Around FCS: The Great Escape
NCAA Football Betting Lines
10/26/2008 - Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As Villanova coach Andy Talley took a few moments to compose himself in his office on Saturday night following a stunning 23-19 loss to No. 1-ranked James Madison, he thought back to a 37-24 quarterfinal-round playoff loss to Youngstown State in 1997.
"I thought we were the best team in the country that year," said Talley. "I still remember the crying and the sobbing in that locker room."
Talley remembered that the emotions of that locker room were influenced by "the finality of things," a team that had seen its dreams of a national championship end short of its goal.
The veteran coach, now in his 24th year at Villanova, saw a similar scene in the locker room on Saturday, following a 35-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from quarterback Rodney Landers to receiver Bosco Williams on the final play of the game that snatched a victory away from the Wildcats in a first-place showdown in the Colonial Athletic Association.
But while his Villanova players witnessed another outpouring of sadness, he found a way to turn his emotions in a more positive direction.
"I can't wait to get going tomorrow," Talley explained. "There is nothing you can do about it. I wish we had knocked the ball down, but we didn't. The great thing for us is we still have hope."
On a day with torrential rain and blustery winds, No. 7 Villanova (5-2 overall, 3-1 in the CAA) was one play away from its second win over a No. 1 team this season when JMU (7-1, 5-0) pulled another miracle finish out of its bag of tricks before a homecoming crowd of 6,721 at Villanova Stadium.
Villanova held the ball for 20 of the 30 minutes of the second half and finally took a 19-14 lead with 14:09 remaining when quarterback Chris Whitney scrambled free to hit Phil Atkinson for a six-yard scoring strike on third and goal.
JMU sliced the lead to 19-17 when Dave Stannard booted a 25-yard field goal just inside the left upright at the 4:08 mark, but the Dukes had to rely on its defense to get the ball back from a Wildcat offense that milked all but 61 seconds off the clock.
After a shanked Joe Marcoux punt gave James Madison the ball back its own 34- yard line, the Dukes struggled to keep their drive alive, with Landers completing a 15-yard pass to tailback Eugene Holloman on 4th-and-10.
Landers (25 carries, 133 yards rushing, 8-of-12, 184 and three TDs passing) scampered 13 yards for another first down and completed an eight-yard pass to Rockeed McCarter to put the ball on the Villanova 30 with three seconds remaining.
A potential game-winning field goal into the stiff head wind from 47 yards out was viewed as too risky by JMU coach Mickey Matthews and a false start penalty moved the ball back five more yards. The only hope left for the Dukes was a Hail Mary pass.
"My biggest thing was just to get the ball off and give our guys a shot," said Landers, who had already been sacked once by Villanova's Tim Kuckuka earlier in the drive. "Basically you hold your breath and hope someone can make a play. Someone upstairs is smiling on us."
Landers lofted a pass towards the right corner to McCarter that appeared it might sail completely out of the end zone. But the ball was deflected by linebacker Osayi Osunde, who tried to knock the ball down with two hands.
Instead, the pass caromed off the helmet of Darrel Young and into the hands of Williams, who was trailing the play. Williams juggled the ball slightly before securing it for a remarkable touchdown.
"It was a shock," said Williams. "I saw the ball come off the defenders. I was just running down the field. I didn't believe it at first and then everyone started jumping around on me."
It was a wild end to a game that lived up its advance billing.
Landers caught the Villanova secondary out of position on play fakes for a 23- yard touchdown pass to Griff Yancey in the first period and a 55-yard scoring aerial to McCarter in the second period as the Dukes claimed a 14-3 lead.
But backed up on its own three-yard line, Villanova began to dominate on the line of scrimmage and put together an 18-play, 97-yard drive that gobbled 8:21 off the first-half clock.
Matt Szcur's 15-yard dash cut JMU's advantage to 14-10 at halftime. Marcoux's second field goal of the game, a 37-yarder into the wind to go with his 42- yarder in the first quarter trimmed the lead to one point after a 15-play, 60- yard march in the third period.
Whitney, playing with a sprained, left (non-throwing) shoulder, rushed 12 times for 65 yards and completed 8-of-11 passes for 48 yards, while Aaron Ball ran 23 times for 108 yards to fuel a Wildcat comeback that set up a classic fourth-quarter finish that left everyone scratching their heads for an explanation.
Matthews said the Dukes work on the Hail Mary play every day at the end of practice and was asked how often it works?
"Not very often," Matthews answered. "It's got to bounce right. You haven't been to Youngstown and Appalachian in the last two years. We've had some bounce against us."
But few coaches understand the disappointment of losing a tough game like Matthews either.
"I'm not sure there was a loser tonight." Matthews explained. "I'm happy for us, I'm thrilled. I've been on the other sideline when we've been stunned like that."
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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