Bulls and Knights meet in Thursday night action

NCAA Football Betting Lines

10/17/2007 - Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a year of upsets, the second-ranked South Florida Bulls will try to avoid one at the hands of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this Thursday, as the two teams do battle in Big East play in Piscataway.

With several more upsets last weekend in what has been a crazy year of college football, the Bulls, in just their 11th season, currently sit second in the BSC rankings released on Sunday. It is quite a feat for a team that had never been ranked prior to this year, and for a program that is in just its seventh season as a full-time member of the now FBS. USF, which is the fastest club in the modern era of college football to go from upstart program to Top 10 in the rankings, is currently undefeated at 6-0 and that is the best start in school history. Last weekend, the Bulls crushed local rival UCF, 64-12, for their eighth win in a row. The eight straight victories ties USF with Boston College and Hawaii for the longest current winning streak at the FBS level. The Bulls have played just one Big East game this season, a 21-13 triumph over nationally-ranked West Virginia back on September 28th.

As for Rutgers, it is one of the few teams that would understand best what USF is going through right now, considering the Knights themselves, set several school records for success in 2006. Rutgers though, has had some trouble living up to last season's success, as it has already suffered two losses. Still, the team has won twice as many games as it has lost, and that includes a 38-14 triumph over Syracuse this past weekend. The win put an end to a two-game slide and improved Rutgers to 1-1 in Big East play.

The Knights and Bulls have split two prior meetings, with each club winning on the road. USF posted a 45-31 victory in Piscataway in 2005, while Rutgers returned the favor with a 22-20 win in Tampa last season.

The Bulls rolled up 543 yards of total offense, including 178 on the ground, as they scored a season-high 64 points in a route of UCF this past weekend. As has been the case all season long, quarterback Matt Grothe led the charge, rushing for 100 yards and two scores, and passing for 212 yards and two more touchdowns. Grothe, a tremendous competitor and leader, has simply done it all for this USF club, as he leads the team with 346 rushing yards and 1,121 passing. He has accounted for 11 total touchdowns (four rushing) and he is the primary reason why this offense is turning in a solid 35.3 ppg and 393.5 total ypg. Benjamin Williams and Mike Ford are two other players that could have an impact in this game, as the tailbacks have played a big part in the team's rushing averaging of 180.5 ypg. Williams has run for 309 yards and five scores, while Ford has gained 251 yards with five touchdowns as well.

While the offense has been productive this season, it is USF's defense that has really put this program on the map. The unit has been successful against some premier offenses and it comes into the game allowing just 15.7 ppg and only 284.3 total ypg. The Bulls have faced some of the top rushers in the nation along way and they have done a tremendous job in limiting their foes to just 2.9 yards per carry. Generating big plays is nothing new for this defense either, as USF has recorded 20 sacks and forced 21 turnovers. In a dominant performance last weekend, the Bulls created three turnovers and held UCF to a mere 145 total yards in a winning effort. UCF's Kevin Smith entered last weekend as the top rusher in the nation, but USF limited him to just 55 yards on 18 totes. George Selvie continued his tremendous start to the season, as he posted four TFLs to go along with a forced fumble and a sack. In just six games, Selvie has already set the school record for both TFLs (21.5) and sacks (11.5). He leads the nation in both categories as well. Another player worth mentioning is Ben Moffitt, who is one of the leaders of this defense and the team's top tackler with 52 to his credit. He also has eight TFLs and three interceptions on his resume.

The Knights are one of the better offensive teams in the Big East, as they are racking up 37.2 ppg and 489.7 total ypg on the season. The team relies a lot on its ground game, which is averaging 182.2 ypg behind the steady play of Ray Rice. One of the top backs in the country, Rice currently leads the Big East with 818 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns. Last weekend, Rice erupted for 196 yards and three touchdown on 36 carries, as Rutgers defeated Syracuse. Quarterback Mike Teel also had a big game against Syracuse, completing 20- of-29 pass attempts for 310 yards and two scores. Teel, usually overshadowed by Rice, has had a rather good year, as he has completed 62.5 percent of his throws for an average of 302.8 passing ypg. He has thrown 12 touchdowns against six interceptions. His main target is Tiquan Underwood, who leads the club with 34 catches and 675 receiving yards. Underwood got off to a fast start this season, but since teams have begun to focus on him a bit more, Teel has looked the way of Kenny Britt. Last weekend, Britt pulled down seven balls for 176 yards and a score, while Underwood finished with just two catches for 14 yards. For the year, Britt is hot on the heels of Underwood with 27 catches and 640 receiving yards. Both players have recorded four touchdown this season.

The Knights rank as one of the top defensive units in the Big East, as they are giving up just 17.2 ppg and only 296.8 total ypg. The unit has really flourished against the pass, holding opponents to just 157.7 ypg through the air while recording 16 sacks. Last weekend, Rutgers did a great job on defense, as it held Syracuse to a mere 270 total yards, including 158 via the pass. The defense forced a pair of turnovers and registered five sacks in the victory. Kevin Malast led the way with seven tackles, while Jamaal Westerman and Joe Lefeged each posted two sacks. On the year, Malast is tops on the club with 48 tackles and Westerman is first with 7.0 TFLs and four sacks.

This should be a great game, as both teams have similar strengths and weaknesses and each has a lot on the line. USF is playing with a great deal of confidence, but Rutgers has the homefield advantage. It should be a tight contest from start to finish, but expect the Bulls' defense to make the difference when it matters most.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The 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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