Top Plays 4-0 Friday - Another Sweep Saturday

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Insider Edge Sports - Saturday November 29, 2003 Report

We sweep our Top Plays on Friday going 4-0 +12 units. We follow that up with 4 more Top Plays for Saturday and 8 plays in total. For recaps of plays and our top-notch analysis, visit our page at Procappers.com. We are 46-23 (66.7%) on our Top Plays. All 8 of these winners are yours today for only $14.95 using our One Day Pass. If you aren’t winning, you’ve found the right place to turn things around. Grab our weekend passes to get all of our winners for the next 3 days.

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Free Service Play For Saturday November 29, 2003

Syracuse Orangemen at Rutgers Scarlet Knights 12:00 pm EST

Syracuse –5.5 (2 Units)

The Orangemen become bowl eligible with a win and this is an important one as they face Notre Dame next weekend. Because of the Big East scenario, they most likely will need to won both games to get into the bowl picture. After a strong start, Rutgers has lost 6 of their last 7 games and are assured of a losing season yet again.

As decent as Rutgers is playing, it's not stopping anyone and isn't able to come up with big stops when needed. After giving up 107 points in its last three games, Rutgers could have a hard time with a Syracuse attack that's moving the ball better lately. If R.J. Anderson gets things rolling, Rutgers doesn't have the offensive firepower to mount much of a comeback. The passing game is getting better for Syracuse and because of that, defenses are not able to put 8 in the box to stop the run. Getting the passing game going early will be able to open things up against the Rutgers secondary that's susceptible to the big play, and because of that, life will be much easier for Walter Reyes and the ground attack. Reyes is way overdue for a 100-yard day.

Rutgers is 75th in rushing offense and they are 1-5 on the season when getting outrushed by their opponent. The Orangemen are 49th against the run, allowing 142.9 ypg and 3.8 ypc. Even though they are 1-2 their last 3 games, the defense has stiffened against the run, giving up only 3.0 ypc and 136.7 ypg. Rutgers ranks second in the Big East in passing offense and 41st nationally. Because of their offense, the Orangemen figure to play extra defensive backs at times.

We like the running edge the Orangemen have here and even though Reyes is hurting, he is ok to go and should have a big game. Rutgers is Rutgers and more likely than not, they will find another way to lose.

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For the second straight day, we sweep our Top Plays, going 4-0, bringing our record to 50-23 (68.5%) our last 73 Three Unit plays. If you aren’t with us already, what are you waiting for? We’ll have more for you on Sunday.

Miami Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Panthers 8:00 pm EST

Miami –3 (3 Units)

Even though the Hurricanes are favored, most of the pressure is on Pittsburgh at home. Miami can end up winning the Big East title and get back to another BCS game with one more win. Pittsburgh is looking for at least a share of the Big East title and would most likely end up in a BCS game with a win over the Canes. Miami has been here before and even with a QB who hasn’t done much of late, it’s the defense that will win this one.

The Panthers come in with the 30th ranked total offense in the country while Miami is 4th in total defense. The Hurricanes have moved up to 27th against the run, allowing only 122.4 ypg and 3.4 ypc. The Panthers have gotten a boost in their rushing game with the return of Brandon Miree. Miree rushed 27 times for a career-high 188 yards and scored two touchdowns against Temple last weekend. Of course, Temple hasn’t stopped anyone this season, as they are ranked 103rd in rushing defense. The Panthers will find the going a little tougher Saturday. Antrel Rolle will be matched up against Larry Fitzgerald on Saturday. Rolle is the Hurricanes best cover man on a defense that ranks 2nd in the country, allowing 142.2 ypg. The unit has allowed 6 touchdowns, which is 2nd only to Michigan, while picking off 15 passes. Rolle said he has not allowed any touchdowns in 2003 and gave up only one last year in the opener against Florida A&M. The Canes have not allowed 100 yards or more by a receiver since Penn State's Bryant Johnson caught six passes for 149 yards in Miami's season-opening victory in 2001.

The Hurricanes likely will try to take advantage of Pittsburgh's inability to stop the run. The Panthers have allowed 175 rushing yards per game, which has them ranked next-to-last in the Big East in run stopping. "It's important for us to run the football," coach Larry Coker said. "We're going to challenge our offense along those lines. We do that, it helps our passing game." All of this will need to be done with a made over offensive line. With center Joel Rodriguez breaking his leg last weekend against Rutgers, Chris Myers, a two-year starter at right guard, is being called on to move over one spot. It's likely that senior Joe McGrath will fill in for him at right guard, leaving the rest of the line intact. Myers has worked as the second team center in practice all season. The Miami passing game has been non-existent with only 12 completions the last 2 weeks but a lot of that id due to the success of the running game. Pitt is ranked 56th in the nation against the pass and changes have been made. Tez Morris started of the Panthers first 10 games this season, but the Panthers defense struggled. After Pitt was torched for 52 points and 523 yards in a loss Nov. 15 to West Virginia, the coaches decided to make some changes, and Morris was benched in favor of Corey Humphries for the Temple game last week. Humphries will be making only his second start of the season and sixth in his career.

The Hurricanes defense will get more of a boost as defensive tackles Santonio Thomas (ankle) and Orien Harris (sprained knee), who missed last weekend's game with Rutgers, are expected to be back. On offense, even though Berlin has not shown much, the running game should flourish against the Pitt defense that dropped from 24th in rushing defense last season to87th this year.

Rice Owls at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 3:00 pm EST

Rice +7.5 (3 Units)

For the first time in 30 years, the Rice football team can finish a season with three consecutive victories if it can beat Louisiana Tech. "It's been a tough year, one that didn't start out the way we would have liked," Rice coach Ken Hatfield said. "We had a lot of new faces. We've played hard, and we've been in every game now for five weeks in a row. It's a team that has continued to improve and has played its best football here at the end of the season. Hopefully we can do the same thing this week." He is right since the Owls’ two losses during this 5-game stretch, against Fresno St. and Tulsa (a combined 15-9), have come by a total of 6 points.

Louisiana Tech is 115th in the nation in total defense, but its real problem is against the run giving up almost 200 yards per game. This is a typical Rice team as they are 3rd in the country in rushing offense, averaging 284.4 ypg and 5.2 ypc. The Owls option sets have been working to perfection of late, averaging 317 ypg over their last 3 while the Bulldogs are giving up 230.7 during that same span. Rice also has scored at least 28 points in a school-record five consecutive games. Rice has a plethora of good runners, but none are more fun than Thomas Lott. The sophomore son of Ronnie Lott has been a difference maker in Rice's most recent wins rolling for 128 yards against Nevada, 98 against SMU and 87 against UTEP.

The Bulldogs have had a disappointing season but they have played one of the tougher schedules in the country to their credit. A big win at Michigan St. put them at 2-1 but instead of giving them a confidence boost, it left them with a hangover as they lost their next 2 games and they never got over .500 again. The Bulldogs can’t run the ball well so they will be relying on their passing game that ranks 14th in the country, averaging 288.6 ypg. The number is skewed due to playing catch up most of the time as shown by their ranking of 67th in pass efficiency offense. Rice is 111th in passing defense but a better 87th in pass efficiency defense.

"The last five weeks have been as productive practice-wise as any five since I've been here in 10 years," Rice head coach Ken Hatfield said. "The seniors have provided greater leadership and great attitude in practice and preparation. I think our younger guys are growing up and making plays." The bulldogs won’t have much of a home field advantage. Playing an afternoon game two days after Thanksgiving with the student body home for the holidays is a recipe for attendance disaster. Rice will be able to run at will here and stay within this number with the possibility of the outright win.

UC-Riverside Highlanders at Arizona St. Sun Devils 3:00 pm EST

UC-Riverside +18 (3 Units)

Last year finished off a two-year period of ineligibility for the Big West Tournament for UC-Riverside so they are coming into this season with much more optimism. Even though they dropped their first two games, they are still a very veteran team and they come into this season with their three leading scorers returning. Nate Carter, Vili Morton and Kevin Butler return with Butler leading them with 17 ppg this year. Carter is the other highlander in double figures with 14.5 ppg. Morton is considered one of, if not the best center in the Big West Conference. Arizona St. is 2-0 coming off an mediocre win over Fullerton St. by 7 points on Monday. Despite the plethora of missed Arizona St. free throws, mainly by Ike Diogu and Jason Braxton, the Sun Devils found a way to squeak out a less than impressive victory. The Sun Devils shot only 37.5% from the field, and were an abysmal 59.6% from the charity stripe. Diogu is clearly an NBA talent and with Steve Moore up top, they form a very solid high-low combo. Riverside is predicted to finish either 2nd or 3rd in the Big West this season. Morton was picked as conference Player of the Year by the Sporting News. The Sun Devils seem to be overpriced once again and with the talent that the Highlanders possess, they can keep this one close.

Illinois Illini at Temple Owls 4:00 pm EST

Illinois –3 (3 Units)

Illinois takes to the road for the first time this season after posting 2 lopsided home wins to start the season. Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Dee Brown leads the team in scoring with 20.5 ppg. The three other regular starters are also averaging double figures. The fifth starter, Luther Head, will see his first action against Temple. Head and redshirt-freshman Aaron Spears will be clear to see their first action of the season Saturday after sitting out two exhibition games and the first two games of the regular season due to team rules violations. Bruce Weber is the new coach but he has a solid track record with his days at Southern Illinois and with this much talent, the transition looks to be going smooth. Temple is coming off an embarrassing loss to Villanova in their opener. Part of the problem is that the Owls are young but head coach John Chaney will have them ready for the Illini. The Owls shot an abysmal 19-of-70 from the field (27.1%) against the Wildcats plus they were without the services of starting center Keith Butler. Butler is listed as questionable for Saturday. The Owls feature 3 sophomores and 1 freshman in their starting lineup behind senior David Hawkins. Temple has been to the postseason the last 3 seasons but it wasn’t because of good starts. The Owls are 10-23 after 11 games the last 3 seasons. Saturday’s game is scheduled for The Palestra as the two schools agreed upon off-campus venues for the home-and-home series. It marks the Owls’ first regular season home game in the historic arena since the 1985-86 season. The fans will be there for Temple but it will be a court that neither team is accustomed to so the home court edge won’t be as significant as usual.