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Florida State won their first ACC college football game of the year on Thursday, though it certainly wasn’t easy. The Seminoles were down 24-6 midway through the third quarter before mounting a furious comeback to defeat North Carolina 30-27. FSU quarterback Christian Ponder threw for a career high 395 with three touchdowns and no interceptions to pace his team.

College football betting enthusiasts who overlooked the Seminoles dismal record against the spread were rewarded by Florida State’s outright win as +2′ road underdogs. FSU covered for only the second time this season, upping their record against the college football pointspread to 2-5. The Tar Heels haven’t been a very good investment either, and the loss left their ATS tally at 2-4. The 57 points scored went OVER the posted total of 48′ for the Seminoles fifth OVER in six lined games.

With the uncharacteristically slow start by Florida State, there has been a good deal of speculation that the venerable coach should step away from the program. He expressed some relief in his postgame comments:

“The talk that we’ve had down there, there’s only one thing that solves it. Winning. Play close and fight your guts out? Who cares? You’ve got to win.”

Winning QB Ponder suggests that the comeback win demonstrates the toughness of this Seminoles team:

“This proves how good we can be, and I’m just proud of the way we fought back. Down what, 24-6? And we could have given up and we didn’t. That’s just the character of the guys on this team.”

Tar Heels’ coach Butch Davis observed that rankings are irrelevant once the game begins:

“It’s a little bit of a wake-up call for the defense. Reputations and rankings and stats and all that stuff is somewhat insignificant. You’ve got to play.”

Tar Heels’ cornerback Kendric Burnley added:

“It’s too frustrating. I don’t know what to say or how to explain anything right now. It tears you apart.”

Florida State can get back to .500 next weekend with a home game against another team looking for their first ACC win of the season, North Carolina State. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, must regroup in time for another nationally televised Thursday night game at Virginia Tech next week. After that, they’ll return home to take on Duke and Miami in successive weeks.

Ross Everett is a world famous sports writer and a respected authority on sports gambling and thoroughbred horse racing. He contributes NFL betting picks for a number of websites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

categories: college football,football,sports,recreation,hobbies

BYU’s BCS hopes went down hard on Saturday, as the Cougars were no match for the superior team speed of Florida State. Looking nothing like the team that had struggled against FCS Jacksonville State the week before, the Seminoles used 23 second quarter points to blow open the game and went on to defeat BYU 54-28. The opportunistic Florida State defense forced BYU into committing 5 turnovers, and Seminoles QB Christian Ponder threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the blowout victory on the Cougars home field.

College football betting devotees who backed the Seminoles as a +8 road underdog were counting their winnings by halftime, as BYU never led in the game. The Cougars dropped to 11-16 ATS over the past three years, while Florida State improved to 3-4 as an underdog in that same timeframe. The 82 combined points went well OVER the posted total of 54.

After a season opening loss to Miami-FL and a sloppy victory over Jacksonville State, the Seminoles were firing on all cylinders in Orem, Utah on Saturday. FSU QB Ponder said that his team was finally on the same page and playing up to their abilities:

“It shows us what we can do. It’s the first time in a while we played as a whole team. The defense played great. The offense played incredible.”

Seminoles offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher gave the credit to his quarterback:

“He can beat you with his arm, his legs and his mind. And then he can also beat you with how competitive and tough he is.”

Venerable FSU coach Bobby Bowden was nonplussed by the season opening win on BYU’s tough home field:

“I’ve been through this thing so many times, I knew we had an advantage. We went out there and made some plays, which we hadn’t done lately, and we also forced some crucial turnovers.”

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall praised his opponent’s superior preparation:

“I think Florida State was more prepared in general than we were tonight, really from beginning to end. I think their preparation exceeded ours and it showed — especially on third down.”

Cougars running back Harvey Unga displayed considerable class in defeat as FSU broke BYUs 18 game home winning streak:

“Any loss is devastating, regardless of if you’re ranked. Hats off to those guys. They came here ready to play.”

Florida State will return home to face South Florida next weekend. Theyll hit the road the following Saturday, heading to the northeast to take on Boston College. Theyll be back in Florida for a game against Georgia Tech on October 10th. BYU will try to get back on the winning track next weekend as they host Colorado State. Theyll play Utah State on their home field the following week on Friday night. The Friday night date is due to the Mormon Church General Conference scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, and the date against Utah State on the day before has become a BYU football tradition in recent years.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi completed a 7 yard touchdown pass to Marvin McNutt as time expired, allowing the Hawkeyes to take a 15-13 road win over Michigan State University and preserve their undefeated season. Trailing 6-3 at halftime, Iowa mounted a furious drive after Michigan State had scored to take a 13-9 lead with 1:37 remaining in the game. Iowa moved to 8-0 for the first time in school history for the win, and has won twelve straight games overall.

When you bet on college football you learn that you can’t count your money until the game was over and such was the case here as Iowa even managed to cover the pointspread as they won outright as +2 road underdogs. Iowa improved to 5-2 against the spread while Michigan State dropped to 3-4 against the number. The 28 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 42′. The Spartans have gone UNDER in four of their seven games while the Hawkeyes have played UNDER the total in 5 of 7.

Stanzi threw three incomplete passes into the end zone before he hit McNutt with the game winner. There were 2 seconds left on the clock when the play began, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz commended McNutt on his effort to get open on the play:

“He made a nice break inside, made a great grab.”

Ferentz was also proud of the way his team responded after falling behind late on the road:

“It speaks to our players, the character that they have. They realized they still had time.”

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio also praised his players for their tough defensive stand at the end of the game:

“When we scored at the end, I thought that we had it. I’m proud — not happy. Proud of the way our football team responded.”

The Hawkeyes became only the second team in Big Ten history to win at Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin in the same season. Michigan was the first to accomplish the trifecta when they did it in 1997.

Michigan State will take to the road next weekend for a game at Minnesota. They’ll host Western Michigan the following Saturday before playing away at Purdue on November 14. Iowa will play their next two games at home, starting with Indiana next Saturday. They’ll host Northwestern a week later before a big game on November 14th on the road against Ohio State.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Bowling Green played Boise State tough on their home field this weekend–at least for one quarter. Things looked good for the host Falcons at the end of the first quarter, as they’d held the #6 ranked Broncos scoreless and were right in the thick of things in a scoreless game. It was all downhill from that point for Bowling Green, as Boise State exploded for 29 unanswered second quarter points. The Broncos would eventually win 49-14, improving to 4-0 on the season.

The Broncos easily covered as -16 road favorites. The 63 combined points went OVER the posted total of 51. Boise State needed four plays or less on their first six scoring drives, and amassed a season high 529 yards of total offense. Their defense also forced the Falcons into three costly turnovers.

Boise State coach Chris Petersen had insisted on more quick strike scoring drives in preparing his team for the Bowling Green game. They most definitely delivered, and the coach commented to their performance after the contest:

“On offense, that’s always the name of the game. It makes it a lot easier when you don’t have those 15- and 17-play drives.”

Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore threw 17 completions in 21 pass attempts for a total of 247 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. 195 of his total yards came during the 2nd quarter onslaught, where he completed 8 consecutive passes during one stretch. After the game, Moore indicated that his team wasnt resting on their impressive season to date performance:

“There’s a lot of football to go and a lot of things to work on.

Coach Petersen concurred with his quarterbacks mindset:

“These guys are a fairly mature bunch and if not, we have a staff of mature coaches to keep them focused.

Bowling Green head coach Dave Clawson sounded somewhat in awe of the Broncos ‘quick strike’ offense:

“That’s what they do. When they have 500 yards of offense, it will always be 10 to 12 plays where half their offense came from.”

The Broncos, who are enjoying their highest regular season ranking in school history, looked sharp all around on offense despite the absence of second leading rusher DJ Harper. Harper is likely out for the year after a knee injury.

Bowling Green will take a step down in class of opposition next weekend as they host the Ohio Bobcats. Theyll play on the road the next two weeks, traveling to Kent State and Ball State. Boise will return home for a game against FCS opponent UC Davis next Saturday. Theyll play on the road at Tulsa the following weekend, before enjoying a bye week.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

categories: college football,football,college sports,sports,recreation

Duke University is far from being a national college football powerhouse, but they’re no longer a team you can take lightly either. #6 ranked Virginia Tech found that out on Saturday, and what they expected to be an easy afternoon became a tightly contested affair. Ultimately, the Hokies would survive for a 34-26 road victory. Virginia Tech improved their record to 4-1, while Duke dropped to 2-3 on the 2009 college football season.

Despite the straight up loss, Duke won where it counted as they rewarded sports players who bet on college football with the ATS victory as +17 home underdogs. Duke evened their mark at 2-2 in their lined games, while the Hokies dropped to 2-3 against the spread. The 60 combined points scored went well OVER the posted total of 48.

The Hokies were saved by the career day posted by their quarterback, Tyrod Taylor. After the game, Taylor modestly downplayed his own impact on the outcome of the game:

“I know we have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. It’s just my job to get the ball to them.”

Venerable Tech coach Frank Beamer saw his team defeat Duke for the ninth straight time, but noted:

“I don’t think that’s the old Duke football team.

Blue Devils coach David Cuttcliffe said his team is reaching the point where moral victories don’t provide enough satisfaction:

“We got close enough in the fourth quarter to go beat a great team. Once you taste that, you like it. I wouldn’t say we spit it out — it wasn’t a choke — but we just didn’t finish.”

Despite getting the win, Hokies coach Beamer was critical of the performance:

“Too many penalties and too many long plays. We weren’t as sharp as we would like, but I don’t think it was lack of effort. Part of it was Duke, and part of it was us. … Sometimes I think you’ve just got to win some games that’s not real pretty on the road, and this is probably one of those.”

Still, he praised his team for doing what they needed to do to preserve the victory:

“When we needed to run the football, and we did, and got points, that was critical to this ball game. They were going to take the run away, so you’ve got to be able to throw the ball.”

Virginia Tech will host Boston College next Saturday before traveling to Atlanta the following weekend for a game against Georgia Tech. Theyll enjoy a bye week before a nationally televised Thursday night game at home against North Carolina on October 29th. Duke will play at North Carolina State next Saturday before a bye week.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The 2009 college football season is already two weeks old and so far its looked almost too easy for defending national champions Florida. That was expected last week, as they destroyed overmatched FCS opponent Charleston Southern 62-3, but it wasn’t much harder today against a better class of opposition. QB Tim Tebow threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth as the Gators demolished Troy State 56-6. The Gators led only 7-3 at the end of the first quarter before scoring seven unanswered touchdowns. Florida is now 2-0 on the season, while Troy dropped to 0-2.

Despite a generous head start from the pointspread, Troy State lost against the money as well. Florida covered as -37 home favorites”their third straight ATS cover as a favorite of 31 or more. The Gators also won and covered the last time the two teams met, cashing tickets for college football betting enthusiasts as a -26 favorite in 2007. The 65 points scored just barely made it OVER the generous total of 61.

After the contest, Florida coach Urban Meyer gave most of the praise to a defense that limited Troy to 139 yards of total offense and took the ball away three times:

“Defense is the name of the game today, and that defense was dominating.

Troy State coach Larry Blakney was just glad the game was over:

“We just close our eyes and pretend we never came here. But hopefully since we’ve seen the biggest, seen the best, we will learn from this experience.”

The Gators now turn their attention to their SEC opener next week against Tennessee. As if the rebuilding Vols didnt have enough problems facing the best team in college football next week, theyve gone and made Florida mad. Specifically, a quote by new Vols coach Lane Kiffin which was is now taped to the Gators locker room wall. In the incendiary quote, Kiffin talked about Tennessee tradition as follows:

“I’m really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee, for instance the Vol Walk, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast.”

So having lost the past two games by a combined 89-26 margin, the Vols have managed to make it personal.

After hosting Tennessee next weekend in The Swamp, Florida will hit the SEC road the following week against the University of Kentucky. Theyll be back on the road for a tough contest against LSU on October 10th. Troy State will host UAB next weekend and play at Arkansas State on Saturday, September 26.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

categories: college football,football,college sports