchup as we speak.

Will be looking over Zona, BC, and Ore State later tonight.

Liked Fresno, but no value in 5. 7.5 would have been a great number, but never had a shot at that.

No interest in Miami Ohio at 3 115. If it drops to 2.5, I may look again.

No interest in Wake or SC games so def no plays on either.

No interest in laying 3 with Buff as I think UTEP wins SU, but game doesn't interest me so no play there either way.

Pass on Wyoming, no interest in WMU v Neb, no interest in Ore v UW

No interest in TCU, but I think the line will hit 7 or 7.5 shortly, just hate laying 6+ with that team.

No interest in Minny, as NIU could win SU.

No interest in side for UF game, but like everyone else, waiting to see where team total comes out at. May also look into that for KU instead of risking the 37. Hoping for under 50 on both.

Kinda like Cal, still on the short list.

No interest in Clemson game.

Kinda like Utah State but don't have the balls to play em SU.

No interest in Indiana game.

Already discussed the rest of em.
 
Updated card

Rice, NW, Tenn, Pitt, Troy, Wisky

No surprise for those who know me that I have all favs so far. Hey, if it aint broke, why fix it!?!


Updated leans
FAU, Arkie State, UF TT, KU TT, KSU/NT O, Kan, FAU/UT O, UM if it hits 2.5 120
 
U of M Fall Practice Notes...

The Wolverines wore full pads for the first time Friday and again yesterday afternoon. While addressing the media between practices yesterday, Rodriguez said the team had suffered no major injuries and installed more than half its base offense and defense. … Running back Carlos Brown is definitely getting work at quarterback in Rodriguez's spread-option offense. Ezeh spoke of the offense's tendencies to call running plays when Brown or true freshman Justin Feagin is at quarterback, and Brown said he's taken some snaps there. Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan are getting "about equal reps" at quarterback with the first-team offense, according to Rodriguez. Feagin is running mostly with the third group. … Through Friday's workout, tight end Carson Butler was the only Wolverine to be named player of the day twice, according to the school's official Web site. He earned the honor Monday on offense and Tuesday on special teams. … Also according to the Web site, K.C. Lopata kicked a 56-yard field goal during a scrimmage Friday. … Rodriguez said the team will not practice in Michigan Stadium, which is being renovated, until a controlled team scrimmage Aug. 22 called the "Beanie Bowl." The event's name refers to bright-colored caps worn on some players' helmets. … Rodriguez said running back Kevin Grady's status with the team hasn't changed after his recent guilty plea to a driving-while-intoxicated charge. Grady is practicing but is suspended from participating in games.
 
NW should hit a full two td by gametime now carolinablue.

Just don't see how this line does not skyrocket with the terrible offseason the cuse is having. They lost the stud receiver to academics and he won't be eligible until next year. They just lost his replacement the other day and are now moving the projected starting FS to WR.

watch that line move.
 
vegaskyle said:
NW should hit a full two td by gametime now carolinablue.

Just don't see how this line does not skyrocket with the terrible offseason the cuse is having. They lost the stud receiver to academics and he won't be eligible until next year. They just lost his replacement the other day and are now moving the projected starting FS to WR.

watch that line move.
Click to expand...


Appreciate the insight VK. I feel pretty good about being on the right side of the line moves on pretty much all my early plays so far. Honestly surprised NW is stuck at 12 as I jumped on that one early b/c I assumed it would go over 13, but no real movement other than a few 12.5's here and there.

I see Tenn up to 7 and headed towards 7.5 at most places, so glad I jumped on the hunch that the Olson injury was worse than initially thought. Once I saw it was the same foot, I took the chance that it would be a 6-8 week injury, so definitely guessed right there.
 
Any word on SMiss as I see it has dropped a point from 12 to 11. Also noticed that Texas has dropped to 23 at some places, making any play on FAU a moot point now, as I was hoping for 24.5. If it keeps dropping, may have to take Texas since I have pretty much played em in week 1 every year since about 2003 and they have only failed me once (LY of course haha).
 
If SMiss gets to 9.5, may be worth a look as they might surprise with the new coach in front of the juiced up home crowd, with the redone stadium and all. Will have to keep a close eye on fall practice to see how the young guys are fairing down there.
 
More bad news for an already thin MTSU squad...

MTSU was hit where it hurt most Monday.
Head coach Rick Stockstill announced that starting center Jake Padrick is out for the season with a knee injury, and redshirt freshman linebacker Landon Givers’ college football career is over due to a lingering back injury.

Offensive line and linebacker were already MTSU’s two thinnest positions in terms of depth.

“The news was not good from an injury standpoint today,” said Stockstill on Monday. “Padrick will be out for the season with a knee injury, and we have just been informed that Givers’ injury is career-ending.
“Both of these young men have worked hard, and you hate it for them. Padrick was going to be a big part of our team this year, but he will work his way back. This will open doors for other players and provide them with a great opportunity to play. Your heart goes out for Givers, but you don’t mess with injuries like his with your back.”

An MRI revealed a torn ACL in Padrick’s left knee, an injury suffered in Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage. It’s the second time Padrick’s MTSU debut has been delayed by a season-ending injury. As a true freshman last fall, he was starting at center in fall camp when he suffered a shoulder injury.

Givers suffered a back injury last year as a true freshman, and his condition has not improved. Also, freshman offensive tackle Alex Stuart, who was competing for a starting role, is out indefinitely with a hip injury suffered in Saturday’s scrimmage.

All three injuries further trim positions already limited by injuries and departures only 10 days into fall camp.

Starting linebacker Lonnie Clemons has missed all of fall camp with a foot injury, and linebacker Cam Robinson is out with a minor injury.

Meanwhile, MTSU only has nine active offensive linemen on scholarship.

Some experimental changes were made in the starting lineup Monday as a result of the injuries to Padrick and Stuart.

Sophomore Chris Hawkins moved from right guard to center. Sophomore Jamal Lewis moved from left guard to right guard. Redshirt freshman Colin Boss moved from second-team to starting left guard. Senior Mark Thompson and redshirt freshman Mike Williams remain at right and left tackle, respectively.

Thompson could also play center, where he started 11 games last season after similar injuries struck the offensive line.

“We’ve got other guys stepping up; they have to step up,” said Lewis, who started 10 games as a redshirt freshman last season.
“It’s like (offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens) says, ‘You have to know all the positions.’”

MTSU is long on available positions, but short on offensive linemen.

Sophomore Mark Fisher, a returning starter at tackle, is out with a shoulder injury.

He could return this season. Senior Chris Ritter and redshirt freshman J.C. Moore each quit the team last week.

Stephens, MTSU’s third-year offensive line coach, said his unit will press on despite low numbers.

“The bottom line is we are going to take the best five we have and put them on the front five and then whoever the next best five are will have to have the ability to switch positions,” Stephens said. “Maybe the left guard has to go play right tackle or something like that. We just have to plug in the next best guy and be ready to go.”
There are only four active backup linemen on scholarship, and three of those are true freshmen Stockstill was hoping to redshirt.

Former Riverdale center Travis Lilienthal, guard Brandon McLeroy and tackle Rogeric Govan could all see time earlier than coaches intended. McLeroy, however, has just returned from a foot injury that still limits his mobility in practice.
Stuart, a true freshman from Oak Ridge, could play tackle when he returns from his hip injury.

“A week ago, it looked like Alex Stuart may be able to help us and then we wanted to redshirt those other guys,” Stockstill said. “Now I don’t know if we can redshirt any of them, and I don’t know the extent of (Stuart’s) injury and when he can get back.
“McLeroy is now probably the least likely (freshman) to play because he’s missed so much time with his injury. That being said, if someone got hurt inside, then he would probably have to speed up and play some.”

For practice purposes, MTSU has three other linemen suited up, Baylor transfer Jeremy Michel and walk-ons Derek Cardaci and Daniel Ryder. Michel can not play this season due to NCAA transfer rules, and neither walk-on has played a college snap.
 
Fall practice notes from Laramie

It was a night for the defense. It was also a night when the Wyoming quarterback battle was hoped to be decided, but that battle didn't have a clear winner on Wednesday in Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium.
"I give the defense credit tonight," said UW head coach Joe Glenn. "But I will say that we played a lot better offensively all week in practice than we did tonight. We showed no emotion on offense. We were flat. I can't say that we played very well at any spot.
"I can't see picking a quarterback based on what we did tonight, but I will talk with Bob (Cole, offensive coordinator) and we will watch the tape. If no one separates we may play a couple of guys. It's not ideally what we want to do entering the season, but at this point I think we have to continue to let both quarterbacks compete, take snaps and see if one of them will take charge at the position."
Defensively, the Cowboys allowed only 330 yards of total offense -- 134 passing yards and 196 rushing. Wyoming's defense sacked Cowboy quarterbacks nine times for a minus 70 yards, and recorded 15 tackles for losses for a minus 101 yards. The Poke defenders recovered three fumbles and intercepted one pass. The one interception was made by sophomore cornerback Marcell Gipson, who picked off senior Ian Hetrick's pass and returned it 37 yards. Fumble recoveries were made by senior linebacker Jake Edmunds, junior linebacker Zeb Whipp and junior noseguard Fred Givens. Leading the way in the sack category was senior linebacker Mike Juergens, who recorded three sacks for a minus 24 yards. Mike Neuhaus, a junior defensive end, had two sacks for 11 yards. Ward Dobbs (senior linebacker), Weston Johnson (junior linebacker) and Alex Stover (redshirt freshman defensive tackle) each had one sack apiece, while Mitch Unrein (junior defensive end) and Gabe Knapton (redshirt freshman linebacker) got a half sack each.


When asked if the next scrimmage will focus more on the passing game, Glenn responded that the goal for the offense in the two fall scrimmages is to move the ball down the field, not to focus on only one element of the offense.
"We want to move the ball," said Glenn. "We didn't move the ball tonight as well as we have over this first couple of weeks of fall practice. I think once we establish that we can run the ball effectively, the passing game will fall in place with that, but tonight we didn't run it like we have been.
"I know the offensive coaches will be really, really disappointed that we didn't get in the end zone. The offensive staff wanted to start every series from their own 25-yard line to see which quarterback could drive the ball down the field. In the next scrimmage, we will probably mix up the starting position for each drive and give the offense some field position to work with to start."
Looking ahead to Wyoming's second fall scrimmage set for Wednesday, Aug. 20, Glenn said he told his team that through his years of coaching when one unit -- either offense or defense -- dominates one scrimmage usually the other unit bounces back in the next scrimmage.
"Most every time we've had one side win a scrimmage the next week the other side of the ball usually steps it up," said Glenn. "We'll see what happens next Wednesday."
In addition to the strong performance by the defense, some positives came out of the kicking game in Wednesday's scrimmage. Junior place-kicker Jake Scott was four of five in field goals, connecting on two 41-yard field goals, a 26-yard attempt and a 23-yard kick. His only miss came from 37 yards out. Freshman Kolten Jelden also made a 23-yard field goal. Those were the only scores for the Cowboys.
A three-man competition at punter saw all three individuals have good performances. Sophomore Nick Landess averaged 45.0 yards on five punts, including a long of 61. Sophomore Cody Bousema averaged 48.8 yards on five punts, with a long of 55. Austin McCoy, a true freshman, also punted five times and averaged 39.2 yards, including a long of 50 and a 40-yard punt that was downed at the two-yard line.
"Most of our punts were over 40 yards, some over 50," said Glenn. "Our operation time was good, and our hang time was pretty good. I'm not sure if we're ready to pick a punter just yet -- they're all that close. Statistically throughout fall camp I think Austin McCoy has a very slight advantage with his numbers, but it's minuscule. They're all three real, real close. We'll let them keep battling it out awhile longer."
On offense, senior running back Devin Moore carried the ball 17 times for 74 yards. Junior-college transfer Anthony Smith ran the ball seven times for 81 yards, including a 64-yard dash for the longest play from scrimmage. Sophomore Darius Terry netted 50 rushing yards on eight attempts, and senior Wynel Seldon got seven carries for 20 yards. Neither of the two contenders for the starting quarterback job -- junior Karsten Sween and sophomore Dax Crum -- had particularly impressive numbers. Sween attempted only two passes for 14 yards. Crum completed four of seven passes for 33 yards. Each had a fumble on the night, as did freshman quarterback Adam Barry. Redshirt freshman Chris Stutzriem completed six of 10 passes for a game high 48 yards. Stutzriem completed the long pass play of the night -- a 36-yard pass to junior Donate Morgan.
 
USC fall practice notes....



Redshirt freshman Brandon Carswell caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Garrett Green to provide the only scoring in the USC football team's first intrasquad scrimmage of 2008 fall practice on Tuesday (Aug. 12) at the Coliseum.
Green, who came to USC in 2006 as a quarterback but was moved to safety and then spent last year as a wide receiver, was switched back to offense this past Saturday after starting junior quarterback Mark Sanchez dislocated his kneecap.
Green was one of three quarterbacks to see action in the 57-play scrimmage. Redshirt freshman Aaron Corp completed 6-of-13 passes for 60 yards and also ran for 26 yards on 7 carries, but he lost a fumbled snap in the red zone (senior linebacker Brian Cushing recovered it). Sophomore Mitch Mustain, who sat out last season after transferring from Arkansas, was 9-of-13 for 94 yards, but was intercepted in the end zone by freshman cornerback Brian Baucham on the last play of the scrimmage.
Sophomore tailback C.J. Gable ran for 27 yards on 4 carries, while soph wide receiver Travon Patterson had 4 catches for 49 yards.
Soph linebacker Malcolm Smith led the defense with 4 tackles (1 for a loss) and added a deflection, while Baucham made 3 stops. Six other Trojans recorded 3 tackles: senior safety Kevin Ellison (1 for a loss), freshman defensive end Wes Horton (2 for losses, with a sack, plus a deflection), redshirt freshman linebacker Jordan Campbell (2 for losses), freshman defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (2 for losses), walk-on soph linebacker Dan Deckas and walk-on frosh safety Ryan McMahon.
"The defense had a very nice day, but the offense didn't get much done," said eighth-year USC head coach Pete Carroll. "I'm not worried, because it's so early in camp. We'll be fine." Sanchez has started to rehab his knee injury. Although he is out for an undetermined period of time, his status is listed as day-to-day and Sanchez said he is hopeful of returning in time for USC's Aug. 30 opener at Virginia. After the scrimmage, Carroll said that "Mark is looking better, he's walking around and standing up, and I can't imagine this being a long deal."
 
Man, a part of me is really tempted to lay the 19 with USC as I think this line may go back up to 21 by kickoff. Actually like this one better than laying points with Texas or KSU, but not sold on any of them to be honest. Not pulling the trigger on KU till I see how the line shakes out as FIU seems to be coming together pretty nicely on the defensive side of the ball in fall practice so far, but still not sure what to make of the offense. I think KU can put up 50 in this one if they want to, but wouldn't be surprised at a 42-10 or 52-17 game either.
 
FIU Fall Practice Update...


RB REAMS STANDS OUT ON OFFENSE
With the exception of running back Julian Reams' 54-yard touchdown run early in the first scrimmage Tuesday morning, the Golden Panthers' defense controlled the offense.
The offense could not sustain a drive for most of the scrimmage and did not score again until the ball was spotted deep in the defense's territory.
''I liked seeing the fact that our defensive line can penetrate and could disrupt our backfield,'' coach Mario Cristobal said. ``In terms of third down, I think we're a much better team because our secondary is more experienced. We're more athletic, and we're getting a better pass rush.''
The defense had 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and three interceptions in the scrimmage.
Reams stood out for the offense, rushing for 72 yards on five carries.
There was more scoring once the offense was given the ball on the defense's 20 later in the scrimmage.
Quarterbacks Paul McCall and Wayne Younger threw touchdown passes, and freshman running backs Darriet Perry and Shawn Bright had short touchdown runs
 
hmmmmm , sure hope the defensive domination in the wyoming scrimmage was a result of good defense and not bad offense. lol.
 
Interesting info for those thinking about a play on the SMiss season opener.



HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Since the hiring of Larry Fedora in December last year, the excitement of Southern Miss football has reached unprecedented levels.
That excitement has translated into a school record for season ticket sold for the 2008 campaign. The school announced that it is at 10,683 season tickets sold as of Thursday morning, surpassing the previous mark of 10,543 set in 2007.
"The response from our fan base in regards to the upcoming football season has been fantastic in terms of our new coaching staff and the new premium seating options that we now have in place at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at Roberts Stadium," Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini said. "Our season ticket numbers, as well as our Eagle Club memberships, are at an all-time high as we get ready to start one of the most exciting seasons in Golden Eagle history."
Giannini also said that tickets are still available but urged fans to get them early.
"We feel that it is going to be tougher to get a ticket to see the Golden Eagles play this fall as we expect to sellout most of our games," Giannini added. "We encourage our fans that have not gotten tickets yet to go ahead and do so to make sure they get an opportunity to see all of our exciting game-day atmosphere as well as some great football." The total distribution of season tickets to date, which includes sponsors and students, currently is at 23,286.
 
Just in case some of you guys hadn't heard the news yet. Looks like Sween has been unseated, which could be good or bad news depending on how you look at it. Definitely an interesting decision though IMO as I thought Sween was on track to start the opener at least.


CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Sophomore transfer Dax Crum was named Wyoming's starting quarterback on Friday, unseating returning starter Karsten Sween.


Who will start has been the main question mark of the Cowboys offense, which ranked 107th nationally in scoring in 2007.


"It has been a battle, and we feel we have two very good quarterbacks," coach Joe Glenn said in a statement. "But at this point, we have to get one guy ready for the opener against Ohio. Dax will get the start, but Karsten needs to stay sharp and I know he will. We feel good about both of them."
The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Crum transferred to Laramie from Mesa Community College in Arizona where he played one year after leaving Arizona State.
Crum was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Co-Region I Offensive Player of the Year and also was selected First Team All-Western States Football League.
"I'm so blessed and so lucky to be the starter for this team, and hopefully I can do something with it and I'm going to try to do my best to take this team to the next level," Crum said.
Sween played in all 13 games last year as a sophomore, starting 12. He threw for 2,028 yards and 12 touchdowns. But he was picked off 17 times and briefly benched after throwing three interceptions in a loss to Air Force.
"What we're looking for is a quarterback who can manage our offense," Glenn said.
The Cowboys also named brothers Marcell and Tashaun Gipson as the starting cornerbacks and sophomore Chris Prosinski as starting free safety on defense. Quincy Rogers, who started at free safety last year, will move to strong safety. Jake Scott earned the place-kicking duties, but the team has yet to name a starting punter.
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SMU still trying to find a starting QB (good news for Rice backers)


Aug. 18, 2008


DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU Mustangs kicked off their third week of preseason camp on Monday, August 18, with a focused, but wet, practice in Gerald J. Ford Stadium. After practice, Head Coach June Jones announced that true freshmen Bo Levi Mitchell and Braden Smith had separated themselves and would be the top two quarterbacks heading into the season opener at Rice on August 29th.
"After going through all of the tapes, I felt like Bo and Braden had a better understanding of the offense," said Jones. "I think they're executing a little bit better, so we're going to give them the reps. We will continue to give the other guys reps too, but those guys will get the focus."
 
lindetrain said:
Did I miss something? Where is Willis?
Click to expand...


I had the same question haha.

Here is the full article from the local paper...He is now #3 on the depth chart, wow.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=col0>SMU QB race no longer includes two-year starter Willis


</TD><TD class=col1>Story Highlights
  • Jones narrowed down the quarterback derby to two freshmen
  • That leaves Willis, a junior, in the No. 3 spot
  • Willis is SMU's career leader in touchdown passes with 51
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=cnnStoryContentTable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=cnnStoryContentArea><TABLE class=cnnInlineRight cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><!--startclickprintexclude-->




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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>DALLAS (AP) -- SMU coach June Jones' search for a quarterback to lead his run-and-shoot offense will no longer include Justin Willis, a two-year starter and former Conference USA Freshman of the Year.
Jones on Monday narrowed down the starting quarterback derby to two freshmen: Bo Levi Mitchell and Braden Smith.
That leaves Willis, a junior, in the No. 3 spot. Willis is SMU's career leader in touchdown passes with 51. He was an honorable mention all-conference selection last season, when he set a school record for total yards with 3,643.
"After going through all of the tapes, I felt like Bo and Braden had a better understanding of the offense," Jones said. "I think they're executing a little bit better, so we're going to give them the reps. We will continue to give the other guys reps too, but those guys will get the focus."
Jones said he told Willis to stay ready to play.
"I told Justin he's only one or two plays away from being the guy, so he's got to be ready," Jones said. "We're going in the other direction right now, but the other guys have got to be ready."


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
FIU defense shines (or offense struggles) depending on whether you are a glass half empty of half full kinda person

Saturday Doomsday Defense

The FIU football slogan this season touts a lot of newness: stadium, game and attitude. Add to it new uniforms for the Golden Dazzlers (left). The new unis for the FIU ladies resemble the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders outfits a little bit.
Kind of appropriate, because the Golden Dazzlers are the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders of the NCAA. And you could say the Cowboys cheerleaders are the Golden Dazzlers of the NFL.
In Saturday morning's scrimmage, your Golden Panthers defense resembled another Cowboys team, albeit going against the FIU offense, which it has seen everyday for the last 2 weeks.
Granted it was a scrimmage, but the FIU D manhandling the O looked like the famed Dallas "Doomsday Defense" (right) of the 1970's.
As MC yelled at the offense during the middle of the scrimmage: "It's been an ass-kicking all day."
Yes, indeed it was.
Nine sacks, 3 INTs, a safety and the FIU O crossed mid-field just four times.
Once again, the Booker T. boys led the charge with Jonathan Jackson's 3 sacks, Kambriel Willis 1 sack and Franklin Brown 2 INTs.
Others who contributed on D were Daniel Chacreton with 2 sacks, Quentin Newman got a sack that resulted in a safety. Reggie Jones and Tyler Clawson also had sacks. Freshman LB Aaron Davis had a tackle for loss and so did Little Canada, who has made a habit of that. Anthony Gaitor (left) also had a pick.
Now, we've had several people post comments concerning the offensive woes. Yes, the O looked horrible Saturday with the dropped passes, no pass protection, passes thrown to the wrong spots and little room to run.
All that has to improve in the next 12 days or FIU will be clicking its heels like Dorothy when they play in Kansas on Aug. 30. You know: "No place like home, No place like home".
This is not to say the O is awful, far from it, if you followed the O with Guillermo Pierna's (Bill Legg, for our non-bilingual friends) new spread offense in the spring and in the first week of camp when they pretty much had their way with the D.
But let's give a lot of credit to the FIU D that seems to have regained the speed they had in 2005 when they were No. 1 in the NCAA in tackles for loss, the 28th-best total D and 4th-best pass D in the NCAA. You remember the Killer B's (El Monstruo, Bouie and Bostic).
A similar type of formula is brewing for this D: you got the speed and power on the D-line and LBs and a secondary that is like white on rice.
If you're looking for positive signs from the O on Saturday: Julian Reams had a couple of nice runs to start the day. Paul McCall led the only drive that had a scoring threat (missed 47-yd FG by Dustin Rivest) and Wayne Younger (8 of 14, 74 yds) had a good day. WY also took off on the longest run of the day a 16-yarder that was the one time the FIU D was fooled Saturday.
When the scrimmage ended, the O had to run from Miami to Russia and back. The D was excused from any running after the clinic they put on. It was an ugly the day for the O, so here's something pretty that lives in Miami but is from Russia. (Gotta keep the Cowboy theme of this post alive)
There's another scrimmage scheduled this Thursday (closed to the public as of now), let's see if the O can pick itself up by then.
 
Kansas is still on my leans list by the way. Just waiting for the line to keep dropping as it is now at 36.5 at The Greek and 36 most other places I have checked. Probably won't get down to 35 but you never know and there really isn't a need to rush at this point since there is no discernible difference between 36 and 36.5 anyway.
 
I need a "CB Sun Belt Alert" a la Batman type shit to get down on something like that before the number moves like the Troy line has.....I've been taking notes all summer, and having the school year start early messed up my timing for NCAA wagers. Damn the luck.
 
halfpoint said:
I think this FIU team will hang tough.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to post. Feel free to drop in your thoughts on FIU and why you think they will hand tough as no one is really talking this matchup at all.

I think they have a scrappy team that will try really hard, but the talent differential coupled with playing on the road against a KU team with something to prove this year may be too much to handle as KU has no problem running up the score to impress the voters. Having cupcakes on your schedule does no good if you only beat em by what people expect, so that is why KU seems to go out of their way to win these games by 40+. There are a handful of teams I trust with big lines and KU is one of em. Kinda like the Ville was a few years back when they were steamrolling teams left and right by crazy margins. Should be interesting to see how far FIU has progressed this year. Best of luck this season!
 
JML4481 said:
I need a "CB Sun Belt Alert" a la Batman type shit to get down on something like that before the number moves like the Troy line has.....I've been taking notes all summer, and having the school year start early messed up my timing for NCAA wagers. Damn the luck.
Click to expand...

Whats up JML. Where the heck were ya when I gave out the Troy play at 4.5 before the line shot up 2pts to 6.5 haha.

Still waiting on the Arkie State line as I might jump at +21.5 but not interested in anything less.

KSU/NT over has been on my list since a few months back.

Same with FAU/Tex over.

I like FAU but was hoping to get 24.5 but it moved the opposite way so no play for me as I don't see the value anymore at 22.5 to 23.

No play on ULL/Smiss as I was leaning SMiss if they could sort out their QB situation, but it is still up in the air with 10 or so days to go, not good. Also, not sure if their DL can keep ULL from getting 200 on the ground (I think SMiss gets their 200 also by the way, but not interested in laying 10 in this one, as it could be a low scoring 20-13 type of game).

Had a bunch of other thoughts in this thread and others, but that is where I am currently leaning w/ regard to the Sunbelt matchups right now.
 
FIU defense should be better than last year and they weren't all that bad last year. Their offense was putrid......this year they O will be a bit better than putrid. lol I think their D will surprise.

After getting pasted at Penn St 59-0 (and yes that was the one game I lost in my week 1 big teaser) FIU played Maryland tough then went to Miami for a big emotional game (the year prior was the BRAWL game) and lost 23-9. Maximum effort in that game. The following week they got detroyed by Kansas in a let down situation.

I'm hoping (prayin actually) that the FIU offense will not put the D in bad position all game long like the past couple years. I'm expecting a big effort from FIU D to keep em close until Kansas pulls away late for a comfy 24-27 pt win.
 
Whats up JML. Where the heck were ya when I gave out the Troy play at 4.5 before the line shot up 2pts to 6.5 haha.
Click to expand...

I was adjusting my lesson plans for the upcoming school year, getting numerous lists of student I.E.P.s (Individualized Education Plan-for certain students) and new G.L.E.s (Grade Level Expectations). School should go from Labor Day to Memorial Day imo.

Ok back to football.....I'm usually a dog kinda person, so that's why I like hearing your points of view on your favs. The only two favs on my list are USC and Pitt at this time. Not a whole bunch that I like the first week. To be quite honest, I still haven't had a ton of time to cap.........back to work:smiley_acbe: Give 'em hell this year Carolina!
 
Some game film on these two smu fellas

file://<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z0OW-mteOxo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z0OW-mteOxo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>


had a hard time finding film on braden smith but this youtube has south lake vs rockwall so we get riley dodge highlights and braden smith highlights. There are other rockwall games with smith at qb but i cant find a highlight reel on him. sorry.

file://<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/S0S2muITST4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/S0S2muITST4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
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