The Bum's 2015 College Football All You Need To Know- Trends, Picks, News Etc.

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF
Armadillo's Write-Up

Week 4

Thursday's games
Memphis won its last ten games since midseason loss to Houston last October; Tigers are 5-6 as home favorites under Fuente. Cincinnati won five of last seven games with Memphis, with underdogs covering three of last four; Bearcats won three of last four visits to Liberty Bowl (4-0 vs spread), but Memphis is rising power, Cincy gave up 435 rushing yards, 67 points in its two games vs I-A teams; they're 4-7 as road underdogs since 2010, 2-2 in 2+ years under Tuberville.

Friday's games
Boise State lost QB Finley for eight weeks, visits Virginia squad here two weeks after Cavaliers lost in last minute to Notre Dame and its backup QB. UVa allowed 34 points to both UCLA/ND then squeaked by I-AA Wm-Mary 35-29 last week, not a good sign. ACC teams are 13-8 vs spread in non-conference games, 3-2 as an underdog; Mountain West teams are 11-12 vs spread out of conference, 0-5 when favored.

Trap game for Stanford after its win at USC; Cardinal is 3-7 in last ten games as road favorite, after going 12-2 in that role from 2010-12- they won last five games with Oregon State (4-0-1 vs spread) winning its last two in Corvallis, 20-12/38-13. Beavers was 1-4 as home dog last couple years under Riley; OSU had 303 rushing yards vs San Jose State LW but completed just 22-45 passes in its two games against I-A opponents.

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF

Thursday, September 24

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game of the Day: Cincinnati at Memphis
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Tigers average 570.3 yards to rank eighth in the country – one spot behind Cincinnati (579.3).

Cincinnati Bearcats at Memphis Tigers (-10, 66.5)

Two of the nation’s most prolific offenses meet in an American Athletic Conference showdown when Cincinnati visits Memphis on Thursday night. While Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch looks to lead the Tigers to their 11th consecutive victory, Cincinnati signal-caller Gunner Kiel suffered a shoulder injury last Saturday and is considered day-to-day.

“He’ll have a good chance to play,” Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville told reporters Tuesday of Kiel, who has thrown for 805 yards and five touchdowns in three games. Freshman Hayden Moore is the backup for Cincinnati, which has six players with at least 128 receiving yards. The 6-7 Lynch has completed 76.6 percent of his passes with six touchdown strikes and no interceptions for Memphis, which has totaled 162 points in three wins as it prepares for its toughest test yet. “I think we have one of the best offenses in the country,” Tigers running back Sam Craft told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re just trying to prove it day in and day out.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.

LINE HISTORY: Books opened Memphis as a 7-point fave but that has been moved to -9.5. The total opened at 67.5, but has come down to 66.5.

WEATHER: Temperatures expected to be in the mid-80s under partly cloudy skies. Wind will blow across the field at around four miles per hour.

INJURY REPORT: Cincinnati - RB Mike Boone (Probable, ankle), WR Shaq Washington (Probable, undisclosed), WR Mekale McKay (Probable, undisclosed), QB Gunner Kiel (Doubtful, head), OL Idarius Ray (Questionable, undisclosed), CB Leviticus Payne (Questionable, undisclosed). Memphis - OL Taylor Fallin (Questionable, undisclosed).

WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "Memphis won 41-14 in Cincinnati last season, and there’s a very good chance that the Tigers easily eclipse that point total in this game. Memphis’ offense has been unstoppable so far this season, and the Bearcats’ defense is reeling right now; they gave up 67 points combined to Miami (OH) and Temple in their last two games. Cincinnati also lost defensive captain Adrian Witty for the season to a broken ankle last week, and starting quarterback Gunner Kiel is listed as questionable with a head injury. If he can’t play, freshman Hayden Moore will start, and Cincinnati’s offense may be more conservative and try to control the clock by running the ball more often."

ABOUT CINCINNATI (2-1 SU, 0-3 ATS, 3-0 O/U): Kiel has completed 63 percent of his passes, but threw four interceptions in the Bearcats’ 34-26 loss to Temple on Sept. 12, and Moore had two picks in the 37-33 win over Miami (Ohio) last week. Cincinnati boasts three players with at least 220 rushing yards while Johnny Holton (eight catches, 167 yards) and Shaq Washington (17, 166) are the top receiving targets. The Bearcats, who are allowing a conference-best 152.3 yards per game through the air, lost senior cornerback Adrian Witty (ankle) indefinitely last week.

ABOUT MEMPHIS (3-0 SU, 2-1 ATS, 3-0 O/U): The Tigers average 570.3 yards to rank eighth in the country – one spot behind Cincinnati (579.3) – and never have scored more points in a three-game stretch in team history after the 44-41 win over Bowling Green last Saturday. Jarvis Cooper (174 yards, three TDs) leads a deep running back corps that has accumulated 12 rushing scores. Mose Frazier is Lynch’s first option with 17 receptions and 232 yards to go along with two touchdowns while the Tigers have recorded eight sacks – led by lineman Donald Pennington’s 2.5.

TRENDS:

* Bearcats are 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings.
* Tigers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
* Over is 5-0 in Bearcats last five games overall.
* Over is 6-0 in Tigers last six home games.

CONSENSUS: Fifty-seven percent of users are on the Bearcats.

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF

Thursday, September 24


Totals getting crushed in Memphis games thus far

If we've learned anything about the Memphis Tigers during the early stages of the 2015 college football season, it's that no total is safe.

Thanks to 162 points scored and an offense that is averaging 570.3 yards per game, the Over has gone 3-0 in three Tigers games this season easily surpassing the total by 15.5, 15.5 and 13.5 points in their first three games.

The Tigers will host the Cincinnati Bearcats in Thursday's college football game and books have dropped the total to 66.5 points after opening at 67.5.


Ohio State sticks with Jones at QB

Cardale Jones has not looked sharp in the last two games for top-ranked Ohio State, but coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday that he's not changing quarterbacks this week.

Jones remains the starter and J.T. Barrett the No. 2 quarterback for the Buckeyes' final nonconference game on Saturday against Western Michigan in Ohio Stadium.

Last week in a 20-13 victory over Northern Illinois, Ohio State coaches turned to Barrett in the second quarter after Jones threw two interceptions and completed just 4 of 9 passes for 36 yards.

With Barrett behind center, he fired a touchdown pass before the first half ended, but the offense also sputtered in the second half.

"The other guy has to pass him, and that hasn't happened," Meyer said after Wednesday's practice.


Florida suspends QB Harris, CB Tabor for one game

Florida will be without suspended quarterback Treon Harris and cornerback Jalen Tabor for Saturday's SEC game against Tennessee.

Gators coach Jim McElwain announced the one-game suspensions on Wednesday but didn't specify a reason other than to say he based the decision on "some choices they made." Officially, the sophomores were suspended for an undisclosed violation of University Athletic Association policy.

Tabor was a starter in the first two games this season but a backup last week in Florida's win over Kentucky. He has one interception, which he returned for a touchdown against East Carolina, and four pass breakups in the first three games this year after playing in all 12 games as a freshman in 2014.

Quincy Wilson is expected to start in place of Tabor.

Harris started Florida's opener this season and has played in two games, completing 19 of 27 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He did not play last week against UCF.

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF
Short Sheet

Week 4

Saturday - Sept, 26

BYU at Michigan, 12:00 ET
BYU: 11-1 ATS off an extremely close road loss by 3 points or less
Michigan: 0-6 ATS after allowing 14 points or less last game

Army at Eastern Michigan, 6:00 ET
Army: 1-10 ATS in road lined games
E Michigan: 18-8 OVER in all lined games

Nevada at Buffalo, 3:30 ET
Nevada: 5-1 ATS after allowing 31 points or more in 2 straight games
Buffalo: 1-7 ATS as a home favorite of 3 points or less

Central Michigan at Michigan State, 12:00 ET
C Michigan: 29-13 OVER as a road underdog
Michigan St: 38-20 ATS after allowing 7 pts or less in first half in 2 straight games

Southern Miss at Nebraska, 12:00 ET
S Miss: 28-14 ATS after playing 2 straight non-conference games
Nebraska: 9-1 OVER in games played on turf

Missouri at Kentucky, 7:30 ET
Missouri: 10-1 ATS in road lined games
Kentucky: 24-44 ATS off a home loss

Texas State at Houston, 8:00 ET
Texas St: 6-0 OVER in non-conference games
Houston: 12-3 ATS after a game where they forced 3 or more turnovers

Navy at Connecticut, 12:00 ET
Navy: 44-19 ATS off a home win
Connecticut: 1-8 ATS after scoring 14 points or less last game

Virginia Tech at East Carolina, 3:30 ET
Virginia Tech: 16-6 ATS after 2 games with a turnover margin of +2 or better
E Carolina: 3-13 ATS after gaining 325 or more passing yards in 2 straight games

San Diego State at Penn State, 3:30 ET
San Diego St: 26-12 ATS on road after being outgained 125+ total yds last game
Penn St: 0-6 ATS after a win by 17 or more points

Bowling Green at Purdue, 12:00 ET
Bowling Green: 11-3 ATS after gaining 6.25 or more yards/play in previous game
Purdue: 5-17 ATS at home after a playing a game where 70 total pts or more were scored

Kansas at Rutgers, 12:00 ET
Kansas: 12-26 ATS in road games off a home loss
Rutgers: 35-16 UNDER in non-conference games

Western Michigan at Ohio State, 3:30 ET
W Michigan: 11-3 OVER in road games when playing on a Saturday
Ohio State: 10-1 ATS when the total is between 56.5 and 63

Arkansas State at Toldeo, 7:00 ET
Arkansas St: 0-12 ATS after gaining 300 or more rushing yards last game
Toledo: 23-9 ATS after 2 consecutive games where they forced 1 or less turnovers

Indiana at Wake Forest, 12:30 ET
Indiana: 0-14 ATS after outrushing opponent by 200 or more yards last game
Wake Forest: 11-1 UNDER after a game with a turnover margin of -3 or worse

Maryland at West Virginia, 3:00 ET
Maryland: 1-7 ATS after covering the spread in 2 out of their last 3 games
W Virginia: 7-4 ATS after 2 consecutive games where they committed no turnovers

Georgia Tech at Duke, 12:00 ET
Georgia Tech: 35-20 UNDER after covering the spread in 2 out of their last 3
Duke: 22-8 ATS in all lined games

Vanderbilt at Mississippi, 7:00 ET
Vanderbilt: 8-19 ATS off a home win by 17 points or more
Mississippi: 30-12 ATS in games played on turf

North Texas at Iowa, 3:30 ET
North Texas: 0-7 ATS in road lined games
Iowa: 14-1 ATS in home games off 2 or more consecutive overs

Mid Tennessee State at Illinois, 4:00 ET
Mid Tennessee St: 16-5 ATS after allowing 125 or less passing yards in last game
Illinois: 29-47 ATS in home games after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses

New Mexico at Wyoming, 3:00 ET
New Mexico: 8-1 OVER after allowing 6.25 or more yards/play in 2 games
Wyoming: 3-11 ATS in home games in games played on turf

Florida International at Louisiana Tech, 2:30 ET
Florida INT: 12-17 ATS after playing 2 straight non-conference games
Louisiana Tech: 6-0 ATS after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses

Rice at Baylor, 3:00 ET
Rice: 23-40 ATS on road after a game where they committed 1 or less turnovers
Baylor: 8-1 ATS after a win by 35 or more points

Texas AM at Arkansas, 7:00 ET
Texas AM: 21-38 ATS in road games off a home win
Arkansas: 22-9 ATS at home after failing to cover the spread in 2 of last 3

Tennessee at Florida, 3:30 ET
Tennessee: 29-15 UNDER after a game with a turnover margin of +2 or better
Florida: 3-13 ATS after scoring and allowing 17 or less points

Ohio at Minnesota, 3:30 ET
Ohio: 0-9 ATS after outgaining opp by 125 or more total yards in 2 games
Minnesota: 6-0 ATS after having won 2 out of their last 3

Miami Ohio at Western Kentucky, 3:30 ET
Miami Ohio: 2-5 ATS off a home cover where the team lost as an underdog
W Kentucky: 1-5 ATS after allowing 325 or more passing yds last game

LSU at Syracuse, 12:00 ET
LSU: 20-8 ATS in a road game where the total is between 42.5 and 49
Syracuse: 19-35 ATS after 2 games with a turnover margin of +1 or better

Massachusetts at Notre Dame, 3:30 ET
Massachusetts: 6-0 OVER in road games when playing on a Saturday
Notre Dame: 7-20 ATS as a favorite of 21.5 to 31 points

North Carolina State at South Alabama, 8:00 ET
N Carolina St: 6-0 ATS after a win by 21 or more points
S Alabama: 2-13 ATS after 2 consecutive games where they forced 1 or less turnovers

Georgia Southern at Idaho, 9:00 ET
Georgia S: 8-1 ATS when playing with 6 or less days rest
Idaho: 0-7 ATS after 1 or more consecutive wins against the spread

Marshall at Kent State, 3:30 ET
Marshall: 36-62 ATS in road lined games
Kent State: 25-11 ATS after 2 or more consecutive wins against the spread

Mississippi State at Auburn, 7:30 ET
Mississippi St: 39-20 UNDER off 1 or more straight overs
Auburn: 17-5 ATS off a blowout loss by 21 points or more to a conference rival

UL Monroe at Alabama, 4:00 ET
UL Monroe: 4-14 ATS when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest
Alabama: 37-20 ATS after 2 or more consecutive losses against the spread

Florida Atlantic at Charlotte, 7:00 ET
Florida Atl: 5-1 ATS after a game where they committed 3 or more turnovers
Charlotte: 0-1 ATS against conference opponents

TCU at Texas Tech, 4:45 ET
TCU: 14-4 OVER after allowing 6.25 or more yards/play in their previous game
Texas Tech: 73-49 ATS in home lined games

Akron at UL Lafayette, 7:00 ET
Akron: 3-12 ATS in all lined games
UL Lafayette: 12-3 ATS after gaining 525 or more total yards in previous game

Colorado State at Tex San Antonio, 7:00 ET
Colorado St: 11-2 ATS in non-conference games
Tex San Antonio: 1-8 ATS after a game where they forced 1 or less turnovers

Central Florida at South Carolina, 12:00 ET
C Florida: 7-0 UNDER against SEC opponents
S Carolina: 5-16 ATS at home after allowing 6.75+ yards/play in previous game

Utah at Oregon, 8:30 ET
Utah: 6-0 UNDER off a road win
Oregon: 17-6 ATS in home games after a win by 28 or more points

Appalachian State at Old Dominion, 3:30 ET
Appalachian St: 2-1 ATS after a bye week
Old Dominion: 2-11 ATS in games played on turf

Northern Illinois at Boston College, 1:00 ET
N Illinois: 6-0 ATS in road games off 1 or more consecutive unders
Boston College: 25-12 UNDER after a game with a turnover margin of -2 or worse

Oklahoma State at Texas, 3:30 ET
Oklahoma St: 25-7 ATS after scoring 50 points or more last game
Texas: 29-12 OVER off 2 or more consecutive overs

USC at Arizona State, 10:30 ET
USC: 8-0 ATS after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses
Arizona St: 2-9 ATS when the total is between 63.5 and 70

Ball State at Northwestern, 8:00 ET
Ball St: 11-9 ATS as a road underdog of 14.5 to 21 points
Northwestern: 2-11 ATS in home games against MAC opponents

Hawaii at Wisconsin, 8:00 ET
Hawaii: 19-6 OVER after 2 games where they forced 1 or less turnovers
Wisconsin: 57-35 ATS off 1 or more consecutive unders

UCLA at Arizona, 8:00 ET
UCLA: 51-32 ATS in September games
Arizona: 12-25 ATS after 3 or more consecutive straight up wins

California at Washington, 5:00 ET
California: 4-21 ATS as a road favorite of 7 points or less
Washington: 6-0 UNDER when the total is between 56.5 and 63

Fresno State at San Jose State, 5:00 ET
Fresno St: 7-0 OVER in the first month of the season
San Jose St: 0-6 ATS off a road loss

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF
Dunkel

Week 4


NC State @ South Alabama

Game 367-368
September 26, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NC State
87.218
South Alabama
67.889
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
NC State
by 19 1/2
52
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NC State
by 17
54 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
NC State
(-17); Under

Virginia Tech @ East Carolina

Game 325-326
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Virginia Tech
96.455
East Carolina
83.671
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Virginia Tech
by 13
66
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Virginia Tech
by 8
55
Dunkel Pick:
Virginia Tech
(-8); Over

Appalachian St @ Old Dominion

Game 389-390
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Appalachian St
77.173
Old Dominion
73.098
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Appalachian St
by 4
63
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Appalachian St
by 7 1/2
58 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Old Dominion
(+7 1/2); Over

Albany @ Duquesne

Game 543-544
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Albany
54.433
Duquesne
59.603
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Duquesne
by 5
62
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Duquesne
by 7 1/2
51
Dunkel Pick:
Albany
(+7 1/2); Over

Middle Tennessee St @ Illinois

Game 347-348
September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Middle Tennessee
85.095
Illinois
86.552
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Illinois
by 1 1/2
66
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Illinois
by 6 1/2
61 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Middle Tennessee
(+6 1/2); Over

Southern U @ Georgia

Game 415-416
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Southern U
49.034
Georgia
109.687
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Georgia
by 60 1/2
68
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Georgia
by 54 1/2
74
Dunkel Pick:
Georgia
(-54 1/2); Under

Georgia Southern @ Idaho

Game 369-370
September 26, 2015 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Georgia Southern
85.767
Idaho
62.329
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Georgia Southern
by 23 1/2
61
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Georgia Southern
by 16
67
Dunkel Pick:
Georgia Southern
(-16); Under

San Diego St @ Penn State

Game 327-328
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Diego St
71.877
Penn State
90.285
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Penn State
by 19 1/2
33
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Penn State
by 15
39 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Penn State
(-15); Under

Northern Illinois @ Boston College

Game 391-392
September 26, 2015 @ 1:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Northern Illinois
86.189
Boston College
94.600
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston College
by 8 1/2
36
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston College
by 4
47
Dunkel Pick:
Boston College
(-4); Under

Rhode Island @ Maine

Game 545-546
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Rhode Island
41.589
Maine
58.467
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Maine
by 17
36
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Maine
by 19 1/2
40
Dunkel Pick:
Rhode Island
(+19 1/2); Under

New Mexico @ Wyoming

Game 349-350
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
New Mexico
67.561
Wyoming
68.477
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Wyoming
by 1
60
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
New Mexico
by 3
56
Dunkel Pick:
Wyoming
(+3); Over

Nicholls St @ Colorado

Game 417-418
September 26, 2015 @ 1:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Nicholls St
29.816
Colorado
85.785
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Colorado
by 56
56
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Colorado
by 47
70
Dunkel Pick:
Colorado
(-47); Under

Marshall @ Kent State

Game 371-372
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Marshall
82.583
Kent State
75.988
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Marshall
by 6 1/2
58
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Marshall
by 9
53
Dunkel Pick:
Kent State
(+9); Over

Cornell @ Yale

Game 517-518
September 26, 2015 @ 1:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cornell
31.937
Yale
63.562
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Yale
by 31 1/2
70
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Yale
by 26
66
Dunkel Pick:
Yale
(-26); Over

Bowling Green @ Purdue

Game 329-330
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Bowling Green
86.766
Purdue
83.264
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Bowling Green
by 3 1/2
75
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Bowling Green
by 1
79
Dunkel Pick:
Bowling Green
(-1); Under

Oklahoma State @ Texas

Game 393-394
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Oklahoma State
99.392
Texas
93.200
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Oklahoma State
by 6
58
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Oklahoma State
by 3
62
Dunkel Pick:
Oklahoma State
(-3); Under

Cal Poly @ Montana St

Game 547-548
September 26, 2015 @ 3:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cal Poly
72.813
Montana St
77.690
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Montana St
by 5
77
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Montana St
by 2
67 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Montana St
(-2); Over

FIU @ Louisiana Tech

Game 351-352
September 26, 2015 @ 2:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
FIU
77.878
Louisiana Tech
88.994
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Louisiana Tech
by 11
69
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Louisiana Tech
by 15
56 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
FIU
(+15); Over

James Madison @ SMU

Game 419-420
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
James Madison
70.704
SMU
78.862
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
SMU
by 8
77
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
SMU
by 15 1/2
73
Dunkel Pick:
James Madison
(+15 1/2); Over

Brigham Young @ Michigan

Game 309-310
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Brigham Young
96.285
Michigan
95.033
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Brigham Young
by 1
49
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Michigan
by 5 1/2
45
Dunkel Pick:
Brigham Young
(+5 1/2); Over

Mississippi St @ Auburn

Game 373-374
September 26, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Mississippi St
102.096
Auburn
99.583
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Mississippi St
by 2 1/2
64
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Auburn
by 2 1/2
56
Dunkel Pick:
Mississippi St
(+2 1/2); Over

Davidson @ Morehead St

Game 521-522
September 26, 2015 @ 1:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Davidson
11.867
Morehead St
31.829
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Morehead St
by 20
56
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Morehead St
by 17
70
Dunkel Pick:
Morehead St
(-17); Under

Kansas @ Rutgers

Game 331-332
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Kansas
72.115
Rutgers
80.630
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Rutgers
by 8 1/2
51
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Rutgers
by 12 1/2
65 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Kansas
(+12 1/2); Under

USC @ Arizona State

Game 395-396
September 26, 2015 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
USC
100.179
Arizona State
97.233
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
USC
by 3
70
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
USC
by 6
63
Dunkel Pick:
Arizona State
(+6); Over

Weber St @ Northern Colorado

Game 549-550
September 26, 2015 @ 3:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Weber St
64.771
Northern Colorado
45.950
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Weber St
by 19
42
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Weber St
by 7
46
Dunkel Pick:
Weber St
(-7); Under

Rice @ Baylor

Game 353-354
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Rice
80.757
Baylor
106.770
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Baylor
by 26
83
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Baylor
by 35
76
Dunkel Pick:
Rice
(+35); Over

Incarnate Word @ UTEP

Game 421-422
September 26, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Incarnate Word
37.547
UTEP
65.606
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
UTEP
by 28
58
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
UTEP
by 31
50
Dunkel Pick:
Incarnate Word
(+31); Over

Army @ Eastern Michigan

Game 311-312
September 26, 2015 @ 6:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Army
69.525
Eastern Michigan
67.080
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Army
by 2 1/2
46
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Eastern Michigan
by 3
55 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Army
(+3); Under

LA-Monroe @ Alabama

Game 375-376
September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
LA-Monroe
65.726
Alabama
113.731
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Alabama
by 42
52
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Alabama
by 38
55
Dunkel Pick:
Alabama
(-38); Under

San Diego @ Valparaiso

Game 523-524
September 26, 2015 @ 1:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Diego
47.233
Valparaiso
21.107
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Diego
by 26
64
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Diego
by 22
55 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Diego
(-22); Over

Western Michigan @ Ohio State

Game 333-334
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Western Michigan
83.978
Ohio State
109.810
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Ohio State
by 26
43
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Ohio State
by 31 1/2
58
Dunkel Pick:
Western Michigan
(+31 1/2); Under

Ball State @ Northwestern

Game 397-398
September 26, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Ball State
74.975
Northwestern
89.512
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Northwestern
by 15
52
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Northwestern
by 18 1/2
No Total
Dunkel Pick:
Ball State
(+18 1/2); N/A

Northern Arizona @ Montana

Game 551-552
September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Northern Arizona
58.550
Montana
73.566
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Montana
by 15
47
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Montana
by 13
51
Dunkel Pick:
Montana
(-13); Under

Texas A&M @ Arkansas

Game 355-356
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Texas A&M
104.790
Arkansas
94.813
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Texas A&M
by 10
55
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Texas A&M
by 7
59 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Texas A&M
(-7); Under

Idaho State @ UNLV

Game 423-424
September 26, 2015 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Idaho State
61.839
UNLV
71.377
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
UNLV
by 9 1/2
70
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
UNLV
by 14
65
Dunkel Pick:
Idaho State
(+14); Over

Nevada @ Buffalo

Game 313-314
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Nevada
79.397
Buffalo
78.402
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Nevada
by 1
49
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Buffalo
by 2
56 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Nevada
(+2); Under

Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte

Game 377-378
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Florida Atlantic
65.726
Charlotte
55.545
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Florida Atlantic
by 10
48
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Florida Atlantic
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Florida Atlantic
N/A

UC-Davis @ North Dakota

Game 527-528
September 26, 2015 @ 2:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
UC-Davis
59.469
North Dakota
68.383
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
North Dakota
by 9
43
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
North Dakota
by 6 1/2
48
Dunkel Pick:
North Dakota
(-6 1/2); Under

Arkansas St @ Toledo

Game 335-336
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Arkansas St
84.370
Toledo
95.203
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toledo
by 11
53
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toledo
by 7
59 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toledo
(-7); Under

Hawaii @ Wisconsin

Game 399-400
September 26, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Hawaii
79.251
Wisconsin
100.399
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Wisconsin
by 21
46
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Wisconsin
by 25
51
Dunkel Pick:
Hawaii
(+25); Under

Tennessee St @ Florida A&M

Game 553-554
September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tennessee St
55.627
Florida A&M
41.941
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tennessee St
by 13 1/2
58
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tennessee St
by 10
49
Dunkel Pick:
Tennessee St
(-10); Over

Tennessee @ Florida

Game 357-358
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tennessee
95.895
Florida
99.764
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Florida
by 4
38
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Florida
by 1 1/2
48
Dunkel Pick:
Florida
(-1 1/2); Under

Central Michigan @ Michigan State

Game 315-316
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Central Michigan
75.694
Michigan State
110.483
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Michigan State
by 35
57
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Michigan State
by 26 1/2
54
Dunkel Pick:
Michigan State
(-26 1/2); Over

TCU @ Texas Tech

Game 379-380
September 26, 2015 @ 4:45 pm

Dunkel Rating:
TCU
109.886
Texas Tech
99.760
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
TCU
by 10
82
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
TCU
by 7
79 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
TCU
(-7); Over

Stetson @ Drake

Game 531-532
September 26, 2015 @ 2:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Stetson
22.280
Drake
44.571
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Drake
by 22 1/2
60
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Drake
by 15
55
Dunkel Pick:
Drake
(-15); Over

Indiana @ Wake Forest

Game 337-338
September 26, 2015 @ 12:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
83.904
Wake Forest
77.271
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Indiana
by 6 1/2
64
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Indiana
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
N/A

UCLA @ Arizona

Game 401-402
September 26, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
UCLA
100.872
Arizona
102.435
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Arizona
by 1 1/2
68
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
UCLA
by 3 1/2
64
Dunkel Pick:
Arizona
(+3 1/2); Over

Savannah St @ Bethune Cookman

Game 555-556
September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Savannah St
26.689
Bethune Cookman
56.356
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Bethune Cookman
by 29 1/2
54
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Bethune Cookman
by 28
61
Dunkel Pick:
Bethune Cookman
(-28); Under

Ohio @ Minnesota

Game 359-360
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Ohio
84.539
Minnesota
92.627
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 8
48
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 11
46
Dunkel Pick:
Ohio
(+11); Over

Campbell @ Butler

Game 505-506
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Campbell
30.402
Butler
31.989
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Butler
by 1 1/2
56
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Butler
by 4 1/2
51
Dunkel Pick:
Campbell
(+4 1/2); Over

Southern Miss @ Nebraska

Game 317-318
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Southern Miss
74.098
Nebraska
99.027
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Nebraska
by 25
63
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Nebraska
by 22
68
Dunkel Pick:
Nebraska
(-22); Under

Akron @ LA-Lafayette

Game 381-382
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Akron
69.174
LA-Lafayette
82.647
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
LA-Lafayette
by 13 1/2
48
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
LA-Lafayette
by 8
52 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
LA-Lafayette
(-8); Under

AR-Pine Bluff @ Alabama A&M

Game 533-534
September 26, 2015 @ 2:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
AR-Pine Bluff
30.031
Alabama A&M
44.875
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Alabama A&M
by 15
73
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Alabama A&M
by 13 1/2
61
Dunkel Pick:
Alabama A&M
(-13 1/2); Over

Maryland @ West Virginia

Game 339-340
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Maryland
81.042
West Virginia
102.067
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
West Virginia
by 21
65
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
West Virginia
by 17
60
Dunkel Pick:
West Virginia
(-17); Over

California @ Washington

Game 403-404
September 26, 2015 @ 5:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
California
91.940
Washington
96.563
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 4 1/2
72
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
California
by 4 1/2
61
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+4 1/2); Over

Hampton @ Norfolk St

Game 557-558
September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Hampton
50.961
Norfolk St
47.488
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Hampton
by 3 1/2
52
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Hampton
by 1 1/2
41
Dunkel Pick:
Hampton
(-1 1/2); Over

Miami of Ohio @ Western Kentucky

Game 361-362
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Miami of Ohio
67.035
Western Kentucky
84.516
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Western Kentucky
by 17 1/2
73
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Western Kentucky
by 20 1/2
67
Dunkel Pick:
Miami of Ohio
(+20 1/2); Over

Stephen F Austin @ Abilene Christian

Game 507-508
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Stephen F Austin
56.245
Abilene Christian
60.460
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Abilene Christian
by 4
57
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Abilene Christian
by 1 1/2
62
Dunkel Pick:
Abilene Christian
(-1 1/2); Under

Missouri @ Kentucky

Game 319-320
September 26, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Missouri
92.632
Kentucky
91.296
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Missouri
by 1 1/2
35
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Kentucky
by 3
44
Dunkel Pick:
Missouri
(+3); Under

Colorado State @ TX-San Antonio

Game 383-384
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Colorado State
81.080
TX-San Antonio
74.563
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Colorado State
by 6 1/2
61
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Colorado State
by 9
58 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
TX-San Antonio
(+9); Over

Jacksonville St @ Tenn-Martin

Game 537-538
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Jacksonville St
83.501
Tenn-Martin
60.189
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Jacksonville St
by 23 1/2
56
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Jacksonville St
by 14 1/2
60
Dunkel Pick:
Jacksonville St
(-14 1/2); Under

Georgia Tech @ Duke

Game 341-342
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Georgia Tech
106.734
Duke
95.442
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Georgia Tech
by 11 1/2
53
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Georgia Tech
by 8 1/2
59 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Georgia Tech
(-8 1/2); Under

San Jose St @ Fresno State

Game 405-406
September 26, 2015 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose St
79.366
Fresno State
80.812
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Fresno State
by 1 1/2
63
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Fresno State
by 4 1/2
58
Dunkel Pick:
San Jose St
(+4 1/2); Over

LSU @ Syracuse

Game 363-364
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
LSU
105.974
Syracuse
80.130
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
LSU
by 26
44
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
LSU
by 24
47 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
LSU
(-24); Under

Jacksonville @ Marist

Game 509-510
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Jacksonville
54.963
Marist
37.232
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Jacksonville
by 17 1/2
32
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Jacksonville
by 14 1/2
38
Dunkel Pick:
Jacksonville
(-14 1/2); Under

Texas State @ Houston

Game 321-322
September 26, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Texas State
73.518
Houston
85.936
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Houston
by 12 1/2
74
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Houston
by 16 1/2
71
Dunkel Pick:
Texas State
(+16 1/2); Over

Central Florida @ South Carolina

Game 385-386
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Central Florida
75.580
South Carolina
87.678
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
South Carolina
by 12
58
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
South Carolina
by 15
45
Dunkel Pick:
Central Florida
(+15); Over

VMI @ Furman

Game 539-540
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
VMI
44.049
Furman
58.117
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Furman
by 14
49
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Furman
by 17 1/2
62
Dunkel Pick:
VMI
(+17 1/2); Under

Vanderbilt @ Mississippi

Game 343-344
September 26, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Vanderbilt
76.337
Mississippi
116.252
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Mississippi
by 40
70
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Mississippi
by 24 1/2
55 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Mississippi
(-24 1/2); Over

Samford @ Louisville

Game 411-412
September 26, 2015 @ 6:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Samford
73.004
Louisville
94.552
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Louisville
by 21 1/2
61
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Louisville
by 26
56
Dunkel Pick:
Samford
(+26); Over

Massachusetts @ Notre Dame

Game 365-366
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Massachusetts
66.960
Notre Dame
108.459
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Notre Dame
by 41 1/2
52
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Notre Dame
by 28 1/2
59
Dunkel Pick:
Notre Dame
(-28 1/2); Under

Colgate @ Holy Cross

Game 511-512
September 26, 2015 @ 12:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Colgate
56.150
Holy Cross
57.901
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Holy Cross
by 2
49
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Holy Cross
by 5
41 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Colgate
(+5); Over

Navy @ Connecticut

Game 323-324
September 26, 2015 @ 1:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Navy
89.424
Connecticut
79.911
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Navy
by 9 1/2
61
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Navy
by 6 1/2
47 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Navy
(-6 1/2); Over

Utah @ Oregon

Game 387-388
September 26, 2015 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
97.148
Oregon
107.096
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Oregon
by 10
75
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Oregon
by 13 1/2
No Total
Dunkel Pick:
Utah
(+13 1/2); N/A

Towson @ Elon

Game 541-542
September 26, 2015 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Towson
59.933
Elon
54.562
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Towson
by 5 1/2
55
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Towson
by 7 1/2
41
Dunkel Pick:
Elon
(+7 1/2); Over

North Texas @ Iowa

Game 345-346
September 26, 2015 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
North Texas
63.323
Iowa
95.991
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Iowa
by 32 1/2
46
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Iowa
by 24 1/2
51
Dunkel Pick:
Iowa
(-24 1/2); Under

Delaware @ North Carolina

Game 413-414
September 26, 2015 @ 12:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Delaware
60.918
North Carolina
95.873
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
North Carolina
by 35
64
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
North Carolina
by 38 1/2
60
Dunkel Pick:
Delaware
(+38 1/2); Over

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF

Friday, September 25

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game of the Day: Stanford at Oregon State
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stanford has gone 5-0 against the spread in the previous five meetings with Oregon State.

Stanford Cardinal at Oregon State Beavers (+16, 44.5)

Stanford’s offense erupted for 41 points in last week’s upset of USC, but the 24th-ranked Cardinal could be without quarterback Kevin Hogan for Friday’s Pac-12 opener at Oregon State. Hogan, who made his first collegiate start against the Beavers in 2012, is listed as a game-time decision due to a sprained left ankle suffered in last week’s victory.

Hogan struggled in Stanford’s season-opening 16-6 loss at Northwestern but threw for a total of 620 yards and five touchdowns as the Cardinal offense returned to form in wins over UCF and USC. If Hogan isn’t cleared to face Oregon State, either freshman Keller Chryst or sophomore Ryan Burns will get the nod. Stanford has won the last five meetings against Oregon State while allowing an average of 12.4 points, but the Beavers are coming off an encouraging 35-21 win over San Jose State. Freshman quarterback Seth Collins and running back Storm Barrs-Woods each rushed for 100 yards against the Spartans but face a tougher challenge against Stanford, which recorded six sacks and held the Beavers to 12 yards rushing in last season’s 38-14 win.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1.

LINE HISTORY: Books opened the Cardinal as 15.5-point road faves, but that's now at -16. The total opened at 44.5.

INJURY REPORT: Stanford - QB Kevin Hogan (Questionable, leg), LB Noor Davis (Questionable, leg), DE Nate Lohn (Questionable, undisclosed), DE Harrison Phillips (Out for season, knee). Oregon State - OL Gavin Andrews (Out for season, foot).

WEATHER: Forecasts are calling for a 32 percent chance of rain early, but that goes down to 18 percent as the game progresses. Wind will blow toward the SW corner of the field at around six miles per hour.

WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "The Cardinal have bounced back from an embarrassing loss to Northwestern in Week 1, and after upsetting the Trojans they remain a contender in the PAC-12."

ABOUT STANFORD (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS, 1-2 O/U): If Hogan sits out, look for the Cardinal to rely heavily on running back Christian McCaffrey, who accounted for 249 yards against USC and leads the Pac-12 in all-purpose yards with an average of 195.3 per game. Tight end Austin Hooper continued his strong start this season with four catches for 79 yards and a score against the Trojans and figures to be a key part of the passing game regardless of who starts at quarterback. Linebacker Blake Martinez has a Pac-12-high 38 tackles to lead the Stanford defense, which has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in 33 of its last 44 games.

ABOUT OREGON STATE (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS, 1-2 O/U): Collins has proven to be a dangerous runner, but the Beavers would like to see improvement in the passing game after averaging 108 yards through the air in their first three games. The running game received a boost last week from a healthy Barrs-Woods, who was limited by a lingering knee injury against Michigan before rushing 17 times for 151 yards and one touchdown against San Jose State. The Beavers are inexperienced on defense, but linebackers Rommel Mageo and Manase Hungalu have played well early and helped shut out the Spartans in the second half last week.

TRENDS:

* Cardinal are 5-0 ATS in their last five meetings.
* Under is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in Oregon State.
* Cardinal are 29-14-1 ATS in their last 44 conference games.
* Beavers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven conference games.

CONSENSUS: Fifty-seven percent of users are backing the Beavers.

[StarDust Bum]

NCAAF

Friday, September 25


Stanford owns Oregon State at the betting window

The Stanford Cardinal visit the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium Friday evening, and it's the Cardinal that have had the edge at the betting window in recent meetings. Stanford has gone 5-0 both straight up and against the spread in the previous five meetings between the two Pac-12 programs.

Keep an eye on Cardinal starting quarterback Kevin Hogan who is listed as a game-time decision due to a sprained left ankle suffered in last week’s victory over USC.

Stanford is currently tabbed as a 16-point road favorite in Corvallis.

[StarDust Bum]

Friday's Top Action

September 23, 2015


BOISE STATE BRONCOS (2-1) at VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (1-2)

Scott Stadium - Charlottesville, VA
Kickoff: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Boise State -2.5

Boise State finishes up a tough non-conference schedule on Friday night when it visits a hungry Virginia squad.

The Broncos breezed to a 52-0 victory over FCS Idaho State last Saturday, but the win came at a cost, as starting QB Ryan Finley was lost for eight weeks with a broken bone in his ankle. Both sophomore QB Tommy Stuart and freshman QB Brett Rypien played admirably in relief last week, and both will likely see snaps against much greater competition on Friday. The Cavaliers have played a brutal non-ACC slate with a season-opening trip to UCLA (34-16 loss) before losing a 34-27 heartbreaker to visiting Notre Dame. Although they picked up their first win last week, they didn't play very well, eking out a 35-29 victory against 22-point underdog William & Mary (FCS school).

These schools are meeting for the first time ever on Friday, and most of the betting trends favor the Broncos. These include Boise State's 30-10 ATS mark after ATS losses in two of its previous three games and also Steve London's 2-13 ATS record as the Virginia head coach when the line is +3 to -3. However, in the past three years the Cavaliers are 7-2 ATS as a home underdog and 7-3 ATS in non-conference games.

In addition to Finley, the Broncos have three other players questionable for Friday's matchup with undisclosed injuries in WRs D.J. Dean and Rick Smith, and DE Gabe Perez. Virginia remains without four key players with WRs T.J. Thorpe (collarbone) and Umar Muhammad-Wyatt (knee) out indefinitely and OLs Eric Tretlow and Jake Fieler done for the season with undisclosed injuries.

Both of Boise State's backup quarterbacks looked strong last week, as former JUCO transfer Tommy Stuart was 9-of-13 for 69 yards and a touchdown, but absorbed three sacks. Freshman Brett Rypien was a near-perfect 8-of-9 for 126 yards and led his team to four scoring drives (3 TD, 1 FG) in four possessions. Both signal callers realize the team has a great receiving duo in senior WR Shane Williams-Rhodes (18 rec, 173 yds) and junior Thomas Sperbeck (12 rec, 140 yds.), who have both curiously have not found the end zone yet.

Part of that is due to the ground game rolling in the red zone with 10 rushing touchdowns. Seven of them have gone to sophomore RB Jeremy McNichols, who has rushed for 204 yards on a subpar 3.8 YPC. Junior RB Devan Demas has been electric with 8.8 YPC on his 12 attempts. The Broncos defense has been on the field for only 27:51, thanks to a run-stop unit holding opponents to 46 YPG on 1.7 YPC. The passing defense has surrendered 240 YPG, but opposing quarterbacks are completing only 54.5% of their passes.

Virginia's offense continues to revolve around junior RB Taquan Mizzell, who leads the team with 155 rushing yards (4.0 YPC) and is second in receiving yards with 233, thanks largely to an 80-yard TD reception last week. He has taken the pressure off steady junior QB Matt Johns, who has completed 67% of his throws for 790 yards (8.2 YPA), 6 TD and 3 INT. Johns' completion percentage and passing yardage have both climbed in each of his three games.

Senior WR Canaan Severin (19 rec, 264 yds, 1 TD) has been his best receiver, using his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame to outmuscle defenders. Severin was incredible in the near-upset of Notre Dame when he caught 11 passes for 153 yards. The defense has not produced a single takeaway in three games so far, and has allowed a hefty 5.1 YPC on the ground. The Cavaliers haven't been much better through the air either, allowing 261 YPG on 64% completions and 7.5 YPA. They are hoping the inexperienced Boise State quarterbacks will not have the same success that opponents have enjoyed so far in 2015.

STANFORD CARDINAL (2-1) at OREGON STATE BEAVERS (2-1)

Reser Stadium - Corvallis, OR
Kickoff: Friday, 10:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Stanford -15.5

No. 21 Stanford tries to build on an impressive victory when it travels to Oregon State on Friday night.

The Cardinal were 9.5-point underdogs last week at USC, but rolled up 474 total yards in an impressive 41-31 win. The Beavers also won comfortably last week, taking down San Jose State by a 35-21 score and easily covering the 6-point spread.

Stanford has won five straight matchups in this series (SU and ATS) with the average score being a wide margin of 32 to 12. The Cardinal won a 38-14 laugher at home last year, but the contest was much closer in Corvallis in 2013 when Oregon State fell by a 20-12 score.

While David Shaw has led Stanford to a 9-1 ATS record after a game where it has committed no turnovers, the Beavers benefit from the fact that home underdogs of 14.5+ points returning 8+ offensive players facing a conference foe returning 5 or less defensive starters are 48-18 ATS (73%) since 1992.

The only recent significant injury for either team is Cardinal DL Nate Lohn, who is listed as questionable with an undisclosed ailment.

Stanford's offense did very little in the season opener at Northwestern (6 points, 240 total yards), but has cranked out 72 points and 965 total yards over two straight victories. QB Kevin Hogan has been outstanding in these two wins, throwing for 620 yards, 5 TD and 0 INT.

Although he injured his left foot in the win over USC, Hogan is listed a probable to start on Friday. That's not good news for the Beavers, who allowed Hogan to throw for 277 yards (10.3 YPA) and 2 TD while rushing for 39 more yards (9.8 YPC) and another touchdown in last year's rout.

A big part of his success has been electric freshman RB Bryce Love who has a team-high 156 yards on just three catches (52.0 avg) including a 93-yard TD grab two weeks ago versus UCF.

Hogan's favorite targets are junior TE Austin Hooper (10 rec, 135 yds) and sophomore RB Christian McCaffrey, who has a team-high 12 grabs for 119 yards. McCaffrey also leads the team in rushing at 239 yards, which includes a hefty 115 last week versus USC. McCaffrey opened the scoring in last year's matchup with Oregon State with a 41-yard TD reception.

Defensively, Stanford struggled a bit last week in allowing 31 points and 427 total yards, but the Trojans have a much more explosive offensive than the Beavers do.

Oregon State was able to pile up the yards last week, but in its only game versus a Power 5 conference two weeks ago at Michigan, it was held to a pathetic seven points and 138 total yards. Stanford's defense is just as strong as the Wolverines, which puts the pressure on erratic freshman QB Seth Collins who has completed only 54% of his throws this year for a mere 5.2 YPA, 4 TD and 1 INT.

His favorite target is sophomore WR Jordan Villamin (10 rec, 141 yds, 2 TD) who caught a team-high five passes for 45 yards in the loss to Stanford last year. The one thing the 6-foot-3 Collins does very well is run the football, and he galloped for 114 yards (7.1 YPC) and 2 TD last week. This mobility will be key against a stout Cardinal run-stop unit holding opponents to 3.7 YPC.

But Oregon State has run for 214 YPG on a solid 4.8 YPC thanks in large part to senior RB Storm Barrs-Woods (227 rush yds, 6.5 YPC), who rumbled for 151 yards on 17 carries (8.9 YPC) last week. Barrs-Woods did not play against Stanford last year, but gained only 21 yards on eight carries when he faced this Pac-12 foe two seasons ago.

Oregon State's defense has not played particularly well over the past two games, allowing 56 points and 329 rushing yards. But it's not all bad for this unit that has yet to allow more than 180 passing yards in a game and has forced five turnovers in three contests. If the Beavers can come up with a couple of takeaways like Northwestern did to Stanford, this could be a very tight ball game.

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Friday's Tip Sheet

September 23, 2015


**Boise State at Virginia**

-- As of early Wednesday, most betting shops had Boise State (2-1 straight up, 1-2 against the spread) installed as a 2.5-point favorite. The total was 49.5 points.

-- Bryan Harsin's club will make the long venture to Charlottesville to take on Virginia without its starting quarterback. Ryan Finley sustained a broken bone in his right ankle in last Friday's 52-0 win over Idaho State as a 27.5-point home favorite. Finley, who will miss the next eight weeks, had completed 46-of-70 passes (65.7%) for 485 yards with a 1/4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Harsin played two QBs after Finley was injured and plans to employ a two-QB system again Friday.

-- Brett Rypien, a true freshman who left high school early for spring practice last year, connected on 8-of-9 passes for 126 yards in his collegiate debut. He is the nephew of Mark Rypien, the former NFL QB who had his best days with the Washington Redskins. Also, Tommy Stuart will play at UVA. He has completed 9-of-13 passes for 69 yards and one TD without an interception.

-- BSU is led in rushing by sophomore Jeremy McNichols, who has 204 yards and seven TDs on 54 carries. Senior WR Shane Williams-Rhodes has a team-best 18 receptions for 173 yards.

-- Finley isn't the only injury BSU is coping with going into Week 4. Junior DE Gabe Perez went down with a season-ending shoulder injury last week. Perez finished 2014 with 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

-- BSU owns a 3-3 spread record in six games as a road favorite on Harsin's watch. Going back to 2005, the Broncos are 30-19 ATS as road 'chalk.'

-- Virginia (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS) has covered the number in five consecutive games as a home underdog, including its Week 2 loss to Notre Dame by a 34-27 count as a 13.5-point puppy. However, the Cavaliers are just 8-8-1 ATS in 17 games as home 'dogs during Mike London's six-year tenure.

-- After nearly knocking off Notre Dame in Week 2, Virginia failed to cover the spread in a 35-29 win over William & Mary as a 22-point home favorite this past Saturday. Matt Johns completed 17-of-23 passes for 263 yards and three TDs, but he was intercepted twice. Junior RB Taquan Mizzell produced 202 all-purpose yards on 12 'touches' (five carries, five catches and two KO returns), including an 80-yard TD reception.

-- Johns has connected on 66.7 percent of his passes for 790 yards with a 6/3 TD-INT ratio. Mizzell has rushed for a team-high 155 yards and also has 17 catches for 233 yards and a pair of TDs. Canaan Severin is Johns's favorite target, hauling in 19 receptions for 264 yards and one TD.

-- The 'over' is 2-1 overall for UVA this year, 2-0 in its home outings. The Cavs have seen their games average a combined score of 58.3 points per game.

-- The 'under' is 2-1 overall for BSU, but the 'over' cashed in its lone road assignment.

-- This is the first meeting between these schools. UVA will make a return trip to face the Broncos on the smurf turf in 2017.

-- Boise State has made the trip into the Eastern time zone six times in the last five years, producing a 4-2 SU record and a 5-1 ATS mark. The Broncos beat a pair of ranked foes in Va. Tech (No. 10 in D.C.) and Georgia (No. 19 at Ga. Dome in the ATL), in addition to covering double-digit numbers at Toledo and UConn. They lost but covered at Michigan State in the 2012 season opener. In last year's lid-lifter, they lost 35-13 to Ole Miss at the Ga. Dome in a game they trailed just 7-6 going into the four quarter.

-- Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

**Stanford at Oregon State **

-- As of early Wednesday, most spots had Stanford (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) favored by 15.5. With the uncertain status of QB Kevin Hogan, who is considered 'questionable' (leg) and will likely be a game-time decision, there was no total yet.

-- During David Shaw's five-year tenure, Stanford owns an 11-8 spread record in 19 games as a road favorite.

-- After pulling a no-show in a 16-6 season-opening loss at Northwestern, Stanford has responded with back-to-back wins vs. UCF (31-7) and at Southern Cal (41-31). The Cardinal was a double-digit underdog last week for only the third time on Shaw's watch. Like the two previous such spots (at top-ranked Oregon as a 20.5-point 'dog in 2012 and vs. Oregon as a 10.5-point puppy in '13), Shaw's team won outright as a 10-point underdog, improving to 6-1-1 ATS as a 'dog since 2011.

-- Hogan was the catalyst at The Coliseum last week, completing 18-of-23 passes for 279 yards and two TDs without an interception. Christian McCaffrey carried the load on the ground, rushing 26 times for 115 yards. Remound Wright did the heavy lifting in the red zone, rushing for 41 yards and three scores on 11 carries.

-- Oregon State (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) captured a 35-21 win over San Jose State as a six-point home favorite last weekend. The 56 combined points jumped 'over' the 50-point total. The Beavers trailed 21-14 at intermission, but they outscored the Spartans 21-0 in the third quarter. Seth Collins, the true freshman signal caller, ran 16 times for 114 yards and two TDs. He also connected on 13-of-25 throws for 135 yards with one TD and an interception. Storm Woods rushed for 151 yards and one TD on 17 carries.

-- Collins has completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 306 yards with an excellent 4/1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has rushed for a team-high 294 yards and two TDs on 44 totes, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Woods has rushed 35 times for 227 yards and one TD, averaging 6.5 YPC.

-- Oregon State opened the season with a 26-7 non-covering home win over Weber State In Week 2, the Beavers lost 35-7 at Michigan.

-- Stanford has won five in a row both SU and ATS over Oregon State , including a 38-14 triumph as a 12-point home 'chalk' last season. Hogan threw for 277 yards and two TDs, but he was also intercepted twice.

-- The 'under' is 2-1 overall for OSU, 1-1 in its home games. The 'under' is also 2-1 for Stanford, 1-0 its lone road outing.

-- Fox Sports 1 will have the telecast at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

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Stanford a big challenge for Beavers

September 24, 2015

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Even if Stanford doesn't have Kevin Hogan, Oregon State still faces a considerable challenge in the No. 21 Cardinal on Friday night.

Hogan injured his left ankle in Stanford's upset victory over USC last weekend and he's likely a game-time decision against the Beavers.

He shouldn't be counted out. Hurt in the second half against the Trojans, he gritted out the win. The senior quarterback completed 18 of 23 passes for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns, earning Pac-12 offensive player of the week honors.

Oregon State coach Gary Andersen admired Hogan's toughness in the victory, adding that he fully expects him to play on Friday night.

''He's a well-rounded, experienced guy with some very talented kids around him. He's in tremendous command of that offense, also,'' Andersen said. ''There's not a lot of things he hasn't seen and there's not a lot of offense that's gonna be called where he's not going to be very comfortable, obviously, producing.''

Hogan is now tied for fourth in school history at 53 career touchdown passes, joining some illustrious company. Andrew Luck is the Cardinal all-time leader with 82, breaking John Elway's mark of 77.

The Beavers, in the first season under Andersen, have freshman Seth Collins at quarterback.

Collins threw for 135 yards and a score in Oregon State's 35-21 victory over San Jose State last weekend. But he did the most damage with his feet, running for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Collins is the sixth-ranked rusher in the Pac-12 with an average of 98 yards a game.

''Another quarterback in our league who is tough to prepare for. He does so many things. He can make throws,'' Stanford coach David Shaw said. ''They are still growing as an offense. They give you a variety of looks. They keep you on your toes.''

Some other things to know when the Cardinal (2-1) visit the Beavers (2-1) at Reser Stadium:

HISTORY: Stanford leads the all-time series 53-25-3 and has won the last five straight and six of the last seven. On a side note, Hogan made his first-ever start for Stanford against the Beavers in 2012, passing for 254 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-23 comeback win.

THE BACKUPS: Waiting in the wings at quarterback for Stanford are Ryan Burns and Keller Chryst, the son of San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Geep Chryst. Burns appeared in two games last year and completed his only pass attempt, while Chryst played in one game and completed a pass for 20 yards.

''I have no idea if Kevin will play or not but I feel confident with the No. 2 and No. 3 string guys,'' Cardinal sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey said. ''You always prepare like you're a starter.''

FAMILY TIES: Stanford sophomore linebacker Joey Alfieri's parents attended Oregon State. Father Phil was a four-year lettermen as a defensive end for the Beavers (1983-88) and mother Kelly (1984-88) still owns the fifth-fastest 400 hurdles time in school history.

UPSET-MINDED: The Beavers have been known to pull off big upsets at home, dating back to the 1967 Giant Killers who took down the top-ranked, O.J. Simpson-led Trojans. In the Mike Riley era, the Beavers upset third-ranked USC in 2006, then beat the top-ranked Trojans again in 2008. In 2012, Oregon State beat No. 13 Wisconsin 10-7 at home, and last year the Beavers knocked off No. 7 Arizona State 35-27 at Reser.

QUOTABLE: ''We haven't earned the right to be overconfident. We've only played one good game from start to finish. We have to back that up with another good football game on the road in a raucous environment. It's not going to be a cake walk. Every game we've played up there has been tight and decided late.'' -- Stanford coach David Shaw.

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BYU thrives in late-game situations

September 24, 2015

PROVO, Utah (AP) BYU running backs coach Mark Atuaia remembers a staff meeting shortly after he was hired that focused on having a resilient team filled with a certain type of player. Three years later, that focus seems to be paying dividends.

No. 22 BYU moved into the rankings by beating Nebraska and then-No. 20 Boise State with last-minute, come-from-behind efforts. The Cougars (2-1) lost to No. 9 UCLA 24-23 last week, but not before driving into Bruins territory late in the game and having an interception end a comeback bid.

Trailing late in the fourth quarter has become no big deal for this BYU team.

''Grit is what Bronco (Mendenhall) refers to it as,'' Atuaia said. ''And so that's been the gist of what we've done for the last three years together as a group - building that so when that times come (we're ready).

''Last year, man, we've been on the opposite end with Central Florida and Memphis, where we lost really close games. ... Got close last year. Now, of the last three games we came out on top twice. It's been the structure we've been going through for the last three years.''

Part of that has been teaching and emphasizing the need to finish games strong. Another part has been recruiting players with that kind of mindset. Coaches try to instill that mentality, but it helps to have that already.

''We're trying to find those kids on the front end, the resilient ones,'' Atuaia said. ''We've targeted those kids that have really good character and they show that grit. If they have a job or come from disadvantaged backgrounds, what type of kids are they? Are they still, regardless of their circumstances, trying to find the better avenue to go? Those kinds of kids, we sell the farm for them in recruiting.''

Receiver Terenn Houk credits offensive coordinator Robert Anae for keeping the offense energized and confident. Running back Adam Hine said you can feel it on the sideline - a belief that, regardless of the time on the clock, they can score.

And everyone points to freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum, who was three months off a two-year Mormon mission to Chile when he was called on to replace the injured Taysom Hill against Nebraska in the season opener and completed a 42-yard touchdown pass with no time remaining to win the game. Mendenhall called him ''poised beyond his experience.''

''He's a playmaker,'' said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, whose Wolverines host BYU on Saturday. ''He's been in there with no shyness whatsoever. Already been in big situations and prevailed. Sometimes it takes years before something like that happens, but he's already been through it. So he's already been battle-tested and won in those situations. Impressive.''

Mangum said their confidence has just continued to build, but teammates said they gain that determination from the quarterback. He's naturally easygoing and always has a smile on his face. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder has all the physical attributes teams look for in a quarterback, but his mettle has set him apart.

''You want to have confidence as much as possible, but when you're looking at the score and maybe the time of game and you're like, `Man, how are we going to do this?''' Houk said. ''But then you have a guy like Tanner, who just like Taysom, will look you in the eye and just reassure you that we're going to get this done. It's an awesome feeling.''

The bottom line is the Cougars are simply confident in adverse situations. Some of that is just who they are. Some has been coached into them over the years. Part of it is that they've exceeded expectations against nationally respected programs.

Anae acknowledged what they've done, but didn't want to start patting guys on the back. He's still upset BYU couldn't finish UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

''That's what confidence is, building on past success,'' Anae said. ''It grew because last year we had two overtime losses and a couple close ones. It has grown from that. We have improved in that regard. That kind of stuff is an earned quality. It's an internal dynamic that's earned among themselves. Some of that, coaches can facilitate. The majority of that is who the dudes are in the locker room. I just think that's who they are.''

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Virginia, Boise State meet for 1st time

September 24, 2015

The last game of Virginia's challenging September schedule is Friday night when Boise State comes to Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers beat William & Mary last week and hope that gives them something to build on.

The 35-29 triumph over the Tribe wasn't all that pretty. But it was secured with a defensive stand in the final minutes, something coach Mike London's team failed to do in a crushing loss to No. 6 Notre Dame a week earlier.

Virginia (1-2) led until the Fighting Irish completed a 39-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds to play.

''Finishing and winning a football game, very, very important,'' London said. ''But now wanting more.''

Boise State (2-1) knows all about crushing losses. The Broncos led BYU 24-21 until the Cougars completed a 35-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds to play. An interception return touchdown followed in a 35-24 loss.

The Broncos also are coming east without starting quarterback Ryan Finley, who broke a bone in his foot last week. Coach Bryan Harsin plans to use two quarterbacks: freshman Brett Rypien and sophomore Thomas Stuart.

Rypien is a classic drop-back passer; Stuart is more of a dual threat. Harsin was pleased with how each performed last week after Finley got hurt. Stuart completed 9 of 13 passes for 69 yards and added another 46 yards on the ground, and Rypien was 8 of 9 for 126 yards and led four scoring drives in a 52-0 win against Idaho State.

Their contrasting styles may cause Harsin to tinker with the offense, he said.

''We're not going to go with two different offenses,'' Harsin said, ''but we may have some packages in there that complement one guy more. We really didn't have that the last game. We had the Finley package.''

The Broncos' offense typically looks a lot like what Virginia tries to do, Harsin said.

''The nice thing about that is our defense gets a chance to see it. The difficult thing is we also think what we do is difficult to prepare for,'' he said.

Some things to watch when Boise State plays at Virginia:

RYPIEN'S TURN: While Harsin has made clear he plans a two-quarterback system going forward, it's clear that when the Broncos want to run more traditional offense, it'll be Rypien under center. Last week he played the second half and became the first true freshman to play quarterback for the Broncos since Tony Hilde in 1993.

RELYING ON THE RUN: With questions at quarterback, the Broncos could use another big game from their stable of running backs. Boise State scored six touchdowns rushing against Idaho State and 10 of its 12 TDs on the season have come on the ground. Jeremy McNichols already has seven touchdowns rushing. While he's not putting up huge yards per game on the ground, he's filling the scoring production lost when Jay Ajayi left after last season.

THORPE FACTOR: Virginia expected wide receiver T.J. Thorpe to be a major playmaker heading into the season. That plan was disrupted when Thorpe broke his clavicle before the season. Thorpe was expected to be out up to 10 weeks, but he returned last week and saw limited action in the victory against William & Mary.

''Having him back is just a huge deal, and I can't wait to play with him,'' quarterback Matt Johns said.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: Virginia is playing its eighth night game under coach Mike London and is 5-2 in the first seven. The Cavaliers are 34-16-1 in night games overall. Boise State will be playing an ACC school for just the third time. The Broncos lost to Boston College in 2005 and beat Virginia Tech in 2010.

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Big Ten Report - Week 4

September 23, 2015


Western Michigan at Ohio State (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Buckeyes (-31)
Opening Line: Buckeyes (-27)

OSU’s offense is in a rut right now. After racking up 45 PPG on 512 YPG a year ago, they are averaging 33 PPG on “just” 411 YPG. Both of those marks for this year rank them out of the top 30 nationally and the scoring numbers include 2 defensive TD’s. After struggling with Northern Illinois last week head coach Urban Meyer said he doesn’t know who he’ll start at QB but neither Jones nor Barrett are playing well right now. With 4 skill players that are all Heisman type candidates, what could possibly be the problem? Possibly the departure of OC Tom Herman who is now the head coach at Houston. He was a fantastic play caller and had a knack for putting his talented players in a position to do well. Look what he’s doing at Houston. The Cougs are averaging 43 PPG on 541 YPG including an upset win at Louisville. New OC Ed Warriner has helped Herman the last few years but his experience as “the man” calling the plays is limited to two years with Army in the 1998 & 1999 and two years with Kansas in 2007 & 2008.

Western Michigan is one of the MAC favorites along with last week’s opponent Northern Illinois. The Broncos have an experienced & talented offense that hung with Michigan State a few weeks ago (lost by 13) so they might give the Bucks some problems if they don’t figure out their offensive struggles this week.

Hawaii at Wisconsin (Big Ten, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Badgers (-25)
Opening Line: Badgers (-27)

We saw Wisconsin open -27 here and drop quickly. Wisconsin struggled a bit offensively last week against Troy. The Badgers started the game simply trying to enforce their will on Troy and pound them at the line of scrimmage running the ball. With a fairly inexperienced OLine and top RB Corey Clement out, they will struggle to operate their offense in that manner this year. At least until Clement returns and their offensive front starts coming together. Clement’s back-ups are nowhere near his level right now. In fact, their starter at tailback right now is Dare Ogunbowale and he is a walk on. After having to punt on 3 of their first 4 drives, head coach Paul Chryst opened up the passing attack and QB Stave looked very good again (13 of 17 for 202 yards and a TD). Once he did that, Wisconsin scored TD’s on 3 of their next 5 drives. Unless Clement is absolutely set at 100%, we doubt he’ll see action again this week vs Hawaii as the Badgers open Big Ten play the following week vs Iowa. They will need Clement for that one.

The Rainbows are 1-2 on the year but their defense has really impressed us. In their first two games vs Colorado & Ohio State they limited those opponents to just 4.2 and 4.6 yards per play respectively. Last week they seemed to let down a bit defensively allowing Cal Davis to score 27 points on 5.6 YPP, but their first two outings were ones to make note of. Offensively Hawaii has struggled. They did score 47 last week vs UC Davis but averaged just 14 PPG in their first 2 games. That might be a problem on Saturday against a Wisconsin defense that has allowed just 3 total points over their last 2 games. The Bows are 1-18 SU on the road in head coach Norm Chow’s tenure.

BYU at Michigan (ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Wolverines (-5.5)
Opening Line: Wolverines (-4.5)

Our question with this matchup is what will BYU have left in the tank? They’ve already played the 3rd most difficult schedule to date according to Jeff Sagarin and that’s BEFORE they travel to Michigan on Saturday. They opened the season with the infamous hail-mary win at Nebraska then came home and basically beat Boise in a similar way. Then last week they traveled to UCLA and had the Bruins on the ropes. The Bruins first lead of the game came with just over 3:00 remaining when they scored a TD to take a 24-23 lead. BYU was driving in UCLA territory for a potential game winning FG attempt when their young QB Tanner Mangum threw an interception ending the game. The Cougs outgained UCLA by a few yards in the game, however they also ran a whopping 89 plays to just 61 for UCLA. Now they have to travel again this Saturday which will be their 3rd time in 4 weeks.

Michigan’s offense has been somewhat pedestrian but their defense has been outstanding. The Wolves currently rank 87th in total offense putting up 379 YPG but they are 7th in total defense allowing just 236 YPG. The Michigan defense has allowed only 4 offensive TD’s in 3 games. After struggling to run the ball against Utah in their season opener, Michigan has made a concerted effort to pound their last two opponents on the ground with 87 rushing attempts in those two games combined. We’ll see if that continues on Saturday against a BYU defense that was really good stopping the run in their first two games before UCLA lit them up for 296 yards rushing on 7.8 YPC last week.

Central Michigan at Michigan State (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Spartans (-27)
Opening Line: Spartans (-29)

Sparty struggled a bit with Air Force last week as we expected. We were on AF at +26 early in the week and the game played out almost as we envisioned. MSU was obviously flat off their epic home win over Oregon a week earlier and it showed. If it wasn’t for a Spartan pick 6 in the first half with BYU driving along with 3 total turnovers by the Falcons, this game could have been tight down the stretch. The Falcons actually outgained MSU by 104 total yards and dominated on the ground rolling up 279 yards rushing to only 77 for the Green & White. For the game AF averaged 7.1 per offensive play while MSU averaged only 4.9. Air Force lost by just 2 TD’s in a game that should have been much closer and a strong case could be made that AF could have and should have come out on top if not for the turnover disparity. Despite the poor offensive showing, Michigan State still managed to put up 30+ points and that was the 12th time in the last 13 games they’ve done that. Defensively they look a bit down from prior editions as 2 of their first 3 opponents have put up 400+ yards on them. The only one that didn’t was Western Michigan and they had 383.

Central Michigan has already played two Power 5 opponents and showed themselves well losing to Oklahoma State 24-13 and Syracuse 30-27 (in OT). The Chippewas dominated the stats last week vs Syracuse with a big edge in first downs (30 to 11), total yardage (520 to 326), total offensive plays (91 to 47), and a 2 to 1 time of possession advantage. The Orange did lose their QB to an injury in the 2nd quarter and he did not return. He was their back up as they had already lost their starter for the year so Cuse was down to their 3rd stringer. Even despite all of that, CMU came up short in OT.

Southern Miss at Nebraska (ESPN News, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Cornhuskers (-22)
Opening Line: Cornhuskers (-23.5)

We had USM pegged as one of the more improved teams coming into this year and we were dead on. Despite their 3-9 record in 2014, they were competitive in a number of games and they brought back one of the more experienced offenses in Conference USA. After playing Mississippi State very tough in week 1, the Golden Eagles have won each of their last 2 games. They were at Texas State last week and won in a shootout 56-50. Since playing a competitive game vs Miss St, the Eagles have rolled up 108 points and 1,127 yards in their last 2.

It will interesting to see Nebraska’s mental state coming into this one. They’ve been through a full season worth of emotion in just a few weeks. They opened the year with their hail-mary loss to BYU and then came from way behind last week at Miami, FL to tie it late only to lose in OT. They could go two ways this weekend. They could be spent and come out flat or rally behind new coach Mike Riley and come out with an “us against the world” mentality on Saturday. The latter would be tough with what they’ve been through so far and with the Big Ten slate starting next week. While the offense has been solid, the defense which was torched at the end of last year continues to struggle. They rank 94th in total defense giving up 451 YPG on 6.1 YPP. The only team in the Big Ten that is worse than the Huskers in those 2 categories is Indiana. Now they face an offense that is experienced (9 upperclassmen starters) and seems to be clicking. If Nebraska doesn’t come to play they could be in for a fight here.

San Diego State at Penn State (Big Ten, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Nittany Lions (-15)
Opening Line: Nittany Lions (-10)

The key question here for us is has the Penn State offense (& offensive line) started to figure it out or was it the competition? After looking atrocious in their first game vs Temple (3.4 YPP) they have looked better the last 2 weeks. They put up 4.9 YPP on a retooled Buffalo defense working under a new coach. That same Buffalo defense was ripped for 490 yards at FAU last weekend. The Nits game last week was impressive as they rolled the Rutgers defense for 7.8 YPP including 330 yards rushing. Albeit a Rutgers program in a bit of disarray with their coach and a number of key players suspended. After allowing QB Hackenberg to get sacked 10 times in their opener vs Temple, they have kept him upright the last two games with zero sacks allowed.

They host a struggling San Diego State team this Saturday. After beating FCS San Diego in week 1, the Aztecs were trounced at Cal and then followed that up with an OT loss at home last week to South Alabama. That’s the same South Alabama team that was crushed at Nebraska 48-9 just one week earlier. Last week’s loss for San Diego State was no fluke as they were outgained 511 to 305 by a South Alabama team that was in their 2nd of back to back long road trips. PSU’s offense may look better again this week but with games vs Army and Indiana the two weeks following, we may not know if they’ve really improved until mid-October.

Bowling Green at Purdue (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Falcons (-1.5)
Opening Line: Boilermakers (-2.5)

This one opened with Purdue as a 2.5 point favorite and quickly swung to Bowling Green as the road chalk. The Falcons are wading in unchartered waters here as they have NEVER been favored one the road vs a Big Ten team. In fact, the only Power 5 team they have visited and been favored was Kansas back in 2002. The Boilers, on the flip side, have only been a home dog to a MAC team twice since 1980. They were a 4-point dog to Northern Illinois in 2013 & a 16-point dog to Ball State in 2010. How did they fare in those two games? They were blown out by NIU but upset Ball State. The Boilers sit at 1-2 and they really need this win or they might be staring 1-6 in the face. After this game Purdue plays at Michigan State, home vs Minnesota, and at Wisconsin. Purdue looked solid (minus the turnovers) in their week 1 game at Marshall, a game they should have won. They followed that up with an easy win vs Indiana State and then last week they hit a wall called Virginia Tech. The Hokies rolled to a 51-24 win but 14 of their points came on a blocked punt & a fumble return. Miscues have been a huge problem for PU as they’ve turned the ball over 9 times in 3 games. Because of that, starting QB Appleby will take a seat this Saturday in favor of freshman David Blough. It’s the third straight year that head coach Darrell Hazel has changed starting QB’s in either September or October.

Bowling Green has played a very tough slate losing at Tennessee, winning big at Maryland, and then losing a tight one to Memphis in their home opener last weekend. This team can score. Despite playing a fairly tough schedule, they are averaging 40 PPG on 609 YPG. The only team that is averaging more yards per game than BG is Baylor. Purdue’s new QB better be able to put points on the board on Saturday.

Kansas at Rutgers (Big Ten, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Scarlet Knights (-12.5)
Opening Line: Scarlet Knights (-13)

Wow what a stinker this game is. Rutgers has half their team and their coach suspended (not quite that bad but bad enough) and Kansas looks like they have no chance to exceed their year win total of 1.5. The Knights mental state has to be shot. At least that’s what it looked like last week when a very average (probably below average) Penn State offense rolled them for 330 yards on the ground and 7.8 YPP. That’s a PSU offense that hadn’t topped 5 YPP in either of their first two games. Are the Jayhawks a team that can take advantage of the chaos that is going on in Piscataway? Probably not. Kansas is already 0-2 with home losses to South Dakota State & Memphis. They’ve given up 96 points in those two games along with 1,114 yards. Yes that is in just two games!

Coming into the season, Kansas returned just 91 total career starts on their entire team and 12 players started their first game ever when they faced South Dakota State. Now those inexperienced players are making their first road start. The positive is that KU has had two weeks to get ready for this game with a bye last week. Kansas has lost 30 STRAIGHT road games and they are just 7-23 ATS in those games. These teams have combined to play 5 games this season and the only win came against Norfolk State. That tells you enough about this match up.

Indiana at Wake Forest (ESPN3, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Hoosiers (-3.5)
Opening Line: Hoosiers (-3.5)

WF QB Wolford left early in the game last week at Army with an injured ankle and is doubtful here. His replacement, freshman Kendall Hinton, was impressive with 101 yards rushing and 159 yards passing in the 17-14 road win. Wake overcame a 3 to 0 turnover deficit to win the game. Both of Army’s TD’s came after Wake turnovers including a 1-play 9-yard drive for one of them. Wake is definitely a vastly improved team under 2nd year coach Dave Clawson (came over from Bowling Green). They were 3-9 last year and they already have 2 wins this season. Their only loss was at Syracuse, a game in which they outgained the Orange 419 to 370. You might not look at Wake’s rushing attack and think much as they are averaging 108 YPG on the ground. However, that’s a drastic improvement from last year when they finished dead last in the NCAA averaging only 34 YPG on the ground!

IU’s concern continues to be their porous defense. The Hoosiers are dead last in the Big Ten allowing 544 YPG on 7.1 YPP. Not only are the 14th in total defense in the conference, the 13th team (Nebraska) is nearly a full 100 yards better than the Hoosier defense. Despite that, IU is now 3-0 and with a win at Wake they would be 4-0 for the first time in 25 years. Indiana came from behind last week to knock off Western Kentucky 38-35. They were down 28-17 at half but picked off WKU QB Doughty and consecutive snaps and both led to Indiana TD’s. The Hoosiers, however, are “this close” to being 0-3 as they beat Southern Illinois by a single point, came from behind in the 4th quarter to beat FIU, and then overcame a double digit halftime deficit last week.

Maryland at West Virginia (FS1, 3:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Mountaineers (-17)
Opening Line: Mountaineers (-17)

WVU has dominated this rivalry as of late winning 8 of the last 9 outright. Despite this being a big rivalry, the outcomes have been lopsided with the winner topping the loser by double digits in 17 of the last 20 meetings. The Mountaineers have outscored their two opponents 85-17 but have yet to be tested (Georgia Southern & Liberty). The Neers have had two weeks to get ready for this game after having a bye last week. Maryland will be making their first road trip after beating Richmond & South Florida at home while losing to Bowling Green. In their lone loss to BG, the game was tied at 27 with under 10:00 remaining in the game but the Falcons exploded 3 TD’s from that point on walking to a 48-27 win. The Terps most dangerous weapon might just be punt returner William Likely. He already has 2 punt returns for TD’s and is averaging almost 29 yards per return.

Maryland head coach Randy Edsall switched QB’s in their most recent game giving then back up Caleb Rowe the first start of his career replacing a benched Perry Hills. Rowe put up solid stats in their 35-17 win over USF, however he has shown to be turnover prone already throwing 5 interceptions this year in just 37 pass attempts. The West Virginia defense, who has already picked off 4 passes in two games, will try and take advantage of that on Saturday.

North Texas at Iowa (ESPNU, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Hawkeyes (-24.5)
Opening Line: Hawkeyes (-26.5)

This line opened initially at Iowa -26.5 but has come crashing down two full points to -24.5. This is a tough spot for the Hawkeyes as they are off a huge last second win over Pitt after beating rival Iowa State the week before and they travel to Wisconsin next week. Last week they topped the Panthers 27-24 on a 57-yard field goal as time ran out. The Hawks came out of the physical match up a little banged up. QB CJ Beathard took 13 direct hits from the blitz happy Panthers but came out of it just a little sore. RB LeShun Daniels has a bad ankle and is not 100%. Daniels and top defensive end Drew Ott (elbow injury) only practiced twice this week and they could be held out this Saturday. North Texas coach Dan McCarney was an assistant at Iowa back in the 80’s. He’s very familiar with the program and he and Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz are good friends.

The Mean Green are 0-2 on the year with losses to fellow Texans SMU & Rice. McCarney was pleased with the big improvement offensively from game 1 to game 2. The offense put up just 240 yards in their opening loss to SMU but then more than doubled that total to 478 yards last week vs Rice. UNT was outgained by 200 yards vs SMU and cut that to just 80 yards vs Rice. The problem has been turnovers. The Green have a whopping 7 turnovers in their two games. The defense is a work in progress after losing 6 starters including 2 all conference players from last year. They are allowing 34.5 PPG after two contests. They rank dead last in the NCAA in 3rd down defense allowing opponents to covert on almost 62% of their 3rd downs. The only Big Ten team that UNT has played since 2000 is Indiana. They lost 49-28 at IU last year and actually beat the Hoosiers 24-21 back in 2011.

Middle Tennessee State at Illinois (ESPN News, 4:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Fighting Illini (-6.5)
Opening Line: Fighting Illini (-7)

One of the top scoring offenses in the nation comes to Champaign this weekend. MTSU is 2-1 on the season and they’ve scored at least 70 points in two of those games (averaging 51 PPG)! However, those games were against Jackson State (FCS) & Charlotte (first year in FBS). Their game sandwiched between those two blowout wins was a trip to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. The Raiders only scored 10 points in that game and lost 37-10. Their lone TD in that game came with just 6:00 minutes remaining. Their offensive success is not surprising as they return most of their key players from a team that put up 31 PPG and 431 YPG last year.

After ripping their first two opponents, the Illini came back to earth a bit last week as they were whipped 48-14 at North Carolina. The Illini defense had allowed only 3 points total in their first two games (Kent & Western Illinois) before getting shredded for 471 yards on 7.5 YPPG last week. Illinois actually should have had a better showing on offense (just 14 points) as they missed a few FG and blew some opportunities in UNC territory. They did put up 399 yards. Illini head coach Bill Cubit and MTSU coach Rick Stockstill have been friends for 30 years as they were on the same staff at UCF back in 80’s. The Blue Raiders traveled to Big Ten country last year facing Minnesota in Minneapolis. MTSU definitely held their own losing 35-24 but outgained the Gophs by nearly 100 yards.

Ohio at Minnesota (Big Ten, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Golden Gophers (-10.5)
Opening Line: Golden Gophers (-13)

The Gopher offense has really been struggling early in the year. They have scored a total of only 50 points in three games (16.7 PPG) ranking them dead last in the Big Ten and 123rd nationally in that category. Starting QB Mitch Leidner has been shaky completing only 46% of his passes this season. It got to a point in last week’s 10-7 squeaker over Kent, the Gophs had true freshman QB Demry Croft warming up and ready to replace Leidner. Head coach Jerry Kill stuck with Leidner but has been non-committal on the QB topic this week. On top of that, they are only averaging 142 YPG on the ground (13th in the Big Ten) after averaging 215 YPG a year ago. RB David Cobb moving onto the NFL has really been magnified so far with this team. To put their 10-7 win vs Kent into perspective – that same Kent team lost 52-3 to Illinois in their season opener and the Flashes have been outscored 268-6 in their previous 6 games vs Big Ten teams!

Ohio brings an impressive 3-0 record into Minnesota on Saturday. The problem is, it’s still hard to tell how good they might be. They beat a terrible Idaho team to open the season. Their second game they played host to rival Marshall in a huge revenge game and they scored a TD very late to extend the margin in a tight game and get by with a 21-10 win. Last week they pounded SE Louisiana. The Bobcats do have a talented and experienced offense including a solid QB Vick so Minnesota better be on their game here and not peaking ahead to next week’s game at Northwestern.

Ball State at Northwestern (Big Ten, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Current Line: Wildcats (-19.5)
Opening Line: Wildcats (-19)

The Wildcats have probably been the surprise of the Big Ten thus far. Not that we didn’t expect them to be solid, but there aren’t a lot of people that saw them at 3-0 having to play Stanford and at Duke early in the year. Defense is obviously leading the way for the Cats. They currently rank 6th nationally in total defense allowing only 235 YPG. They allowed only 6 points to Stanford and just 10 to Duke. To give you an idea of how good that is, Stanford went onto score 31 points the following week vs UCF and then 41 points last Saturday vs USC. Duke scored 55 & 37 points in their other two games. NW has allowed only 1 TD in three games this year. Now their offense is far from explosive ranking 97th (365 YPG) but they won’t need to be with the defense they have in place.

Ball State comes in at 2-1 beating two cupcakes (VMI & Eastern Michigan) while getting whipped at Texas A&M 56-23. In that game the Aggies had 3 offensive possessions in the first quarter and scored TD’s on all 3 to go along with a pick 6 to lead 28-3 at the end of the first quarter. It was 49-3 at half. One positive for Ball State, they did rush for 230 yards vs A&M and they are averaging 246 YPG rushing on the season. Last week the Cards got down 17-0 to a marginal EMU team but stormed back for a 28-17 win. They are led by a freshman QB Riley Neal who completed 24 of his 28 attempts last week. Northwestern has been a favorite of this magnitude (-17 or higher) just 9 times (vs FBS teams) since 1980. Ball State has actually beaten 2 of their last 3 Big Ten opponents outright but this one will be very tough with a young QB vs a great defense.

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Heisman hopeful Fournette inspires LSU

September 24, 2015

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) The menacing presence that LSU running back Leonard Fournette projects when he topples would-be tacklers is missing as he steps casually into a crowd of reporters.

Relaxed, patient, self-assured and making eye contact, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Fournette offers a friendly smile that seems to say, ''Ask me anything.''

He'll entertain a variety of topics - football, fatherhood or life in general. He'll list among his primary life goals the ability to pay for his now 8-month-old daughter, Lyric, to one day go to college. He'll mention the responsibility he feels to be a role model for younger cousins, or how he keeps up with an old youth football teammate whose father was gunned down during one of their practices in his native New Orleans years ago.

''I don't know how it feels to not have a father or someone to talk to when you're having problems,'' Fournette says. ''So I just try to keep his spirits up and make sure he's all right.''

The questions he tends to deflect are those which would have him to talk about how good of a football player he is.

He's asked that a lot, because he is a Heisman Trophy contender whose combination of speed, agility and brute strength has helped him fill stat sheets with gaudy numbers and supply highlight shows with awe-inspiring scoring runs.

''You can't talk this game,'' Fournette, in his typically succinct manner, says when asked about his aversion to self-promotion. ''You have to play it.''

For Fournette, there also is a measure of credibility at stake. He constantly reinforces to teammates the notion that they deserve credit for much of the praise he gets. So he isn't about to stand in front of a microphone talking about how great he is.

Fournette is more inclined to tout the attributes of fullback J.D. Moore, a former walk-on who is now starting and on scholarship. Moore helps clear lanes through which Fournette gains the speed he needs to lay waste to would-be tacklers.

''His story is spectacular,'' Fournette said about Moore. ''I came in with all the hype, but walk-ons get treated way different. He came from the bottom and I think he deserves everything that's coming to him.''

Ask Fournette to pick a favorite scoring run and he'll come back with: ''No favorite run. I have favorite guys and that's my (offensive) line.''

That's what he said after running for a career-high 228 yards and three TDs on 19 carries against Auburn last week. His scoring runs included a 40-yarder in which he ran over a defensive back and a 27-yarder in which he used a slight duck and quick hitch of his shoulders to send a defender who tried to tackle him high spinning out of bounds.

Fournette, a sophomore, is the kind of star LSU coach Les Miles cherishes because he adds value to his talent by looking after his teammates and motivating them to work harder. He keeps a picture of college football's national championship trophy on his mobile phone as a visual reminder of eighth-ranked LSU's primary goal.

''The thing that makes him special is he's a very humble man,'' Miles said. ''He is a great teammate, leader. He wants to achieve as a group and as a team. His teammates enjoy him and root for him to have the kind of days that he's had.''

LSU safety Dwayne Thomas has known Fournette since both played at New Orleans high schools. He calls Fournette ''the voice of the team now.''

The Tigers have been moved by the way their star running back gives locker-room speeches about teammates who inspire him.

''That shows us that he cares a lot and his leadership is on another level,'' Thomas said. ''Any individual awards he gets, he wants that for the team. He wants to share that with us. He doesn't want to take it home.''

In four seasons at St. Augustine High School, Fournette piled up 7,619 yards and 88 touchdowns rushing while emerging as the nation's top running back recruit.

He says his physical style stems from his preference to initiate contact rather than lose leverage by trying to wriggle away from a would-be tackler. Teammates say he appears to have an uncanny ability to use timing of his stride and the angle of his body to transfer his already formidable strength and energy into a compact point of contact. Sometimes, would-be tacklers bounce off of him with enough force to take out a fellow defensive teammate pursuing the play.

''Blocking for him and seeing it happen on the field, and looking back at it, you're like `How does he do it?''' LSU offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins says. ''It shocks me every time he runs. It's like his own show out there.''

[StarDust Bum]

TCU's decimated defense backed up

September 24, 2015

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) TCU defensive end Josh Carraway sometimes catches himself watching from the sideline when Trevone Boykin is making big plays.

''Sometimes I can't even believe it,'' Carraway said. ''I'm just speechless when they do plays like that. But then I remember, `Oh, they're my teammates, I get to get excited. ... They're on my team.'''

With the TCU defense decimated by injuries and depending on a bunch of younger players around Carraway, there has to be plenty of comfort knowing that the third-ranked Horned Frogs' high-powered offense can pile up the points.

''We've been excited about the amount of points and the amount of yards,'' coach Gary Patterson said. ''You have the offense that you have, and you're trying to grow up a defense that can help match it.''

It would almost certainly be a stretch to say the Frogs (3-0) would have to match their record-setting 82 points to beat Texas Tech (3-0) again this season. But they go into their Big 12 opener Saturday at Lubbock knowing they just might have to win a lot of scoring shootouts to keep their playoff hopes intact.

The Frogs are averaging 599 total yards and 50 points a game.

''We're really just doing what we do. ... We try to score a lot of points,'' Boykin said after the Frogs' 56-37 win over SMU last weekend when he had two spectacular TD passes to Josh Doctson. ''If the defense gives up 55 points and we score 56, then it's all good with me at the end of the day as long as we win.''

TCU has already used 11 first-year starters on defense. That includes both linebackers in the season opener who didn't make it to the second game - Sammy Douglas got hurt against Minnesota and true freshman Mike Freeze took an indefinite leave for personal reasons after being an early enrollee, going through spring practice and earning a starting job.

Senior defensive end James McFarland hasn't played yet after breaking a toe on a sprinkler head. Senior defensive tackle Davion Pierson has been sidelined all season by a concussion and recurring symptoms, though he is expected to make his season debut Saturday.

After senior safety Kenny Iloka suffered season-ending knee injury in the second game, cornerback Ranthony Texada suffered the same fate last week against SMU. Senior defensive end Terrell Lathan sustained an undisclosed injury last Saturday, and he's out as well.

Senior defensive end Mike Tuaua played in the season opener with a partially torn ligament, but has been suspended since allegations by a TCU student that Tuaua and freshman receiver Andre Petties-Wilson stole a case of beer after attacking him and his friends the night after the season opener. The two players were arrested Monday.

Patterson said the only approach can be ''just plug the next guy in'' like he's always tried to do. That means preparing players that might not have expected to play this early, having them ready for special teams and to provide depth on defense.

''I'm not sure I've ever been a part of where you lose so many starters, especially this early,'' Patterson said. ''You've got to be careful about talking about it too much. ... Now we're going into Big 12 play, and you really need to be thinking about Texas Tech, your next opponent, than you need to be thinking about that. There's not anything you can do about the rest of it.''

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