Iowa State looks to snap TD drought against Iowa
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
AMES, Iowa (AP) -Former Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer's second-quarter touchdown run gave the Cyclones a 14-3 lead over Iowa back in 2006, and it looked as though Iowa State was set to stun its rival yet again.
Little did anyone know, that would be the last TD the Cyclones would score against the Hawkeyes - in that game or since.
No. 9 Iowa (1-0) hasn't let up a touchdown to Iowa State in 14 quarters, a stretch that's spanned four years and three coaches; Dan McCarney, Gene Chizik and now Paul Rhoads. The Cyclones head back to Kinnick for Saturday's matchup with the Hawkeyes knowing they will need more than field goals to pull off the upset.
``We have to limit our turnovers and obviously, execute,'' Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson said. ``They're a good defense regardless, but especially in the red zone.''
Rhoads knew going into the season that Iowa State (1-0) was going to have to score more than the 20.5 points it averaged a year ago if it was going to have a shot at another bowl game.
The Cyclones still have work to do on offense, but they were productive enough to get by Northern Illinois in the opener.
Iowa State totaled 403 yards of offense in last Thursday night's 27-10 win over the Huskies. But although the Cyclones rushed for three TDs, two by Alexander Robinson and one by quarterback Austen Arnaud, they averaged less than four yards per carry. Nearly half of those yards came on Robinson's 63-yard score early in the second quarter.
Arnaud also had a 53-yard rush for a score called back on a penalty, though, and Rhoads said Monday that Northern Illinois stacked the box in attempt to keep the Cyclones from establishing the run.
``They were going to make us beat them with the passing game, and Austen and the rest of the offense did that,'' Rhoads said.
Arnaud, who spent the offseason tweaking his mechanics in an effort to be more accurate, was certainly on target against the Huskies, completing 27 of 36 passes for 265 yards. But he didn't throw a touchdown pass and had two of his throws picked off - including a brutal misread deep in Northern Illinois territory in the third quarter, when the Cyclones looked poised to bury the Huskies.
It was the kind of throw Arnaud made all too often last season against Iowa, when he tossed four picks in Iowa's 35-3 win in Ames.
``I played terrible,'' Arnaud said of last season's loss. ``It's something that I hope to not do again going into this year, but I can't think about it, let it hang over my head.''
Rhoads was pleased with Arnaud's first effort of this season, although he noted there is still room for improvement with his senior quarterback.
``He threw two bad interceptions, and they were bad decisions on his part and bad balls on his part. But he threw for 75 percent accuracy with 36 thrown balls, which is something he didn't do a year ago,'' Rhoads said. ``He did a great job of executing and running the offense. He did a nice job running the football.''
The Cyclones could find it tough to break their touchdown drought against the Hawkeyes, who return eight starters from a defense that allowed just 15.4 points per game last season and beat Eastern Illinois 37-7 in their opener.
Iowa held the Panthers to just 157 yards, and Eastern Illinois needed a perfectly executed fake punt and long pass play to set up their lone touchdown.
Iowa State did beat Iowa in 2007 without scoring a touchdown, winning 15-13 in Ames on a late field goal. But the Cyclones were outscored 52-8 in the last two meetings between the heated rivals, notching just two field goals and a late safety in a 17-5 loss in 2008.
``They're not a flashy team by their own account. They've got a front four that's as good as any front four in the country,'' Rhoads said. ``There's something to be said for doing something over and repeatedly and doing it really well. That's the University of Iowa.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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