{"id":951,"date":"2006-09-28T08:16:30","date_gmt":"2006-09-28T13:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2006\/09\/thursday-news-and-notes-17\/"},"modified":"2006-09-28T08:16:30","modified_gmt":"2006-09-28T13:16:30","slug":"thursday-news-and-notes-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2006\/09\/thursday-news-and-notes-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday News and Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\n

Thursday, September
\n28, 2006<\/st1:date><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

OffshoreInsiders.com<\/span><\/b><\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>is the premier site for handicapping<\/p>\n

CFB<\/span><\/h1>\n

BYU-TCU<\/span><\/h1>\n

The Dispatch<\/o:p><\/h2>\n

TCU<\/span> adjusted quickly to the
\nMountain West Conference in 2005, winning the league title in its first year as
\na member. The 17th<\/sup>-ranked Horned Frogs would like to continue that
\ndominance and increase the nation\u2019s longest active winning streak when they
\nhost BYU<\/span> on Thursday in the conference opener for
\nboth teams. TCU<\/span><\/span> (3-0), coming off a bye week, defeated then-No.<\/span> 24 <\/span>Texas<\/span><\/st1:place><\/st1:State> Tech 12-3 on Sept. 16 to stretch its win streak to 13 games.<\/span>
\nThe Horned Frogs avenged a 70-35 defeat two years earlier to the Red Raiders.
\nThe Horned Frogs are third in the nation in run defense, allowing only 37 yards
\nper game. TCU<\/span> hasn\u2019t allowed an opponent to rush for
\nmore than 59 yards in the last six games, and Texas Tech had only 38 on the
\nground. TCU<\/span> was the first team since 2000 to hold the
\nRed Raiders without a touchdown. If the Horned Frogs win Thursday, they\u2019ll
\nmatch the longest winning streak in school history, set from 1937-1938. The
\n1938 team finished 11-0 and won the national championship behind Heisman<\/span> Trophy-winning quarterback Davey<\/span>
\nO\u2019Brien.\u00a0 <\/span>BYU<\/span>
\nhopes to have starting quarterback John Beck healthy for Thursday\u2019s game, but
\nif not, it has a capable backup waiting in the wings. John Beck sat out
\nSaturday\u2019s 38-0 win over Utah<\/st1:PlaceName> State<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>
\nwith a sprained ankle and backup Jason Beck – no relation – took advantage,
\ncompleting 20 of 28 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. It was BYU\u2019s<\/span> first shutout since beating UNLV<\/span>
\n29-0 in 1999.
\nJohn Beck rested his ankle during practice last week to be ready to play
\nagainst the Horned Frogs. The Cougars, looking for their first winning season
\nsince going 12-2 in 2001, have lost both road games this season by a combined
\n10 points – a 16-13 loss at Arizona<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\nand a 30-23 double overtime defeat to Boston<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nCollege<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>. BYU<\/span>
\nhas won eight of its past 11 conference road games. Bet now through Nine. Check out the latest odds.<\/a><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

SignOnSanDiego.com<\/o:p><\/h2>\n

Jeff Ballard had thrown only one pass at TCU<\/span> before coming off the bench last September and leading
\nan impressive comeback victory over BYU<\/span>. This time,
\nBallard faces the Cougars as an undefeated starting quarterback.\u00a0 <\/span>Not a one-game wonder, Ballard has instead
\nstarted every game since for the No. 17 Horned Frogs (3-0) and gone the
\nequivalent of a full season without a loss. His 11-0 mark doesn\u2019t even include
\nthe 51-50 victory in Provo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>. When
\nBallard took over for injured starter Tye<\/span> Gunn
\nagainst BYU<\/span>, the Frogs trailed 34-16 late in the
\nthird quarter. Ballard was 8-of-12 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns,
\nincluding a 35-yard scoring pass to Aaron Brown with 1:25 left before BYU\u2019s<\/span> tying field goal on the final play of regulation.
\nPatterson said the extra time off was beneficial to get over the emotional
\nvictory against Tech, the Frogs\u2019 fourth straight victory over a Big 12 team
\nsince the start of last season. That also allowed bruised-up players like
\nBallard more recovery time. Plus, senior tailbacks Robert Merrill (back) and Lonta<\/span> Hobbs (ankle) are finally ready for their 2006
\ndebuts. BYU<\/span> had a short week of preparation after a
\n38-0 victory against overmatched Utah<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nState<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> \u2013 the Cougars\u2019 first shutout
\nsince 1999,<\/span> also the last season they beat a Top 25
\nteam. Starting quarterback John Beck missed Saturday because of a sprained
\nright ankle, which he kept in a protective boot while being shuttled around
\ncampus this week in a golf cart. But Mendenhall said Beck would start and that
\nJosh Beck, who is no relation and was 20-of-28 passing for 305 yards against Utah<\/st1:PlaceName>
\nState<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place>, would be the backup again. Bet now through Nine. Check out the latest odds.<\/a><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Auburn-South Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:City><\/h3>\n

Statesmen <\/h2>\n

Auburn<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> has to
\ntravel off short week. Minus running back Kenny Irons (sprained ankle, toe),
\noffense slept-walked through most of last week against woeful Buffalo, scoring
\nonly 17 points until late in third quarter of 38-7 victory. Irons
\nis<\/span> expected to play in return to Columbia<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>,
\nwhere he began career before transferring. Irons leads<\/span>
\nSEC in rushing yards per game (107.3). Tigers average 184 yards per game on
\nground and Gamecocks 11th<\/sup> in conference in stopping run. Auburn<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s
\nworld-class defense faces South Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>
\noffense that was shut out in Gamecocks\u2019 last national TV appearance, 18-0 by Georgia<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.
\nTigers throttled Gamecocks 48-7 last year. QB Syvelle<\/span>
\nNewton, who threw a school-record five TD passes, all to Sydney Rice, in rout
\nof Florida Atlantic on Saturday, will likely split time again with Blake
\nMitchell. South Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> has
\nnever beaten team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 and hasn\u2019t beaten team in top five
\nsince 1981 (0-19).\u00a0 <\/span>Bet this game now through BetUs<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> Check out the
\nlines now<\/a><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

Myrtle Beach<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> Online<\/h2>\n

Spurrier was the first to admit USC enjoyed some favorable
\nbounces and good fortune last year during its five-game SEC winning streak. If
\nthe Tigers put the ball on the ground or hurt themselves with penalties, the
\nGamecocks need to capitalize. 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

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/body>
\n<\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday, September 28, 2006   OffshoreInsiders.com \u00a0is the premier site for handicapping CFB BYU-TCU The Dispatch TCU adjusted quickly to the Mountain West Conference in 2005, winning the league title in its first year as a member. The 17th-ranked Horned Frogs would like to continue that dominance and increase the nation\u2019s longest active winning streak … Continue reading Thursday 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-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951","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=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}