{"id":827,"date":"2006-08-28T23:36:52","date_gmt":"2006-08-29T04:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2006\/08\/thursday-advanced-news-and-notes\/"},"modified":"2006-08-28T23:36:52","modified_gmt":"2006-08-29T04:36:52","slug":"thursday-advanced-news-and-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2006\/08\/thursday-advanced-news-and-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday Advanced News and Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nWagerWeb <\/a>
\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

Thursday, August 31, 2006<\/st1:date><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Boston College-Central Michigan<\/st1:place><\/h1>\n

Morning Sun<\/o:p><\/h2>\n

On Monday, CMU head football coach Brian Kelly said Brian
\nBrunner will start Thursday\u2019s contest against Boston<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nCollege<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>, but he also said Dan LeFevour<\/span> and Duane<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nBrooks<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> would also both play in the
\ncontest. Kelly said there is no set time table on when he will make the switch
\nto LeFevour<\/span>, but did say there are plays that LeFevour<\/span> and Brooks run better than Brunner and vice versa.
\nAll three quarterbacks are trying to replace record-setting quarterback Kent
\nSmith who is currently on the Oakland Raiders roster after having an
\noutstanding season last year for the Chippewas<\/span>.
\nBrunner played in three games last season and threw three passes. He did
\ncomplete all three of those passes for a total of 21 yards. Brooks was the No.
\n3 quarterback<\/span> all of last season, as a true freshman.
\nHe made all of the road trips with the team but did not see any action. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

LeFevour<\/span> was a true freshman
\nlast year and did not see any action as the No. 4 quarterback.\u00a0 <\/span>Bet the NFL now at -107 juice<\/span><\/span>!
\nCheck out the latest odds<\/span><\/a> at CanBet<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Boston<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> Herald<\/h2>\n

Although Kelly\/Shorts Stadium\u2019s capacity is only 30,199,
\nit should be rocking for its first nationally televised (ESPN2) night game. It
\nalso should be quite a baptism for the five true freshmen that made BC\u2019s
\ntwo-deep roster.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Northwestern-Miami Oh<\/h1>\n

Press Notes <\/h2>\n

Miami<\/st1:PlaceName> University<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>
\nhead football coach Shane Montgomery announced today that junior Mike Kokal<\/span> has been named the RedHawks<\/span>\u2019
\nstarting quarterback for the upcoming 2006 season. Kokal<\/span>,
\nMiami<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s top back-up over the past
\ntwo seasons, had been one of three Miami<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>
\nquarterbacks vying for the position since last spring. Since 2001, Miami<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s
\npassing offense has ranked fourth nationally in passing yards per game (291.0)
\nbehind only Texas Tech, Hawai\u2019i<\/span><\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\nand Arizona<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>.
\nThe RedHawks<\/span> have ranked among the nation\u2019s Top 30 in
\ntotal offense, passing offense and scoring offense in each of the past three
\nyears.\u00a0 <\/span>Joining Kokal<\/span>
\non the offensive side of the ball are five returning starters, including
\nall-MAC senior wide receiver Ryne<\/span> Robinson (Toledo<\/st1:City>,
\nOH<\/st1:State><\/st1:place>\/Central Catholic) and all-MAC junior
\nrunning back Brandon Murphy.\u00a0 <\/span>Bet now through the Greek, <\/span>home of the 21 percent sign up bonus<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/u> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Temple-Buffalo<\/h1>\n

Press Notes <\/h2>\n

The contest will mark the first career head coaching
\ncontest for both Temple<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s Al Golden
\nand Buffalo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s Turner Gill.\u00a0 <\/span>The Owls, who return seven starters (five offense<\/span>, two defense) among 35 letterwinners<\/span>
\n(17 offense, 17 defense, 1 specialist), will employ a multiple offense and a
\n3-4 defense. The Bulls, who return 13 starters (eight offense<\/span>,
\nfive defense) among 47 letterwinners<\/span> (26 offense, 20
\ndefense, one specialist), will utilize a multiple offense and a 4-3 defense.<\/p>\n

Minnesota-Kent<\/h1>\n

Canton<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> Rep<\/h2>\n

The Flashes could have easily won five games last season.
\nThey lost two games by a field goal, one by 4 points and another by a
\ntouchdown. After losing so many close games, staying mentally focused will be a
\nbig key. \u201cWe have to overcome the lack of confidence that we\u2019ve had in the
\npast,\u201d Head Coach Doug Martin said. \u201cWe need to take stock in the confidence of
\nhow hard we worked off the field \u2014 particularly in winter conditioning and
\nspring practice \u2014 and let that be the foundation of what we do during the
\nseason. We\u2019ve got to the put the 1-10 year behind us.\u201d As with all teams,
\nhealth is always a factor. Last year\u2019s rash of injuries forced the Flashes to
\nplay 14 true freshmen and 26 NCAA Division I rookies.\u00a0 <\/span>Bet now through the Greek, <\/span>home of the 21 percent sign up bonus<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/u> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pioneer Press<\/h2>\n

Minnesota<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> is
\nminus two 1,000-yard tailbacks and two four-year starters on the offensive
\nline. Mason said last week it will be tailback by committee for Thursday\u2019s 6:30
\np.m. kickoff, and coaches have declined to name a front-runner, much less a
\nstarter, since fall camp opened on Aug. 5.\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

Toledo-Iowa<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place><\/h1>\n

KTIV<\/span><\/h2>\n

Iowa<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>
\ncoach Dan McCarney<\/span> has been in Ames<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>
\nfor 12 years. He has never had a defense with less experience than the one set
\nto open the season against Toledo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>.
\nGraduations, and the unexpected departures of defensive end Jason Berryman and
\nlinebacker Matt Robertson, cost the Cyclones ten starters from the unit that
\nplayed in the 2005 Houston Bowl. Those starters led Iowa<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nState<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> to the third-best scoring
\ndefense in the Big 12 a year ago. They have been replaced by newcomers that are
\neither young, inexperienced or a little bit of both. Still, McCarney<\/span>
\nrefuses to lower the expectation level for his defense\u2014or reduce its complexity
\nin order to soften the learning curve. The unit will get its first test
\nThursday when Iowa<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>
\nhosts the Rockets at Jack Trice Stadium. It will feature a pair of true
\nfreshman starters, Nate<\/span> Frere<\/span>
\nand Rashawn<\/span> Parker, on the defensive line.\u00a0 <\/span>Bet the NFL now at -107 juice<\/span><\/span>!
\nCheck out the latest odds<\/span><\/a> at CanBet<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Des Moines Register<\/h2>\n

Before jumping to conclusions that the Mid-American
\nConference Rockets are out of their league against a team from the Big 12
\nConference – forget it. Toledo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> beat
\nPenn<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>
\nin 2000, Minnesota<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> in 2001 and Pittsburgh<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>
\nin 2003. Another indicator that the teams belong on the same field is the
\nRockets\u2019 45-13 win<\/span> over Texas-El Paso in last season\u2019s
\nGMAC Bowl. They have won or shared the West Division title of the MAC seven of
\nthe past nine seasons. They have a 55-19 record since 2000 and a winning record
\neach of the past 12 seasons.<\/p>\n

South<\/st1:PlaceName> Carolina-Mississippi<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nState<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place><\/h1>\n

MSNBC<\/h2>\n

And South Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\nwill do it with more unproven players than Spurrier has seen in some time.
\nCenter Chris White is the only offensive linemen with more than four career starts.
\nThe defense depth chart features six players who never played a down at their
\nposition. The most impressive performer, at least statistically, at quarterback
\nthis fall hasn\u2019t been returning starter Blake Mitchell, but true freshman Chris
\nSmelley<\/span>. The Gamecocks proved that a year ago in Spurrier\u2019s<\/span> debut season. They started 0-3 in the SEC \u2014 a
\nfirst for Spurrier \u2014 including losses to Alabama<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\nand Auburn<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> by a combined 85-21
\nscore. Then came a five-game conference winning streak that featured victories
\nat Tennessee<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> and against Florida<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\n\u2014 a double no South Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\ncoach had accomplished before.\u00a0 <\/span>Bet now through the Greek, <\/span>home of the 21 percent sign up bonus<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/u> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UTEP<\/span>-San<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nDiego<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place><\/h1>\n

El Paso<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> Times<\/o:p><\/h2>\n

The Aztecs return six starters to the offensive side of
\nthe ball, with five of the starters having logged at least 11 career starts.
\nThey also return players that accounted for 100 percent of its passing yards
\nand 96.6 percent of its rushing yards. They move behind junior running back Lynell<\/span> Hamilton who, after being riddled with injuries over
\nhis two-year career, appears to be back to his 2003 form when he earned
\nfreshman All-America honors from The Sporting News. Hamilton, who missed the
\nentire 2004 season due to injury, was San Diego State\u2019s leading ground gainer
\nlast year, with 819 yards on 190 carries (4.3 average), and nine touchdowns. He
\nalso caught 26 passes for 144 yards. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

He has rushed for 1,906 yards and has 13 rushing
\ntouchdowns over his career. \u201cThis is the best summer I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d said the
\n6-foot, 225-pound Hamilton<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, a
\nnative of Stockton<\/st1:City>, Calif.<\/st1:State><\/st1:place>
\n\u201cI was able to work out and go ahead and do some running and conditioning. Whereas, before, I was always rehabbing.<\/span> So that\u2019s really
\nbig for me.\u201d <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Also returning is junior quarterback Kevin O\u2019Connell, a Carlsbad<\/st1:City>,
\nCalif.<\/st1:State><\/st1:place>, native who has started 17
\nconsecutive games at the position but had to re-earn his starting spot under
\nLong. Defensively, San Diego<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>
\nreturns eight starters with a combined 109 starts. Players who are returning
\naccounted for more than 70 percent of total tackles, 90 percent of forced
\nfumbles and 66 percent of fumble recoveries. The strength, though, might be the
\nsecondary,<\/span> and senior safety Reggie Grigsby, the
\nleading returning tackler from last season.<\/p>\n

The UTEP<\/span> football team\u2019s injury
\nsituation is better. But that doesn\u2019t mean that head coach Mike Price isn\u2019t
\nconcerned heading into the season opener Thursday at San
\nDiego<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>. was<\/span> junior offensive lineman James Riley the starter at
\nright guard who suffered a low-ankle sprain. A host of others sustained nagging
\nhamstring pulls, including tailback Marcus Thomas, safety Joe Fleskoski<\/span>, defensive end Joe Ward, receiver Chris Marrow,
\nfreshman safety Braxton Amy and quarterback\/receiver Lorne Sam. Senior
\nquarterback Jordan Palmer was out for a few days nursing a sore elbow. Sunday,
\nredshirt freshman quarterback Brandis<\/span> Dew sat out
\nwith a sore shoulder. Spence and Mauch<\/span> were suspended
\nthis game for breaking team rules. Bet the NFL now at -107 juice<\/span><\/span>!
\nCheck out the latest odds<\/span><\/a> at CanBet<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WagerWeb Thursday, August 31, 2006   Boston College-Central Michigan Morning Sun On Monday, CMU head football coach Brian Kelly said Brian Brunner will start Thursday\u2019s contest against Boston College, but he also said Dan LeFevour and Duane Brooks would also both play in the contest. Kelly said there is no set time table on when … Continue reading Thursday Advanced News and Notes<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}