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10/17/2007 -
It had been 11 years since Nos. 1 and 2 lost on the same day before LSU and California pulled the trick last week.
In this unpredictable college football season, would it be all that surprising to see the top two teams in the AP poll and the BCS standings go down in the same weekend again?
Top-ranked Ohio State and No. 2 South Florida both face unranked opponents. But 10 teams with top-10 rankings have already lost to unranked opponents, so what's a couple more?
The Buckeyes' (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) first game this season as No. 1 will be at home against Michigan State and former Ohio State defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio, who in his first season as head coach has the Spartans (5-2, 1-2) well positioned for their first winning season since 2003.
Dantonio has the Spartans getting after the quarterback, they're second in the nation in sacks with 29, and running the ball well (243 yards per game).
Ohio State's rise from No. 11 to start the season includes only one victory over a team that's been ranked at any point this season.
South Florida, the feel-good story out of the Big East, faces last year's feel-good story out of the Big East. The Bulls (6-0, 1-0) visit Rutgers on Thursday night.
The Scarlet Knights (4-2, 1-1), who started the season 16th in the rankings, broke a two-game losing streak with a win over Syracuse last week. Another conference loss would put Rutgers' league title hopes in peril.
The picks:ThursdayNo. 2 South Florida (minus 2 1/2) at Rutgers
Scarlet Knights stopped late 2-point conversion to beat Bulls last season ... USF 24-23.Saturday's GamesMichigan State (plus 17) at No. 1 Ohio State
Buckeyes have won 10 of 12 against Spartans ... OHIO STATE 28-10.No. 4 Oklahoma (minus 29) at Iowa State
Cyclones have worst offense in Big 12 ... OKLAHOMA 48-14.No. 18 Auburn (plus 11) at No. 5 LSU
Auburn won last season's Tiger Fight 7-3 ... LSU 21-13.Vanderbilt (plus 13) at No. 6 South Carolina
Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier has never lost to Vandy ... SOUTH CAROLINA 34-17.No. 7 Oregon (minus 11) at Washington
The 100th meeting between Ducks and Huskies ... OREGON 35-21.No. 14 Florida (minus 7) at No. 8 Kentucky
Gators have won 20 straight against Wildcats ... FLORIDA 34-28.Mississippi State (plus 23 1/2) at No. 9 West Virginia
Mountaineers won first meeting 42-14 last season in Starkville ... WEST VIRGINIA 41-17.No. 10 California (no line) at UCLA
Status of Cal QB Nate Longshore (ankle) questionable ... UCLA 28-24.No. 13 Southern California (minus 18) at Notre Dame
USC has won five straight vs. ND, though last trip to South Bend needed Bush Push to win ... USC 34-14.No. 15 Kansas (minus 4) at Colorado
KU QB Todd Reesing debuted vs. Buffs last season with three TDs ... KANSAS 29-17.No. 22 Texas Tech (plus 3 1/2) at No. 15 Missouri
Red Raiders are No. 1 passing team in nation; Tigers are fifth ... MISSOURI 54-43.No. 19 Texas (minus 24 1/2) at Baylor
Longhorns have scored 125 points in last two seasons against Bears ... TEXAS 50-17.No. 20 Tennessee (plus 1) at Alabama
Volunteers have won 10 of 12 in rivalry ... ALABAMA 31-28.No. 23 Cincinnati (plus 9 1/2) at Pittsburgh
How bad has it gotten for Panthers? Their coach is injured ... CINCINNATI 33-21.No. 24 Michigan (minus 2 1/2) at Illinois
Wolverines are 38-4-2 against Illini since 1959 ... ILLINOIS 28-24.No. 25 Kansas State (plus 3) at Oklahoma State
Cowboys have run for more than 200 yards in six straight games ... KANSAS STATE 34-30.
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Last week's record: 15-6 (straight); 13-7-1 (vs. points)
Season: 123-25 (straight); 67-62-2 (vs. points)Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Messi shines again as Argentina downs Venezuela
Maracaibo, Venezuela (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lionel Messi scored another fantastic
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<< FBS College Football - Week 8 Predictions
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Below is a compilation of The Sportsbook Betting Lines's predictions for the top games
in Week 8 of the college football season. (Detailed previews for each game can
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Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a year of upsets, the second-ranked
South Florida Bulls will try to avoid one at the hands of the Rutgers Scarlet
Knights this Thursday, as the two teams do battle in Big East play in
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Wally Burnham was one of the lucky ones. From his desk in the doublewide trailer, he actually could see the world beyond.``Some of the offices had windows. Some didn't,'' Burnham remembered. ``I had a window. It came with the job.
FANTASY FOOTBALL: Griese looks like more than a journeyman heading into Week 7 >>
It's hard to believe a guy who's been cut or benched for the likes of Jake Plummer, Rex Grossman, Chris Simms and Jay Fiedler could come back and become a solid quarterback.But Brian Griese has overcome those devastating blows to his ego to become q
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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