Cnotes 2016 College Football Best Bets,Trends,Stat, News !!

[CNOTES]

Friday's Tip Sheet
October 20, 2016




**South Florida at Temple**


-- South Florida (6-1 straight up, 5-2 against the spread) is thriving in its fourth season of Willie Taggart’s tenure. The Bulls have posted wins vs. Towson (56-20), vs. No. Illinois (48-17), at Syracuse (45-20), at Cincinnati (45-20), vs. East Carolina (38-22) and vs. UConn (42-27). They have just one loss to ACC powerhouse FSU by a 55-35 count on Sept. 24.


-- USF failed to cover the 20-point spread in last week’s win over the Huskies at Raymond James Stadium. The 69 combined points catapulted ‘over’ the 53.5-point total. The Bulls went to intermission with a 14-3 advantage over UConn, only to see the Huskies score twice and take the lead in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Taggart’s bunch answered with 14 straight points on an eight-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Quinton Flowers, who also found Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 26-yard scoring strike. After UConn trimmed the deficit to 28-20 with 8:12 remaining thanks to a short field goal, USF created some separation with a 29-yard TD pass from Flowers to Mitchell Wilcox with 4:21 left for a 35-20 lead. When Marlon Mack scored on a 34-yard TD scamper with 2:57 remaining, the Bulls were ahead of the number with a 42-20 advantage for the first time in the entire game. However, to the disgust of USF backers, UConn QB Bryant Shirreffs found Alec Bloom for a four-yard TD pass with 57 ticks left to give the Huskies the backdoor cover in the 42-27 defeat.


-- Flowers rushed for a team-high 157 yards and three TDs on 16 attempts. He also completed 23-of-37 throws for 213 yards and two TDs, but he was intercepted twice. Mack rushed 16 times for 107 yards and one TD and also had six catches for 75 yards.


-- As of Thursday, most betting shops had South Fla. listed as a seven-point favorite with a total of 60 points. The Owls were +220 on the money line (risk $100 to win $220).


-- USF owns a 4-1 spread record in five games as a road favorite on Taggart’s watch, including 45-20 wins at Syracuse and Cincy this year.


-- USF’s offense ranks eighth in the nation in scoring, producing 44.1 points per game. The Bulls are 15th in total offense and eighth in rushing with a 261.9 yards-per-game average.


-- Flowers has connected on 58.6 percent of his passes for 1,530 yards with a 13/5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has also run for a team-best 655 yards and seven TDs with a 7.0 yards-per-carry average. Mack has rushed for 592 yards and nine TDs and also has a 7.0 YPC average. Rodney Adams has a team-high 32 receptions for 459 yards and four TDs.


-- Temple (4-3 SU, 6-1 ATS) can pull into a first-place tie with USF in the AAC East with a win in this spot. Actually, the Owls would then own the tiebreaker so they’d technically be ahead of the Bulls despite an identical record in league play. They improved to 2-1 in conference action with last week’s 26-25 come-from-behind win at Central Florida as 3.5-point road underdogs.


-- Matt Rhule’s squad trailed 25-7 at UCF late in the second quarter until senior RB Jahad Thomas scored on a seven-yard TD run. In the third quarter, the Owls pulled to within 25-20 thanks to a pair of field goals from Aaron Boumerhi. Still behind by that margin, Temple took possession at its own 30 with 32 ticks left. P.J. Walker connected on passes of 20, 16 and 26 yards to move to the UCF eight with 10 seconds remaining. With the clock stopped to move the chains, UCF understandably felt like the Owls were about to spike the ball. Instead, Walker threw to the end zone and found a leaping Keith Kirkwood in the back of the end zone with one second remaining to lift his team to the improbable victory in Orlando. Thomas rushed for 120 yards and one score on 27 attempts. He also had three catches for 33 yards and one TD. Walker completed 12-of-24 passes for 167 yards and two TDs with one interception. Ventell Bryant had five catches for 94 yards.


-- Since losing at home to Army by a 28-13 count as a 14.5-point ‘chalk’ in its season opener, Temple has taken the cash in six consecutive games. The Owls have won three of their four home games both SU and ATS, including wins over Stony Brook (38-0), Charlotte (48-20) and SMU (45-20).


-- Temple’s two other losses came at Penn State (34-27) and at Memphis (34-27).


-- There’s something about these evened-year seasons for Walker. As a freshman in 2013, an odd-numbered year, Walker had 20 TD passes compared to only eight interceptions. But in 2014, he slumped with a 13/15 TD-INT ratio. Then during the ’15 campaign when the Owls won 10 games, Walker had a 19/8 TD-INT ratio. This season, however, he has completed just 56.2 percent of his passes for 1,582 yards with a 10/10 TD-INT ratio.


-- Thomas, who rushed for 1,262 yards and 17 TDs last year, missed the first two games with an injury. In the five games since his return, Thomas has run for 357 yards and seven TDs with a 4.2 YPC average. He also has 18 receptions for 251 yards and three TDs. Ryquell Armstead has 71 carries for a team-high 403 yards and seven TDs with a 5.7 YPC average. Kirkwood has 23 catches for 334 yards and three TDs.


-- Temple has been a home underdog 10 times during Rhule’s four-year tenure, compiling a 7-3 spread record with three outright victories.


-- Temple owns an 18-7 spread record in 25 games as an underdog on Rhule’s watch.


-- Temple came to Tampa with an 8-1 record and ranked No. 21 in the country last season, but USF took it to the Owls. The Bulls led 31-10 at intermission on their way to a 44-23 win as two-point home underdogs. The 67 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 44.5-point total. Flowers threw for 230 yards and two TDs without an interception. Mack rushed 21 times for 230 yards and two TDs, while Flowers rushed for 90 yards and one TD on 18 attempts. Adams hauled in seven receptions for 147 yards and one TD, while Mack added three catches for 42 yards and one TD. In the losing effort, Walker completed only 20-of-48 passes for 259 yards and one TD with one interception. Thomas was limited to 65 rushing yards and one TD on 16 carries.


-- Temple senior free safety Nate L Smith is listed as ‘questionable’ this week. Rhule told local reporters that Smith participated in non-contact drills at Tuesday’s practice. Smith has recorded 27 tackles with one interception and one tackle for loss. Junior safety Sean Chandler, who was a second-team All-AAC selection last year when he had 66 tackles, 4.5 TFL’s, four interceptions and 10 passes broken up, is ‘out’ again this week due to a knee injury. Chandler, who will be missing a fourth straight game, had 23 tackles, one interception and 1.5 TFL’s before getting injured.


-- The ‘over’ is 4-3 overall for the Owls, 2-2 in their home outings. They have seen their games average combined scores of 55.0 PPG. The ‘over’ had cashed in four straight for Temple until last week’s 51 combined points slipped ‘under’ the 51.5-point tally when the Owls two-point conversion try with one second left failed.


-- The ‘over’ has hit at a 5-2 clip overall for USF, going 1-1 in a pair of road assignments. The Bulls have seen their games average combined scores of 70.0 PPG.


-- As of Wednesday, the weather.com forecast for Friday night at Lincoln Financial Field called for a 50-percent chance of rain with 14 mph winds and a low temperature of 47 degrees.


-- Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.


**Oregon at California**


-- As of Thursday, most spots had California (3-3 SU, 3-3 ATS) listed as a three-point favorite with a total of 87.5 points. The Ducks were +135 on the money line. The 87.5-point tally is the highest of the entire season in college football.


-- Oregon (2-4 SU, 0-5-1 ATS) has lost four in a row and has the nation’s worst ATS record. The Ducks have been deplorable on defense recently, giving up 35, 41, 51 and 70 during their four-game slide.


-- Mark Helfrich is on the hot seat in the fourth season of his tenure. Oregon started the season with wins over UC Davis (53-28) and Virginia (44-26) at home, but it has now dropped games at Nebraska (35-32), vs. Colorado (41-38), at Washington State (51-33) and vs. Washington (70-21).


-- Chris Petersen’s UW squad went into Autzen Stadium in Eugene and dealt out a ruthless beatdown. The scary part of this clubbing was that the Huskies had 70 with 9:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. They led by scores of 28-0 and 42-7, producing 682 yards of total offense. In the losing effort, true freshman QB Justin Herbert completed 21-of-34 passes for 179 yards and two TDs with one interception. He was making his first career start.

-- Herbert is expected to get his second starting nod ahead of Montana State transfer Dakota Prukop, who started the first five games. Prukop had connected on 66.2 percent of his passes for 1,173 yards with an 8/2 TD-INT ratio.


-- Oregon leads the Pac-12 in rushing, splitting the carries between four different productive RBs. Royce Freeman has run for a team-best 513 yards and seven TDs while averaging 7.7 YPC. Tony Brooks-James has 331 rushing yards, six TDs and a 7.0 YPC average. Kani Benoit (32-222, 2 TDs, 6.9 YPC) and Taj Griffin (29-168, 3 TDs, 5.8 YPC) also get their fair share of touches.


-- Oregon’s best WR is junior Darren Carrington, who has 24 catches for 351 yards and three TDs. Charles Nelson has 31 receptions for 285 yards, but he hasn’t scored yet.


-- Oregon is ranked 127th in the nation in total defense, allowing 522.3 yards per game. The Ducks are No. 125 in scoring defense (41.8 PPG).


-- Oregon will be without three starters due to injuries: WR Dwayne Stanford, OT Tyrell Crosby and LB Johnny Ragin. Stanford has 13 receptions for 175 yards and one TD, while Ragin had 29 tackles, one TFL and one QB hurry before going down with a season-ending injury after four games.


-- Cal has wins vs. Hawaii (51-31 in Sydney, Australia), vs. Texas (50-43) and vs. Utah (28-23). The Golden Bears have lost 45-40 at San Diego State, 51-41 at Arizona State and at 47-44 at Oregon State in double overtime.


-- In the double OT loss at Oregon State, senior QB Davis Webb injured his hand and was held to season lows in every statistical category. Webb, who used the bye week to get healthy, completed only 23-of-44 passes for 113 yards and zero TDs with one interception. Therefore, Sonny Dykes’s offense leaned on ground attack and it worked. Khalfani Muhammad rushed for 164 yards and one TD on 21 carries. Tre Watson added 134 rushing yards and two TDs on 16 attempts.


-- Webb has completed 183-of-301 passes for 2,256 yards with a 22/7 TD-INT ratio. The Texas Tech transfer has also rushed for three TDs. Webb’s favorite target is Chad Hansen, who has 59 receptions for 770 yards and eight TDs. Demetris Robertson, a true freshman who was a five-star recruit, has 20 catches for 338 yards and five TDs. Melquis Stovall, another true freshman who was a four-star signee, has 24 receptions for 274 yards and two TDs.


-- Muhammad has rushed for a team-high 377 yards and two TDs while averaging 6.9 YPC. Vic Enwere was recently lost for the season due to a broken foot. Enwere had rushed for 336 yards and a pair of scores with a 5.5 YPC average. Watson has 297 rushing yards, two TDs and a 5.8 YPC average.


-- Cal is fourth in the country in passing yards (377.8 YPG) and 10th in scoring, averaging 42.3 PPG.


-- Cal ranks No. 121 in total defense (494.7 YPG), No. 127 in rushing defense (283.8 YPG) and No. 123 in scoring ‘D’ (40.0 PPG).


-- Oregon has won seven in a row over Cal by an average margin of 26.0 PPG. The Ducks have produced a 6-1 spread record in those contests. The ‘under’ is 7-2 in the last nine head-to-head meetings.


-- When these Pac-12 rivals met in Eugene last year, Oregon captured a 44-28 win as a four-point home ‘chalk.’ Freeman was the catalyst with 180 rushing yards on 29 carries.


-- The ‘over’ has cashed at a 5-1 overall clip for the Golden Bears, going 1-1 in their home outings. They have seen their games average combined scores of 82.3 PPG.


-- The ‘over’ is 4-2 overall for the Ducks, 1-1 in their road assignments. Their games have averaged combined scores of 78.7 PPG.


-- ESPN will provide the telecast at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.


**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**


-- There’s a third game on Friday’s card: San Jose State at San Diego State. As of Thursday, most books had the Aztecs as 23.5-point home favorites with a total of 48.


-- Since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, all five of its games against UCLA have gone ‘under’ the total. When the Utes and Bruins meet at The Rose Bowl this weekend, the Utes will be without a number of key players. Junior safety Marcus Williams, who was a first-team All Pac-12 selection last year, is ‘out’ with an undisclosed injury. Williams is third on the team in tackles (33) and has three interceptions, one TFL and one forced fumble. Utah offensive tackle J.J. Dielman is also ‘out’ after sustaining a season-ending foot injury earlier this month. Dielman was a second-team All Pac-12 pick last year. In addition, junior LB Sunia Tauteoli is ‘out’ with a leg injury. Tauteoli is tied for the team lead in tackles with 43 stops, one interception (for a TD via 41-yard return), two TFL’s, one sack and one forced fumble. The Bruins are seven-point home favorites against Utah.


-- Oregon State starting QB Darell Garretson is out for the rest of the year with an ankle injury. Also, the Beavers' No. 2 QB is out this week at Washington, so third-stringer Marcus McMaryion will get the second start of his career against the Huskies. The QB depth situation is so dire for OSU that Utah State legend Chuckie Keeton, who is now the quality control coach for his former head coach Gary Andersen, will run the scout team this week. Keeton's eligibility at Utah State ran out after last season.


-- Southern Cal junior WR Steven Mitchell is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Mitchell had 24 receptions for 226 yards and two TDs this year.


-- Michigan State has lost four in a row for the first time during Mark Dantonio’s tenure.


-- With FAU finally getting its first spread cover of the season last week, Oregon is now the only school in the nation that has yet to cover. The Ducks, who are 0-5-1 ATS and have lost four in a row outright, are at California on Friday night.


-- Best ATS squads: Colorado (7-0), Western Michigan (6-1), Eastern Michigan (6-1), Temple (6-1), Auburn (5-1), North Carolina State (5-1), Wisconsin (5-1), Nebraska (4-1-1), North Texas (4-1-1) and Tulane (4-1-1).

 

[CNOTES]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BEST BETS:


10/20/2016 4-0-2 100.00% +2000


TRIPLE PLAYS RECORD: 24 - 21 - 6 *****


WLT PCT UNITS


ATS Picks 189-177-11 51.64% -2850


O/U Picks 71-68-4 51.08% -1900




FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


USF at TEM 07:00 PM


USF -6.5

U 59.5


SJSU at SDSU 10:30 PM


SDSU -23.0


O 48.0


ORE at CAL 10:30 PM


CAL +1.0


O 89.5

 

[CNOTES]

Big Ten Report - Week 8
October 21, 2016


2016 BIG 10 STANDINGS


Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under


Illinois 2-4 1-2 3-3 2-4


Indiana 3-3 1-2 3-3 1-5


Iowa 5-2 3-1 3-4 3-4


Maryland 4-2 1-2 2-4 1-5


Michigan 6-0 3-0 4-2 5-1


Michigan State 2-4 0-3 1-5 2-4


Minnesota 4-2 1-2 2-3-1 2-4


Nebraska 6-0 3-0 4-1-1 1-5


Northwestern 3-3 2-1 3-3 2-4


Ohio State 6-0 3-0 4-2 3-3


Penn State 4-2 2-1 2-3-1 5-1


Purdue 3-3 1-2 2-4 5-1


Rutgers 2-5 0-4 2-5 4-3


Wisconsin 4-2 1-2 5-1 2-4


Ohio State (-20) at Penn State – (ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)


Penn State – PSU had last week to prepare for this huge home game. We’re guessing they’ll try and get the ground game going with RB Saquon Barkley against an Ohio State defense that allowed over 230 yards rushing last week at Wisconsin. Barkley was “struggling” a bit heading into his most recent game vs Maryland. He had 4 consecutive “non-100 yard” games before exploding for 202 vs the Terps. On the defensive side of the ball, the Nittany Lions have struggled to stop the run which is not a winning recipe when playing Ohio State.


In their 3 Big Ten games, the Penn State defense has given up 170, 228, and 326 yards on the ground. Now they must attempt to slow down the Big Ten’s top rushing offense with the Buckeyes putting up 300 YPG on the ground on 6.0 YPC. Being as banged up as they’ve been, that might be a tough task for the Nits. They have been without all of their starting LB’s due to injuries, however there is a chance that Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda could return on Saturday. We’re told they are getting close to coming back. If they do return, it would be the first time since the season opener they’ve played together. They’ll need those two back if they want to have a chance to slow down Ohio State’s running game.

Ohio State – The schedule makers are not making it easy on the Buckeyes. This is the second straight week they are on the road vs a team coming off a bye. Last week they led Wisconsin for only 6 minutes of the 60 minute game (regulation). They were outgained by the Badgers and allowed Wisconsin to grind out 236 yards on the ground. The Ohio State defense came into the game allowing under 100 YPG rushing. Despite being outplayed by Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium, the Buckeyes came out with an OT win. Amazingly, it was the Bucks 17th straight Big Ten road win and Urban Meyer’s 20th consecutive road win overall. Their last conference road loss came back in 2011 which is an astounding accomplishment.


The Buckeyes are laying a big number here and it’s the 16th time in their last 17 road games they’ve been favored. It’s also the 4th straight time that OSU has been a double digit favorite over Penn State. After covering their first 4 games of the season, the Buckeyes lost each of their last 2 games to the spread vs Indiana and Wisconsin. Their number remain dominating though as they are outgaining their opponents by an average of 236 YPG and 2.5 YPP. The OSU pass defense has been phenomenal allowing only 159 YPG but have shown some vulnerability in stopping the run. While their overall rush defense numbers are very solid (121 YPG) the two good running teams they’ve faced this year, Wisconsin & Oklahoma, have moved the ball well on the ground.


Last Year – Ohio State was favored by -17.5 at home last year and won easily 38-10. Now they are favored by more on the road at PSU this year than they were last season at home. As expected, the Buckeyes are 29-0 SU the last 29 times they’ve been a road favorite of -20 or more and a solid 18-10-1 ATS in those games. This is THE LARGEST underdog Penn State has EVER been at home. The closest was 2 years ago when they were +14 at home against these Buckeyes.


Inside the Numbers – Since joining the Big Ten, Penn State is just 7-16 vs Ohio State and just 8-15 ATS in those games.


Wisconsin (-4) at Iowa – (ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET)


Wisconsin – Can the Badgers get up off the mat after last Saturday’s brutal home loss to the Buckeyes? That will possibly be the #1 key to this game. They opened as a 3-point road favorite in this game and as of this writing have pushed up to -4 at some spots. Wisconsin played OSU toe to toe last week and by many accounts actually outplayed the Buckeyes. The Badgers, who were 10-point underdogs, were actually tied or ahead in regulation for all but 6 minutes and 15 seconds. Wisconsin outgained OSU last Saturday including rolling up 236 yards on the ground vs a Buckeye defense that was allowing 98 YPG rushing coming into the game.


Defensively they held Ohio State to 5.5 YPP but really had trouble putting pressure on JT Barrett. That was partly due to the fact that LB Vince Biegel, UW’s top pass rusher, was out for his second straight game due to an injured foot. Biegel has progressed well after his surgery a few weeks ago and actually is slated to play this weekend at Iowa if all goes well in practice this week. The Badgers dropped to 4-2 on the year, however their 2 losses came at the hands of #2 Ohio State and #4 Michigan by just 7 points each. QB Alex Hornibrook looked much better last week after recovering from a bruised sternum suffered early on in the Michigan game. That injury was kept under wraps until late last week and explains why he looked so poor vs the Wolverines.


Iowa – The Hawkeyes offense was struggling big time going into last week’s game vs Purdue but they couldn’t ask for a better remedy than having to face the porous Boilermaker defense. After failing to top 21 points in three of their previous four games, the Hawkeyes erupted for 49 points on 520 yards. Iowa had 6 possessions in the first half and scored TD’s on 5 of them to lead 35-7 at half. However, the Hawkeyes, as might be expected, came out flat after halftime getting outscored 28-14 in the 2nd stanza.


The Iowa defense really struggled in the 2nd half allowing the Boilermaker offense to score 4 TD’s on 389 yards. Because of that poor 2nd half, Iowa only outgained Purdue by 15 yards, the first time they’ve outgained an opponent this season. Purdue rolled up 505 total yards with only 47 of those coming on the ground.


On the other side, Iowa destroyed the Boilers terrible rush defense to the tune of 365 yards on the ground. They’ll have a much tougher go of it this week facing a Wisconsin defense allowing 106 YPG rushing and that includes facing the likes of LSU, Michigan, and Ohio State. Iowa returns home where they have lost 2 straight at the hands of North Dakota State and Northwestern.


Last Year – The Badgers were a 5-point favorite at home last year and lost to the Hawkeyes in a low scoring affair 10-6. Wisconsin outgained the Hawks by 100 yards but turned the ball over 4 times including at the Iowa 1-yard line going in for the winning score in the 4th quarter.


Inside the Numbers – The Hawkeyes have been tabbed home underdogs just twice since 2013. Both of those games were vs Wisconsin and the Badgers won both 28-9 and 26-24. Going back further, Iowa has been a home dog 38 times since the start of the 1989 season. They are just 9-29 SU in those games (18-18-2 ATS). Wisconsin has won 12 of their last 13 SU as a road favorite (8-4 ATS)


Rutgers at Minnesota (-19) – (ESPNU, 12:00 p.m. ET)


Minnesota – In the battle of back up QB’s last Saturday, Minnesota’s Conor Rhoda topped Maryland’s Tyrell Pigrome 31-10. Pigrome had the better numbers throwing for 161 yards and rushing for 71 yards while Rhoda completed just 7 passes for 82 yards and had negative yards rushing. Pigrome, however, committed 2 of the Terps 3 turnovers while the Gophs didn’t have a giveaway. You wouldn’t look at the box score and come to the conclusion that Minnesota won this game by 3 TD’s. The Gophs had just 311 total yards, averaged less than 5 yards per play, completed only 7 passes and converted on only 29% of their third down plays yet still put up 31 points.


The offense was hoping to get starting QB Mitch Leidner back this week after sitting out with a concussion last week although we’ve been told that looks like a long shot. They are preparing as though Rhoda will get the start again. The Minny defense continued to play very well allowing just 10 points and less than 4 YPP. So far in Big Ten play the Gophers have allowed 7, 10, and 23 (in regulation) points. They held both Iowa & Maryland to just one offensive TD each.


Since getting back to full strength in the defensive backfield before the Iowa game (suspended and injured players returning), they have allowed just 142 and 161 yards passing. That was the strength of their defense last year as well as they allowed just 180 YPG through the air.


Rutgers – And the beat goes on for the Scarlet Knights. They were whipped again, this time by a lower tier Big Ten team with Illinois rolling to an easy 24-7 road win. That loss dropped Rutgers to 0-4 in the Big Ten and they have been outscored 174-14 in those four games! If that doesn’t tell you how bad Rutgers has been in conference play, how about this. They are last in scoring offense (3.5 PPG), last in scoring defense (43.5 PPG), last in total offense (231 YPG), and 13th (second to last) in total defense (486 YPG).


That pretty much tells the story for new head coach Chris Ash and his 2016 Rutgers team. The amazing part is, despite getting outscored by a whopping 160 points in league play, the Knights have actually outgained 2 of their 4 Big Ten opponents (Iowa & Illinois). They were also 2-1 heading into conference play. So with an offense averaging barely over a FG per game in the Big Ten, a change is a no-brainer and that’s what Ash has done for this week’s game at Minnesota.


QB Chris Laviano will take a seat and sophomore Gio Rescigno will get his first career start. Rescigno played the entire 2nd half of last week’s game vs Illinois and went 10 for 18 and led Rutgers on their first TD drive since September 24th! We do know this, it would be nearly impossible to do any worse for an offense that ranks 127th (out of 128) averaging 298 YPG.

Last Year – No meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten.


Inside the Numbers – This is rarified air for the Gophers. Since 2006 they’ve been favored by -17 or more just 5 times and failed to cover 4 of those. They also lost 2 of those 5 games outright. Over their last 48 games dating back to mid-season 2012, Rutgers is just 19-29 ATS. Going way back to 1980, our database tells us that Rutgers is just 3-77-1 SU and 32-48-1 ATS as underdogs of 17 or more (0-3 ATS this year).


Indiana at Northwestern (-2.5) – (BTN, 12:00 p.m. ET)


Northwestern – The Cats opened as 3 point favorites in this one and they have since dropped to -1.5. Northwestern is coming off impressive back to back road wins (with a bye in between) winning at Iowa and at Michigan State. While those are tough spots to win, if we’re talking last year, wow. This year, both Iowa and MSU look to be down quite a bit, both have lost back to back home games, so it’s not overly surprising. The way the Cats won last week was something that caught our eye. They got down 14-0 in East Lansing and then went on a 33-3 run into the 3rd quarter to build up a 33-17 lead. Sparty then cut that lead to 33-31 and the Wildcats then returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD and went on to win 54-40.


Where the heck was this NW offense early in the season? They started the year just 1-3 and were averaging only 16 PPG. Over the last 2 games they’ve rolled up 92 points on 852 yards. They are 19 of 38 on third down (or 4th) in those games which is a big reason why they have put up the numbers they have. They’ve been able to keep their offense on the field. Where would NW be right now if they had that type of offensive production early in the year? Probably undefeated as their 3 losses on the season have come by a combined 14 points.


RB Justin Jackson leads the Big Ten in rushing and QB Clayton Thorson is leaps and bounds better than last year. He’s improved his completion percentage by 8% (50% to 58%), his yards per attempt has gone from 5.2 to 6.9, and he already has more TD pass this season (11) than he had all of last year (9). Now if the Cats can shore up their defense (allowing nearly 100 more YPG this year than last) this team will be very dangerous from this point on.


Indiana – Who thought when the season started we’d be discussing Northwestern’s potent offense and subpar defense while also focusing in on Indiana’s much improve defense and “struggling” offense. After 3 conference games, Northwestern’s offense ranks ahead of Indiana in both YPG and PPG. On the flip side, Indiana’s defense ranks ahead of NW in both YPG and PPG. What world are we living in? Two weeks ago the Hoosiers held OSU to their lowest yards per play output of the year. Last week they held Nebraska to 5.0 YPP and also held them scoreless in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. If it weren’t for a pick 6 by the Huskers in the 1st quarter, Indiana may have pulled the upset.


The IU defense has been susceptible to the run allowing 188 YPG, however those numbers are even skewed a bit as OSU rolled up nearly 300 on the ground. In their last 2 games, the Hoosier defense held the Buckeyes 11 points below their season average and Nebraska 8 points below theirs. The problem has been the offense scoring only 17 and he 22 points in those games. Their other Big Ten game, a win over MSU, the Hoosiers were only able to score 24 and only 21 in regulation. Much of the problem has been the inconsistency of QB Richard Lagow who has thrown 9 interceptions in his last 4 games inlcluding 2 last week vs Nebaska. We never thought we’d say it but it looks like Northwestern will have the advantage on offense in this game while Indiana will have the advantage on defense.


Last Year – These two haven’t met since 2012 when Northwestern won big 44-29.


Inside the Numbers – The Wildcats have won 8 of the last 9 in this series. 7 of the last 9 in this Big Ten battle have been decided by a TD or less. Northwestern is just 7-17 ATS their last 24 home games.


Illinois at Michigan (-39) – (BTN, 3:30 p.m. ET)


Michigan – The Wolverines are coming off a bye after beating Rutgers 78-0 two weeks ago. Michigan is 3-0 in the Big Ten and have outscored their 3 opponents 141-17! Michigan has outgained each of their seven opponents by an average of 250 YPG. They have outgained every opponent by at least 100 yards with the exception of Colorado who they outgained by 72 yards. This number has Michigan -36.5 which is the second highest spread for the Wolverines this year only behind Hawaii which had Michigan favored by -38. The Wolves won that game 63-3. The defense has been lights out all year.


The U of M defense is the only team in the entire country to allow under 4 YPP coming in at 3.58 YPP which is by far the best in the nation. Florida is next best allowing 4.14 YPP. The Wolves are also by far #1 in YPG allowed at 212 which is a full 33 yards better than Army which is slotted at #2. They also lead the country in sacks per game at 4 and 3rd down conversion rate allowing opponents only 12%. Offensively this team is very tough to defend, especially on the ground, where the Wolverines have four players that have at least 250 yards rushing. Their 25 rushing TD’s lead the nation.

Illinois – The Illini got off the schneid last week beating Rutgers after losing four straight leading into that one. Rutgers seems to be the remedy for teams to “get right” and Illinois sort of did that with a 24-7 win. Illinois was outgained by 65 yards in the game but ran only 57 offensive plays to 80 for Rutgers. Starting QB Wes Lunt was on the shelf last week with a back injury. His replacement Chayce Crouch stepped in a “managed” the win over Rutgers completing just 6 passes for 92 yards. Crouch injured his shoulder late in the game at Rutgers and may not play this weekend. If the first two QB’s are unable to step on the field, the Illini would send Jeff George Jr under center and he has never taken a snap in a college football game. That would be a disaster against a defense the caliber of Michigan’s.


The good news for Illinois fans is, both Lunt and Crouch were in full pads at practice on Wednesday and looked OK. The Illinois defense looked better last week, who wouldn’t vs a Rutgers team averaging 3.5 PPG in Big Ten play, giving up just one TD. That was after allowing at least 31 points in four straight games. The Illini are 36.5 point dogs in this one which is the 3rd largest underdog number for Illinois in the last 25 years.


Last Year – These two last met in 2012 when the Wolverines shutout Illinois 45-0.


Inside the Numbers – This is the FOURTH time this season alone that Michigan has been favored by 30 points or more. They are 3-0 ATS in their first 3. For comparison’s sake coming into this year the Wolverines were favored by 30 or more just 12 times since the start of the 200 season. The Illini have been a 30+ point underdog only 5 times since 1980 (2-3 ATS) and just once since 2005.


Michigan State (-3) at Maryland – (BTN, 7:30 p.m. ET)


Maryland – The Terps, under new head coach DJ Durkin, looked like they might be one of the surprise teams in the Big Ten early in the season. They rolled through their first four games with a perfect record. Granted those games were against Howard, FIU, UCF, and Purdue, but they didn’t lose a game none the less. We mentioned that we couldn’t get a good read on how good Maryland might be because of their early competition. Now we have a better idea. Since the 4-0 start, the Terps have played two “middling” Big Ten teams, Penn State & Minnesota, and were trounced by both. PSU beat them 38-14 and the Gophs went into College Park and won 31-10 with both teams playing their back up QB’s. Maryland was dominated in both of those games getting outgained in both by 274 combined yards.


After averaging 43 PPG over their first four games Maryland has put up just 12 PPG their last two games. Part of that drop off can be attributed to the absence of starting QB Perry Hills. He injured his shoulder late in the 2nd quarter of their game at PSU two weeks ago and he has not played since. He’s still questionable this week, however he was listed as the #1 QB on the depth chart earlier this week. The defense actually played fairly well last week. You wouldn’t guess that looking at the scoreboard but the Terps limited Minnesota to just over 300 yards and less than 5 YPP. They are allowing just 4.8 YPP on the season. Very solid but they need help from the offense who needs to get it straight soon.


Michigan State – If Maryland is struggling then MSU is in a complete free fall. Last week’s 54-40 loss at home to Northwestern was Sparty’s fourth straight loss. The crazy part is, they were favored in all 4 games and lost by a combined score of 139-81. It was the first time since 2006 that the Spartans have lost 4 games in a row and our database tells us it’s the first time they have EVER lost four games in a row as a favorite.


Head coach Mark Dantonio is doing whatever he can to jumpstart this team as he inserted freshman Brian Lewerke under center last week for his first career start. Lewerke started fairly well leading MSU to 10 points on 136 yards over his first four drives. Although he also threw a pick 6 on one of those four drives as well. However on his next 4 drives, Michigan State totaled 19 years, punted 3 times and Lewerke was sacked for a safety on the other. He was then yanked and previous starter O’Connor played the remainder of the game. This week both have taken reps with the #1 offense but no decision had been made as of Thursday.


Let’s not blame this all on the offense. The defense isn’t helping as last week’s 54 point outburst by Northwestern was the most points this team has given up since 2003. They’ve allowed 30 or more points in 3 of their 6 games this year after allowing 30 or more in just 6 of their previous 54 games entering this season.


Last Year – MSU has won and covered both meetings between these two. Last year Sparty won 24-7 as a 14.5 point home favorite and in 2014 they won 27-15 as a 10.5 point road chalk.


Inside the Numbers – If MSU loses this game, it will be their 5th consecutive loss as a favorite. As we stated above, the Spartans have NEVER lost 4 straight games as a favorite until last week so 5 in a row would obviously be a first as well. Dating back to the start of last season, MSU is now 3-12-1 ATS their last 16 as a favorite. Believe it or not, this is the first time this season the Terps have been an underdog. They have lost 14 straight games as an underdog (4-10 ATS).


Purdue at Nebraska (-24) – (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET)


Nebraska – While Nebraska comes in with a perfect 6-0 record, their best start since 2001, we’re still not sure just how good this team is. I guess you could say their “signature” win this year was at home vs Oregon 35-32. While that looked like a very good win at the time, the Ducks have since flopped so how good was that win? The only team they’ve beaten that currently has a winning record is Wyoming who comes in at 4-2. They jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead last week on Indiana, with the help of a pick 6, but had to hold on late for the 27-22 win.


The offense was held somewhat in check by the IU defense averaging just 5.0 YPP. After completing over 65% of his passes in the first two Big Ten games, QB Tommy Armstrong struggled big time at Indiana. He completed just 38% of his passes and threw 2 interceptions in the game. It looks like Armstrong and company will get some help on Saturday as the offensive line is close to full strength. Starting left tackle Nick Gates has been out with a bad ankle but practiced some this week and may play.


Starting center Dylan Utter dislocated a finger but should play on Saturday. Armstrong has thrown 65 fewer passes through 6 games this year compared to last and don’t expect that to change this weekend. That because the Huskers average 220 yards rushing on 47 attempts and they are facing a Purdue defense that is allowing their Big Ten opponents to rush for an average of 360 YPG! Expect the ball to stay on the ground a lot on Sunday.


Purdue – The Boilers came into this season with just a 6-30 record over the last 3 seasons. They were actually showing some progress this year with a 3-3 mark through 6 games. Apparently they weren’t showing enough progress as head coach Darrell Hazell was given his walking papers after last week’s 49-35 loss at home to Iowa. It was an interesting move at this point of the season because it’s quite obvious the players like Hazell and definitely hadn’t quit on him. Despite getting down 28-0 and 35-7 at half, this Purdue team battled back to within 14 twice in the second half and had the ball attempting to cut the lead to 7 at one point in the 4th quarter.


WR’s coach Gerad Parker takes over as interim head coach with zero head coaching experience. The Purdue offense has been fairly explosive this year averaging 441 YPG and scoring 34+ points in half their games. The problem has been on the other side of the ball. The Purdue run defense has failed to hold ANY of their Big Ten opponents under 300 rushing yards! They’ve also allowed 50, 31, and 49 points in their 3 conference games.


Last Year – Purdue (+7.5) pulled the home upset last year beating Nebraska 55-45. The Huskers scored first with a FG to lead 3-0 and Purdue never trailed after that.


Inside the Numbers – The Huskers are 2-1 ATS this year as a double digit favorite however entering the season they were just 15-25 ATS in that role the previous 40. This is the largest number Purdue has faced this year by nearly 2 TD’s – they were +11 at home vs Iowa. The Boilers are 6-0 ATS the last 6 times they’ve been a dog of 3 TD’s or more.

 

[CNOTES]

Texas A&M at Alabama
October 21, 2016


Alabama and Texas A&M will both take unbeaten records into Saturday’s crucial SEC showdown at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Nevertheless, the oddsmakers aren’t expecting a competitive game.


As of late Friday afternoon, most betting shops had Alabama (7-0 straight up, 5-2 against the spread) installed as an 18-point favorite with a total of 60.5 points. The number for the side opened at 16.5, but it has drifted as high as 19 or 19.5 at a few books this week. The total opened at 58.5 but moved into the low 60s at around 12:50 p.m. Eastern on Friday. The Aggies were +700 to win outright (risk $100 to win $700).


Nick Saban’s squad return home after a pair of road wins at Arkansas (49-30) and at Tennessee (49-10). The Crimson Tide beat up on the Volunteers for the 10th consecutive season, easily taking the cash as a 13.5-point road favorite. The 59 combined points went ‘over’ the 54.5-point total on an 85-yard touchdown scamper by Bo Scarbrough with 11:38 remaining.


As usual, Alabama was able to get points from both its defense and special teams. The Tide took a 14-0 advantage when Ronnie Harrison intercepted UT’s Josh Dobbs and returned the pick for six (58 yards) with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. With 14:42 remaining in the final stanza, Eddie Jackson returned a Vols’ punt 79 yards for a TD.


Jalen Hurts, the true freshman signal caller for the nation’s top-ranked team, did most of his work at UT with his legs. Hurts rushed 12 times for 132 yards and three TDs. Scarbrough needed only five attempts to gain 109 yards, while Damien Harris produced 94 rushing yards on 14 carries.


Before collecting its two recent road scalps, Alabama captured wins vs. Southern Cal (52-6 at Jerry World), vs. Western Kentucky (38-10), at Ole Miss (48-43), vs. Kent State (48-0) and vs. Kentucky (34-6).


The Tide has benefited from 11 TDs from its defense and special teams so far this year. That’s the most during Saban’s 10-year tenure.


Hurts won the QB job in early September and nobody should expect him to lose it until his days in Tuscaloosa are over. Hurts has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,385 yards with a 9/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also provides a big-time scrambling dynamic, rushing for 428 yards and eight TDs with a 5.8 yards-per-carry average.


Harris has rushed for a team-high 572 yards and one TD, averaging 8.3 YPC. Joshua Jacobs, a true freshman RB, has contributed 345 rushing yards and three TDs while averaging 8.0 YPC. Scarbrought has 273 rushing yards and five TDs with a 6.3 YPC average.


Calvin Ridley is one of the country’s top wideouts, hauling in 39 receptions for 477 yards and four TDs. ArDarius Stewart missed 2.5 games with an injury, but he’s still produced 26 catches for 379 yards and three TDs.


Alabama’s defense features All-American candidates and future NFL players galore. Senior DE Jonathan Allen is most likely going to be a top-five pick this spring. Other expected 2017 first-round selections from this defense include LB Rueben Foster and CB Marlon Humphrey, while DT Da’Ron Payne, CB Minkah Fitzpatrick, DE Da’Shawn Hand and Harris will likely be first-rounders in 2018.


Foster has a team-high 41 tackles to go with four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four QB hurries and two passes broken up. Allen has recorded 29 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s, five sacks, six QB hurries, two PBU, one blocked kick and one 75-yard scoop and score.


Texas A&M (6-0 SU, 4-2 ATS) has had two weeks to prepare for Alabama after beating Tennessee 45-38 in a wild, double-overtime affair. The Aggies led 28-7 midway through the third quarter and appeared poised to cash tickets as 7.5-point home favorites. However, the Vols scored with 2:07 remaining to get ahead of the number with a 35-28 deficit.


Moments later, A&M true freshman RB Trayveon Williams coasted into the second level and was ahead of the pack down the sidelines seemingly on his way to a 73-yard TD run. But as Williams was less than two yards away from tasting paydirt, UT’s Malik Foreman made an incredible play by diving at Williams and knocking the ball out of his hands and through the back of the end zone. This resulted in a touchback and ended all hopes of A&M covering the number.


Trevor Knight’s one-yard TD run and a subsequent interception by Armani Watts in double OT secure the victory for the Aggies. The 83 combined points went ‘over’ the 60.5-point total, but UT’s TD with just over two minutes left in regulation was needed for ‘over’ supporters.


Knight ran for 110 yards and three TDs against UT. The grad transfer from Oklahoma also threw for 239 yards and a pair of TDs, though we should note that he was also intercepted twice. Williams rushed for 217 yards and one TD on 28 carries. Josh Reynolds had five catches for 89 yards and one TD, while Christian Kirk had seven receptions for 80 yards and one TD.


Texas A&M’s other victories this year have come vs. UCLA (31-24 in OT), vs. Prairie View A&M (67-0), at Auburn (29-16), vs. Arkansas (45-24 at Jerry World) and at South Carolina (24-13).


Knight has only completed only 53.5 percent of his throws, but he has 1,500 passing yards with a 9/5 TD-INT ratio. His unexpected impact has come in the ground game, as he’s rushed for 502 yards and nine TDs while averaging 7.7 YPC. Knight’s favorite target has been Kirk, who has 40 catches for 352 yards and four TDs. Reynolds has 25 receptions for 488 yards and four TDs, while Ricky Seals-Jones has 10 catches for 175 yards. Seals-Jones has missed back-to-back games with a leg injury and he remains a question mark at Alabama.


Williams leads the Aggies in rushing, tallying 704 yards and five TDs while averaging 8.6 YPC. Keith has run for 242 yards and three TDs in relief of Williams.


Alabama isn’t the only defense that’ll be on the field Saturday. Texas A&M is ranked No. 22 in the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 19.2 PPG.


This unit is led by junior DE Myles Garrett, who many consider the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Garrett has registered 14 tackles, six TFL’s, four sacks, six QB hurries and one forced fumble despite missing one game. He didn’t make the trip to Columbia for the win over South Carolina, but he was back against Tennessee and has had two weeks since then for his ankle to get better.


We should also mention that this won’t be the first time Knight has faced Alabama. When he was a redshirt freshman at OU, he led the Sooners to a 45-31 win over Alabama as 16.5-point underdogs at the 2014 Sugar Bowl. Knight completed 32-of-44 passes for 348 yards and four TDs.


Texas A&M has been a double-digit underdog just four times since Kevin Sumlin took over in 2012. The Aggies have thrived in those instances, producing a 3-1 record both SU and ATS. They beat Alabama 29-24 in ’12, smashed South Carolina 52-28 in the ’14 season opener and edged Auburn 41-38 as 23-point ‘dogs two years ago.


Alabama has lost outright only four times in 77 games as a double-digit favorite since Saban took over. The Tide lost to ULM in his first season (2007) as a 24.5-point home ‘chalk.’ They also lost to the Aggies as 13.5-point home favorites, in addition to defeats vs. Oklahoma (-16.5 at Sugar Bowl in January of ’14) and at Auburn (-10 in ’13). The loss to Utah at the Sugar Bowl came when ‘Bama was favored by 9.5 points.


The ‘under’ is 3-2-1 overall for the Aggies, going 2-0 in their road assignments. Their games have averaged combined scores of 59.3 PPG.


The ‘over’ is 4-3 overall for the Tide, but the ‘under’ is a perfect 3-0 in its home outings. They’ve seen their games play to an average combined score of 60.4 PPG.


Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS.


**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**


-- The updated odds to win the SEC from Sportsbook.ag look like this: Alabama -220 (risk $220 to win $100), Florida 4/1, Texas A&M 4/1, LSU 9/1, Tennessee 9/1, Auburn 30/1, Kentucky 100/1 and Ole Miss 100/1.


-- How many SEC head-coaching jobs are going to open in the next two months? We came into the year with six coaches needing to have quality seasons. This group included Derek Mason, Mark Stoops, Les Miles, Gus Malzahn, Kevin Sumlin and Butch Jones. There was also the status of Hugh Freeze, who is the middle of an NCAA saga. To be clear, Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork has stood tall in support of Freeze, but that’s a fluid situation in Oxford. The Dan Mullen situation in Starkville was also on the radar somewhat because he showed interest in the Miami job last December and Dak Prescott was no longer around to provide victories on the regular. To update these situations, Miles has already been dismissed, while Jones and Sumlin are clearly secure to return in 2017. With Auburn trending up in recent weeks, Malzahn looks good for now but a loss at home to Arkansas, coupled with a few others down the stretch, could rapidly change things. Many think Stoops has to get to six wins for a bowl invite and that would make Saturday’s home game vs. Mississippi State a must win. We’ll have more on Mason below, while the developments in the Magnolia State deserve monitoring in the coming weeks.


-- Kentucky has limped to a 1-9-1 against-the-spread record in 11 games as a home underdog during Stoops’s tenure. UK will be in that role again Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium when it hosts Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, who are 2-4 straight up, are off a 28-21 overtime loss at BYU in double overtime. Bettors backing MSU as a seven-point underdog took a push last Friday night in Provo. Mullen’s team is in danger of missing a bowl for the first time since 2009, his first year in Starkville. The Bulldogs are 9-6-1 ATS in 16 games as a road favorite on Mullen’s watch.


-- Vanderbilt is 0-4 ATS in four games as a double-digit favorite since Derek Mason arrived in 2014. The Commodores were 26.5-point home favorites vs. Tennessee State on Friday. Vandy is off the biggest win of Mason’s career, a 17-16 victory at Georgia as a 13.5-point underdog. Zach Cunningham made one of his game-high 17 tackles on a fourth-and-one play to seal the deal. If Cunningham isn’t a first-team All-American this year, it’ll be a crime. Cunningham has 81 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, one forced fumble. One pass broken up and one QB hurry. Mason will probably be safe with a win Saturday even if the ‘Dores lose their last four to finish 4-8. The meaning of last week’s win in Athens can’t possibly be overstated.


-- According to Jim McElwain, Florida might be without starting senior DT Bryan Cox Jr. for the rest of the season. Cox is dealing with a hand injury. In better news for UF, DE Jordan Sherit and DT Joey Ivie might be available against Georgia next week. Both are listed as ‘questionable.’ The Westgate SuperBook has the Gators favored by one over UGA this week. The betting shop also has UF favored by 4.5 at Arkansas and McElwain’s bunch is listed as a 7.5-point underdog for the regular-season finale at FSU.


-- Other notable SEC Games of the Year spreads from The Westgate include Ole Miss -5.5 vs. Auburn, Alabama -10 at LSU, LSU -9.5 vs. Arkansas, Texas A&M -2 vs. LSU, Arkansas -3 at Missouri, Tennessee -13.5 at Vandy, Ole Miss -15.5 vs. Mississippi State and Alabama -19.5 vs. Auburn.


-- Arkansas is 6-0 ATS with five outright wins in its last six games as a road underdog. The Razorbacks, who are fresh off a 34-30 home win over Ole Miss, are 10.5-point ‘dogs at Auburn this weekend. The Tigers have had two weeks to prepare for this spot after drilling Mississippi St. by a 38-14 count in Starkville.


-- LSU was a six-point home favorite vs. Ole Miss for most of the week, but the number increased to 7.5 early Friday afternoon. The Tigers are off a 45-10 home win over Southern Miss as 25.5-point home favorites. After missing three games, star RB Leonard Fournette is poised to return to the lineup. The Rebels have compiled a 6-2 spread record in eight games as road ‘dogs under Freeze.


-- After losing 28-27 at Boise State on Thursday night, BYU fell to 4-4 for the season. The Cougars' four losses have come by 10 combined points to BSU, WVU, UCLA and Utah. The Broncos, Utes and Mountaineers have one loss between them. BYU also lost by one (7-6) at BSU in 2012. I had the Broncos -6.5 that night and they failed to score on 5-6 trips inside of BYU's 35 yard line. The Cougars got their score (to get ahead of the number) with about three minutes left and went for two (and failed). I was not a happy camper that night.


-- North Carolina had a rough Thursday. The Tar Heels needed Miami to win at Virginia Tech and that didn't happen when the Hokies cruised to a 37-16 win at Lane Stadium. Even worse for Larry Fedora's squad, UNC announced that senior OG Caleb Peterson is done for the season with an injury. Peterson had started 42 career games and was a second-team All-ACC selection last year.

 

[CNOTES]

Huskers got hot after '15 loss to Purdue
October 21, 2016


LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Nebraska players and coaches wouldn't go there this week when they were asked about seeking vengeance against Purdue on Saturday.


That's not to say they've forgotten last year's 55-45 loss that dropped the Cornhuskers to 3-6 in Mike Riley's first season. The defeat prompted athletic director Shawn Eichorst to write an open letter to fans expressing confidence in the new coach.


The Huskers are 9-1 since, having started this season 6-0 and earning their highest ranking in five years at No. 8. That's quite a bounce-back from what defensive coordinator Mark Banker called ''absolutely the lowest point'' in 2015. So why not use revenge for motivation?


''When you play out of revenge, you're not playing the right way,'' safety Kieron Williams said. ''When you play out of revenge it's not about winning the game; it's about trying to get back at the guy who scored on you. If you play out of revenge you can still lose the game, but if you got revenge on the guy you wanted, it feels like you won when you really didn't. We're going to play the 2016 version of that team, so we're going to focus on that 2016 version.''


Purdue's win over the Huskers was the high point in Darrell Hazell's 3 + years at the school. He was fired last Sunday after going 9-33, and Nebraska was one of his five wins against Bowl Subdivision opponents.


Interim coach Gerad Parker said it will be a daunting task for the Boilermakers (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) to play in Lincoln six days after Hazell's dismissal. But he said it's also an exciting time.


''We don't have anything to lose,'' he said.


Nebraska, a 24-point favorite, has a lot to lose if there's a repeat of last year. The Huskers have won their first three conference games and are alone in first place in the West. The schedule only gets tougher. Back-to-back road games against No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State come next.


Parker said he's sure last year's upset will be on the Huskers' minds.


''I'm sure in their mind they're ready to bring us up there and do what they're supposed to do and, like in great college football, we'll go up there, try to make it different,'' Parker said.


Some things to know about Purdue-Nebraska:


ALL ABOUT THE RUN


Nebraska's 220.5 rushing yards per game ranks fourth in the Big Ten. The Huskers are 8-0 under Riley when rushing for 200 yards, including 4-0 in 2016. Purdue is giving up an average of 264.3 rushing yards, worst in the conference and 124th nationally.


BLOUGH IS BACK


Purdue's David Blough, who threw for four touchdowns and broke a long run for another score in last year's game, is the Big Ten leader in total offense at more than 300 yards a game. Blough last week turned in the best performance by a Purdue quarterback since 2008, throwing for 458 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-35 loss at Iowa, though most of his production came when the game was out of hand.


INJURY UPDATE


Offensive linemen Nick Gates and David Knevel, both battling ankle injuries, practiced Thursday, but Riley didn't know if, or how much, either would play. Receiver Jordan Westerkamp, who hurt his back against Illinois on Oct. 1, will sit out. Riley said he expects Westerkamp back for next week's game at Wisconsin.


Parker said he wouldn't disclose his team's injury information.


AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS


Purdue is looking for its first win against a top-10 team since 2009 when it beat Ohio State. The Boilermakers haven't beaten a top-10 team on the road since 1974, when they defeated a second-ranked Notre Dame.


HUSKERS-BOILERMAKERS CONNECTIONS


Purdue first-year defensive coordinator Ross Els was the Huskers' linebackers coach from 2011-14 under Bo Pelini. Els was an assistant coach at a high school in his hometown of Lincoln last year.


Offensive coordinators Terry Malone of Purdue and Danny Langsdorf of Nebraska worked together with the New Orleans Saints from 2002-04. Malone was the tight ends coach and Langsdorf was the offensive quality control, assistant wide receivers and special teams coach

 

[CNOTES]

NW looks to keep streak going vs. IU
October 21, 2016


EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) Look at Northwestern now.


The Wildcats head into Saturday's game against Indiana looking more like the team they thought they would be, with their offense clicking and the wins starting to pile up, after they seemed to be falling apart.


Northwestern (3-3, 2-1 Big Ten) comes in with back-to-back wins against Iowa and Michigan State and an offense that is clicking after being held to single digits against an FCS team. Indiana (3-3, 1-2), meanwhile, gave Nebraska all it could handle in a 27-22 loss last week.


''I think it's the way that we've been preparing,'' Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. ''But you start to get the DNA of your squad, and we were so inconsistent that we needed to have, I think, much greater attention to detail.''


The Wildcats have won three of four since dropping the first two games at home to Western Michigan and FCS member Illinois State. And they have had no trouble scoring in their past two games.


Northwestern put up its highest point total in 16 years in a 54-40 victory at defending Big Ten champion Michigan State . That came on the heels of a 38-31 victory at Iowa two weeks earlier. The 92 points in a two-game stretch matched the Wildcats' highest total since they combined to do it against California and Syracuse to start the 2013 season.


Indiana is likely to make a bowl for the second straight season after ending a seven-year drought, but the Hoosiers know Northwestern is on a roll.


''They are playing good in all three phases,'' Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said. ''You don't go on the road and get Iowa and Michigan State a lot, you don't get them back-to-back, and you don't get them the way they did. They played strong football. It's going to be a strong challenge for us.''


Here are some things to look for when the Wildcats and Hoosiers meet:


BETTER WITH DEFEENSE


The Hoosiers' long-maligned defense has been holding its own this season, as No. 8 Nebraska found out last week . The Cornhuskers managed to score only 27 points (including an interception return for a TD) and pile up 360 total yards. Indiana and San Diego State are the only FBS schools that have not allowed a rush of 30 or more yards all season.

ON GROUND, IN AIR

Indiana will be tested by the Big Ten's leading rusher and receiver. Northwestern's Justin Jackson is coming off a career game against Michigan State and so is receiver Austin Carr.


Jackson leads the Big Ten with 698 yards rushing after going off for a personal-best 188 yards and two touchdowns against the Spartans.


Carr caught a career-high 11 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The senior is tops in the conference in receptions (43), yards receiving (595), touchdowns (8) and yards receiving per game (99.2). He has 11 more catches, 129 more yards and two more touchdown catches than anyone else in the Big Ten.

CATCHING A BREAK?


After playing three straight top 20 teams and three undefeated teams in the last four games, the Hoosiers face a much more manageable second-half schedule that begins with Northwestern. It certainly doesn't mean this will be easy. Though the teams haven't played since 2012, the Wildcats have won four straight in the series.


UNDER PRESSURE


After setting a Northwestern record with four sacks against Iowa, defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo had two more last week. That gave the senior a Big Ten-leading seven on the season. The Wildcats have 16 sacks on the season after collecting six against Iowa and four against Michigan State.

SEEING TWO


Indiana added a wrinkle last week when it rotated quarterbacks , with Zander Diamont complementing Richard Lagow.


Diamont provided a spark, completing 5 of 7 passes for 49 yards and running for 31 yards on eight attempts. Lagow, a junior-college transfer, is second in the Big Ten in yards passing per game (276) and tied for second in touchdown passes (12).

 

[CNOTES]

Syracuse hoping to follow upset with win
October 21, 2016


BOSTON (AP) When Syracuse coach Dino Babers thinks about last week's victory over Virginia Tech, he thinks about his team's future, not its past.


''Any time you take over a new program, there's going to always be that game that everyone goes back to that turns the program,'' he said this week. ''And hopefully three, four, five years down the road, people will point back to this game.''


Fresh off a 31-17 upset of the then-No. 17 Hokies, Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) travels to Boston College (3-3, 0-3) to play its former Big East rivals. And Babers is hoping his biggest win yet in his first year as the Orange coach will be just the first of many.


''You have to embrace the energy,'' he said. ''But now when you come back to practice, you need to go back to work and you need to grab your lunch pail, put your hard hat on and go back to work. And remember why that moment in time happened, where a bunch of young men got together and played a really, really good football game.''


The Eagles are coming off an off-week after losing their previous two ACC games to Virginia Tech and Clemson by a combined score of 105-10 and extending their conference losing streak to 11 games. This weekend could be one of their best chances to end it: the last conference team BC beat was Syracuse.


Of course, that was two seasons ago, on Nov. 29, 2014.


BC coach Steve Addazio said he is not consumed with ending the skid. But he is running out of chances: After the Orange comes North Carolina State, and then BC plays No. 7 Louisville and No. 13 Florida State before finishing up with non-conference Connecticut and then the ACC finale against Wake Forest.


''(There is) pressure to win Saturday,'' he said. ''Every game has unbelievable importance. Doesn't matter who we're playing, they get all your focus.''


Here are some other things to look for in Saturday's game:


WE ARE FAMILY


In last week's upset of Virginia Tech, Syracuse had 561 yards of offense and scored 31 points against the nation's third-ranked defense. Babers said the victory made the Orange ''a family,'' and he has to make sure it stays together.


Quarterback Eric Dungey was the ACC offensive back of the week after posting a career-high 417 yards of total offense - the first player in school history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game. His five 300-yard passing games is one shy of the Syracuse single-season record.


Linebacker Zaire Franklin also earned ACC honors, with 10 stops, including one for a loss.


''He seems to be the apex of their defense,'' Addazio said.


MORE HONORS


Boston College will retire linebacker Luke Kuechly's number during the game. After leading the nation in tackles for two straight seasons, Kuechly graduated as the most decorated player in BC history, collecting the Nagurski, Butkus and Lombardi awards. With the Carolina Panthers, he has recorded more than 100 tackles in each of his first four NFL seasons. He was named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 and AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.


DEFENSE RISING


Maligned the entire season before last week's breakthrough victory, the undermanned Syracuse defense rose to the occasion. The Orange defenders forced two Virginia Tech turnovers and kept the Hokies out of the end zone three times on five drives inside the Syracuse 20-yard line. Opponents are still averaging 6.5 yards per play.


EFFICIENT


Syracuse was 4 for 5 on fourth down against Virginia Tech.


''On fourth down or in the goal line, in the red zone, they're not afraid to throw the ball,'' Addazio said. ''It's not like, `Hey, we're going to line up, we're going to go get a foot or go get a yard. They might throw it; they might run it; they might QB sneak it. There's all kinds of things going on there.''


CONNECTIONS


Paul Pasqualoni, who coached the Orange from 1991-2004, is on the Boston College staff as the defensive line coach. Addazio worked for Pasqualoni at Syracuse from 1995-98.

 

[CNOTES]

Minnesota and Rutgers to meet in football for 1st time
October 21, 2016


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) After opening the Big Ten season on a two-game skid, Minnesota found a way to right itself with a backup quarterback.


Rutgers is hoping for similar results this week.


Coach Chris Ash has elevated Gio Rescigno to starter for the remainder of the season, hoping that his solid play in the second half against Illinois last week can help the Scarlet Knights (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten) get that elusive first conference victory.


Last week the Golden Gophers (4-2, 1-2) started Conor Rhoda in place of the injured Mitch Leidner, and the junior played mistake-free football to help them beat Maryland, 31-10.


''We tried, obviously, a lot of different quarterbacks,'' Ash said. ''This is not to blame the quarterback position or to blame Chris (Laviano). We have not produced on offense here in the last four weeks, when you've got four games, you've got 14 points, it's not good enough.''


Rhoda is expected to start his second straight game for the Gophers. Leidner was able to return to some light work in practice this week after suffering a concussion against Iowa on Oct. 8, but coach Tracy Claeys said earlier in the week that it would be difficult for him to get enough practice reps to be ready to play on Saturday.


For the Gophers, a bigger concern is not taking Rutgers lightly. Prior to a 24-7 loss to Illinois, the Scarlet Knights were outscored a combined 136-0 in losses to Ohio State and Michigan.


''You worry about yourself, and if you want to have an opportunity towards the end of the year, you've got to play your best each and every Saturday, and have respect for your opponent,'' Claeys said. ''You prepare for them. And if you don't, then something's going to happen.''


Here are some things to watch this week:


APPRECIATIVE RHODA: The former walk-on made his first career start last week at Maryland. And he tried to soak up the experience. ''Before the game I kept walking out there and looking at the field and it was an experience that I will never forget,'' he said. ''Definitely if I get that opportunity to play this week that will be a whole other experience doing it in front of a home crowd and I'm sure a bunch of my family will be able to make it and there will be that much more of an experience to be able to do it at home.''

LINGEN IMPROVING: Minnesota tight end Brandon Lingen figured to be one of the team's top pass catchers this season. But he needed surgery after a Week 2 win over Indiana State to repair a broken clavicle. He caught one pass for eight yards last week and Claeys said he will get more work this week. ''It's hard to just jump in there and play a whole bunch all of a sudden, and so I will work him in more and more,'' Claeys said.


WEARY RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights are one of two Big Ten teams that has yet to have a bye, and Ash said it is taking its toll on a banged-up group. ''It's tough, especially when you don't have the type of depth that you really feel like you need to go out and play in a physical league like we do,'' Ash said. Rutgers will have a bye next weekend.


LAVIANO DEMOTED: Ash bent over backward this week to make sure Laviano did not shoulder the blame for the team's struggles. In seven games, he completed just 48.3 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions. ''Chris has done everything that he's been asked to do,'' Ash said. ''He's changed his attitude. He's changed his work ethic. His commitment level to the football team has been sky high. He's provided tremendous leadership for the other members of the offense.''

 

[CNOTES]

Michigan State looks for return to normalcy vs Maryland
October 21, 2016


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) While taking a stroll through the Michigan State football complex earlier this week, Mark Dantonio took a long look at mementos from the great teams he has coached over the past nine years.


''It just sort of hit me a little bit, where we are right now relative to where we've been,'' he said.


The Spartans have finished in the Top 25 in six of the last nine years. They went 87-33 over that span, won four straight bowl games and three Big Ten championships.


That's where they've been. Where they are now is nothing less than confounding.


Michigan State (2-4, 0-3) will bring a four-game losing streak into Saturday night's game at Maryland (4-2, 1-2). The four defeats match the number of losses the Spartans absorbed in the last two years combined.


''Bad things are going to happen. That's going to be a part of your life,'' Dantonio said. ''People have to handle problems. So that's our mindset. That's what we have to do, and that's what we will do.''


Unless they can rebound with gusto, the Spartans' run of nine straight bowl appearances will end.


''It's something we've done every year,'' Dantonio said. ''We've sort of taken it for granted. I don't think you can obviously take things for granted right now. We're a 2-4 football team.''


Maryland first-year coach DJ Durkin is attempting to build the sort of dynasty Michigan State enjoyed through last season. He was headed in the right direction, winning his first four games, before a two-game skid pushed the Terrapins back to reality.


''We're coming off of two games that didn't turn out the way we wanted them to,'' Durkin said. ''We have to bounce back. This is how you find out what you're made of.''


---


Some other things to know about the matchup between Michigan State and Maryland:


QUARTERBACK ISSUES: Dantonio could play three different quarterbacks against the Terrapins. Or, he might choose one and stick with him. Senior Tyler O'Connor was replaced as the starter last week by redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke. Both of them played in a 54-40 home loss to Northwestern. Damion Terry is also in the mix for Saturday. Maryland will start Perry Hills if he's recovered from a shoulder injury. He missed the second half of a loss to Penn State and watched from the sideline as true freshman Tyrrell Pigrome struggled last week in a 31-10 drubbing by Minnesota.


BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Former Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins can't believe what's happening to the football program at his alma mater. ''It's been a challenge this year, but that happens,'' said Cousins, now the starter for the Washington Redskins. ''I lost three of my first four games as a starting quarterback at Michigan State,'' he said. ''I've always been a believer of the fact that tough times don't last, tough people do. They'll be all right, they'll regroup, get it together.''

NO DEFENSE: The Spartans are allowing 30 points and 378 yards per game. That's the most obvious explanation for the 2-4 start. ''You have to look at everything. That's what we've done,'' Dantonio said. ''We'll look at our leadership on the field, how we do things structurally, how we do things on the sideline. We'll look at it all and try and get everything in order.''

LIKELY IFFY: Maryland's standout kick returner and defensive back Will Likely is lost for the season with a torn ACL, the school announced Friday evening. Likely received the injury while returning a punt in the second quarter last week. In Maryland's 37-15 loss to Michigan State in 2014, he amassed a school-record 228 yards in kickoff returns. He was tough on defense, too - the 5-foot-7 senior had 14 tackles on Sept. 17 in a win over Central Florida.


LIGHTS ON: This will be the Spartans' third night game on the road. It's Maryland's first at home under the lights, and a huge crowd is expected. ''The night game is an interesting thing in college football. There's usually a pretty good atmosphere,'' Durkin said. ''At night, the fans are usually a little more excited and into the game. Being at home for a night game is great.''

 

[CNOTES]

No. 7 Louisville looks get offense going against NC State
October 21, 2016


LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Louisville is determined to get back on the gas against North Carolina State after its high-scoring offense was slowed down by Duke.


The visiting Wolfpack not only want to keep the brakes on the seventh-ranked Cardinals and Heisman Trophy contender Lamar Jackson, but knock off a ranked opponent along the way.


North Carolina State (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) faces its second straight top-10 road opponent in Louisville (5-1, 3-1). The Wolfpack would like to make up for missing a huge opportunity in last week's agonizing 24-17 overtime loss at No. 3 Clemson .


The Wolfpack defense did nearly everything necessary to win, forcing four turnovers and returning an interception for a touchdown. N.C. State drove toward a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation but missed, opening the door for the Tigers to win in OT. Now the Wolfpack's attention is squarely on Louisville.


''We believed we were going to win when we went down there and played good enough to win and just didn't get it,'' N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. ''Those guys understand what they have to do to do it again, and we don't have any time to lick our wounds. We're playing, in my opinion, as good or better (a) team this week.''


Louisville would like to prove it after scoring a season low in points in its 24-14 escape of Duke .


The output was more than 30 points less than the Cardinals' nation-leading average coming in, and having the ball for just over 22 minutes was a factor. But Louisville made the most of its limited time of possession behind Jackson, who accounted for 325 of its 469 yards on offense along with a touchdown each passing and rushing - including the late game-sealing score.


The Cardinals accepted the outcome but know they could have done better. Improvement is certainly needed against N.C. State, which ranks fifth in the ACC in time of possession (31:50 per game) and has a blueprint to follow in keeping the ball out of Jackson's hands.


''We need to be more consistent,'' said Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, whose teams are 5-1 against N.C. State. ''We didn't have a lot of touches in that game and we had some good drives and came away with no points, so we've got to take care of the football.''


---


Some other things to watch as the Wolfpack visit Louisville on homecoming:


HEISMAN HYPE: Jackson's playing down being a Heisman favorite hasn't stopped the school from touting him. Louisville has even launched a website promoting him, Lamar8.com , featuring his eye-popping statistics and lighting up a letter in his name after each game. Jackson said that while it was his childhood dream to win the trophy, the reality of actually being mentioned ''still hasn't hit me. I don't really think about it.''

NO RETURNS: It's been something close to that for the Wolfpack punt coverage, which has allowed just two returns for six yards this season. They'll have their hands full against Cardinals return man Jaire Alexander, who took one back 69 yards for a TD against Florida State and had a 90-yard TD return last week against Duke nullified by an illegal block penalty.


GOOD HANDS PEOPLE: Five Cardinals have at least 119 yards receiving with wideouts James Quick and Jamari Staples leading the way. They have 480 and 410 yards respectively with Quick's four TDs topping the receiving corps. Quick ranks fourth in the ACC with 80 yards receiving per game with Staples ninth at 68.3.

DAYES OF THUNDER: Ranked behind Jackson and Florida State's Dalvin Cook in ACC rushing is Wolfpack senior Matt Dayes with 111.5 yards per contest. Just over half of his 669 yards this season have come after contact, and he has rushed for 100 yards in 10 of his last 13 1/2 games.

 

[CNOTES]

No. 12 West Virginia, TCU try to keep pace in Big 12 race
October 21, 2016


MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) TCU and West Virginia share somewhat of a kinship as the two youngest members of the Big 12. Their head-to-head series has been close, too.


Three of their four meetings since joining the league in 2012 have been decided on the final snap. Two went to overtime.


''We really have a lot of respect for each other,'' said TCU defensive end Josh Carraway. ''They're going to battle their butts off, just like they know we're going to go out there and battle our butts off.''


No. 12 West Virginia (5-0, 2-0) is off to a surprising start but still has to face the conference's traditional heavyweights, starting Saturday with the Horned Frogs (4-2, 2-1). There are showdowns later against No. 9 Baylor and No. 16 Oklahoma, which are tied for first place at 3-0.


TCU edged the Mountaineers 31-30 in 2014 and 39-38 in double overtime in 2012 after making the 1,200-mile trip to Morgantown, so coach Gary Patterson has a formula for beating West Virginia on the road.


''Score one more point,'' he said.


TCU is the underdog this time and will face a West Virginia team coming off its best game of the season, a 48-17 win last Saturday at Texas Tech .


West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said he told his team the next day that ''if you like the feeling that you're having right now, then you've got to prepare. If you don't prepare, then we're not going to be in position to be able to win. Then everybody's going to tell you that you suck again. Then you're going to be in a bad mood. It's reality.''


TCU is 31-9 on the road since 2009. Lately, though, the Horned Frogs have struggled anywhere they play, losing to Arkansas and Oklahoma at home and barely winning at Kansas .


''On the road, it's just about finding your comfort zone, bringing your own energy,'' said TCU wide receiver John Diarse. ''That's tough, depending on the place. West Virginia does have a reputation of having a hostile crowd. We've just got to go in and be confident in what we do, be comfortable in what we do and minimize the mistakes.''


---


Other things to know about the sixth-ever meeting between TCU and West Virginia:


CLOSE CALLS: Both teams have had to squeeze out some wins. TCU came from nine points down in the fourth quarter to beat Kansas on the road two weeks ago. West Virginia beat Kansas State by a point after the Wildcats missed a late field goal, and BYU nearly came from 16 points down in the fourth quarter but was intercepted on its final drive near West Virginia's end zone.


RB PASS CATCHER: One of the focuses for West Virginia will be stopping TCU leading rusher Kyle Hicks, who also has a team-best 27 receptions for 308 yards. ''He's big. A thick kid, hard to bring down, but can still run a little bit,'' said West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. ''He's busted a couple big runs and he catches the ball well, so they aren't afraid to use him.''

FACING HOMETOWN TEAM: West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. Howard has improved his passing accuracy significantly to 66 percent and is fourth in the Big 12 with 318 yards per game.

SUSCEPTIBLE DEFENSE: TCU has allowed 40 or more points three times this season. ''Two years ago when they came here, they led pretty much every defensive category that existed,'' Holgorsen said. ''So just because they're not, that doesn't mean that they're not good. They're really good.''


COMEBACK FROGS: TCU overcame double-digit deficits against West Virginia in the second half in 2012, 2013 and 2014, losing only the 2013 game in overtime.

 

[CNOTES]

No. 25 LSU rolling into rivalry game with No. 23 Ole Miss
October 21, 2016


BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron has deflected questions about his past at Mississippi this week.


He's dismissed story lines revolving around his opportunity to beat the program that gave him his first head coaching job in the Southeastern Conference, and which fired him after three losing seasons.


''That's the furthest from my mind,'' Orgeron insisted as 25th-ranked LSU prepared to host No. 23 Ole Miss on Saturday night. ''This is about the LSU Tigers.''


Orgeron coached the Rebels from 2005-2007, when he hired an assistant named Hugh Freeze, who is now Ole Miss' head coach.


''That was a long time ago,'' Orgeron said. ''That's far from my memory, I promise you.''


Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that Orgeron, a Louisiana native, can't really afford a loss to Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2 SEC) if he wants to keep a job he has long coveted.


Fortunately for Orgeron, LSU (4-2, 2-1) has ample talent and seems to have hit its stride in the two games since he took over for Les Miles, who was fired in late September. The Tigers trounced Missouri 42-7 and demolished Southern Mississippi 45-10. Odds makers have listed LSU as the favorite by nearly a touchdown.


''They have, in the last few weeks, offensively put up a lot of big numbers,'' Freeze said. ''We are playing one of the better teams in the country this Saturday night and it is a great opportunity.''


Led by quarterback Chad Kelly, whose 308.2 yards passing per game leads the SEC, Ole Miss hasn't had trouble scoring. But the Rebels' defense has struggled at times, giving up 34 or more points in all three losses.


''They are not as stout as they've been in the past,'' Orgeron said. ''But I know this is a game they're going to want to be playing very well.''


While three losses makes Ole Miss a long shot to get back into the SEC title race, Kelly asserted that the Rebels remain highly motivated.


''We're playing to win every single game regardless of the outcome of the game before,'' Kelly said. ''I hate to lose and so do those guys in the locker room.''


---


LSU and Ole Miss have played 104 times since first meeting in 1894. Here are some of the sub plots of their 105th clash.


FOURNETTE'S FORM: LSU running back Leonard Fournette practiced this week for the first time since aggravating his left ankle injury on Sept. 24 and looks ready to play again. But LSU doesn't want Fournette's return to marginalize Derrius Guice, who has rushed for at least 155 yards in each of his three starts in place of Fournette. ''We want to rotate our guys, we want them to keep fresh. It might be a possibility of putting them both in the backfield at the same time,'' Orgeron said. ''They're both outstanding.''


TOUGH SCHEDULE: Ole Miss has played one of the most difficult schedules in the nation this season, which is a big reason the program is still in the national rankings despite a 3-3 record. LSU is the fifth nationally-ranked opponent the Rebels have faced in seven games. The Rebels had a 1-3 record against ranked opponents, losing to Alabama, Florida State and Arkansas and beating Georgia.

STINGY DEFENSE: Under first year coordinator Dave Aranda, LSU's defense has allowed only six touchdowns this season. ''They're athletic, they can run, they can hit. They do a lot of good things. That's what they're known for: their defense,'' Kelly said. ''We've just got to stick to what we do: Go fast.''

THE BOUNCE BACK: Ole Miss has a 7-1 record over the past three seasons when bouncing back from a loss, including a 2-0 mark so far this season. Freeze on trying to win against LSU after losing to Arkansas last week: ''It won't be done just because I come to work and say we are fixing to bow up and get it done. It is going got take a collaborative effort from a lot of people and a lot of kids.''

HARDWARE: Since 2008, the winner of this border state rivalry game has been presented with the Magnolia Bowl trophy, with each team winning it four times. Mississippi won it at home in Oxford last season.

 

[CNOTES]

PSU confident they can hang with Bucks
October 21, 2016


STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Ohio State coaches and players are plenty familiar with the difficult environment that awaits them in Happy Valley.


The No. 2 Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) survived against Wisconsin in a hostile, raucous atmosphere last week, similar to the one they'll face in their third-straight road game against Penn State (4-2, 2-1), where Ohio State will have to deal with more than 100,000 fans clad in white.


''There's a lot of energy right now in that program,'' Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. ''Wins do that for you. They played their best game, obviously, against Maryland, all the way around.''


It's a trend that'll have to continue for Penn State - nearly three touchdown underdogs - to have a shot against a team that's 30-1 in Big Ten regular season games under Meyer.


Ohio State brings the nation's third-ranked scoring defense and fourth-ranked offense into Beaver Stadium where the Buckeye's are 4-0 since 2005. But save for Wisconsin last week, Penn State is the only other team that's pushed Ohio State to overtime since Meyer took over, falling in two extra periods in 2014.


''The margin of error when you play a team like this is so small, you've got to be almost perfect on your details,'' Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley said.


That's a lesson Penn State's young lineup learned the hard way in their previous game against a top 5 team, a blowout to then-No. 4 Michigan where the Nittany Lions managed just three first downs in the first half.


''That's something where the margin of error showed up,'' McSorley said.


But McSorley's taken a page out of Ohio State counterpart J.T. Barrett's book lately. His 26 rushes for 154 yards and two touchdowns the past two games coupled with his ability to buy time with his feet so his receivers can get deep has led to big plays down the field.


It's evidence Penn State's offense has turned a corner since the Michigan game and is confident it can hang with Ohio State.


''I think we would be extremely comfortable if it's a shootout,'' tight end Mike Gesicki said. ''I think we would be extremely comfortable if it's going to be one big play that changes the game.''


RESPECTING BARKLEY: Ohio State's defense has allowed just one 100-yard rusher so far but hasn't faced one as dynamic as Saquon Barkley.


Leading the Big Ten with nine touchdowns, Barkley has 51 carries over the past two games and ran for 202 yards against Maryland.


''He's probably one of the top running backs in the nation, if not the top running back in the nation,'' Ohio State safety Malik Hooker said. ''He's got a lot of vision, makes a lot of jump cuts and stuff like that, and once he does that and gets a lot of teams out of their coverage, it's hard to get him down because he's got a lot of speed, too.''


LINEBACKERS BACK: Both teams are healthier at linebacker.


Penn State had seven out with injuries before starters Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda returned to practice on Tuesday. They'll play after missing the last five and four games with leg and hand injuries, respectively.


Ohio State's Dante Booker, who's missed the last five games with a knee injury, is also expected to return.


END OF THE LINE: Penn State will likely use a combination of Paris Palmer and Chasz Wright to plug the hole left by Andrew Nelson's season-ending knee injury and keep Ohio State's surging defensive line at bay. The Buckeyes had four sacks last week including a game-sealing swarming of Alex Hornbook in overtime.

GUSTY EVENING: Heavy rain and flooding Thursday evening into Friday around State College forced the athletic department to close a handful of parking lots prior to the game. While the rain is expected to stop before kickoff, wind could pick up with local forecasters predicting possible 40-mph gusts at game time.


TOUGH COMPETITION: A win for Penn State would be big to snap out of a long slump against the nation's best teams. Penn State is 0-9 against top 5 teams since 2005 - with four of those losses coming to Ohio State - and is 0-7 against the Buckeyes, Michigan and Michigan State since James Franklin arrived.

 

[CNOTES]

Army hosts North Texas in key game
October 21, 2016


WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) The sudden death of a budding star and two straight losses temporarily halted Army's fast start to the season. Count coach Jeff Monken among those who have marveled at the resolve of the Black Knights.


''I've really been impressed with this team and their ability to continue to focus through everything that we have been through this year,'' Monken said as he prepared for Saturday's home game against North Texas. ''I think they've handled the wave of emotions that comes with winning and losing, and I sense in our team that there's not a satisfaction like they accomplished what they wanted to this year.''


With a little luck, Army (4-2) could be unbeaten and already qualified to play in a bowl game. The Black Knights started the season with three straight wins, then blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and dropped an overtime game at Buffalo that was there for the taking in regulation. That setback came two weeks after defensive back Brandon Jackson was killed in a one-car accident in the hours after a victory over Rice at Michie Stadium. Then came a 13-6 loss at Duke played in a driving rain as Hurricane Matthew buffeted the East Coast.


Last week, Army rebounded with an emphatic 62-7 victory over FCS foe Lafayette, a nice reset with the imposing second half of the season looming. Air Force, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Navy still remain after Saturday's game against North Texas (3-3) of Conference USA.


Army's triple option chews up yards and time. For teams that rarely play against that type of offense, it's normally a real test. At least North Texas head coach Seth Littrell has had some extra time to prepare for the nation's top running team. The Mean Green is coming off a bye week.


''The challenges are you don't see them much,'' said Littrell, in his first season at North Texas. ''Seeing all the different reads, you have to be extremely disciplined. You have to have your eyes in the right spot. If you're not careful, people will be running wide open.''


This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Army and North Texas, and the Mean Green has yet to win one. Mapping out a plan on paper to succeed is easy. Executing it is another matter.


''You're going to have to be physical, no doubt, and you're going to have to stay patient ... and not get frustrated,'' Littrell said. ''It's crucial that you stay on the field when you've got the opportunity to score.''


Other things to know when Army hosts North Texas on Saturday at Michie Stadium:


NO. 1 AGAIN IN THE RUN: Army has regained its spot as the top rushing team in the nation. The Black Knights had 537 yards rushing against Lafayette and now are averaging 366.5 yards per game and 5.9 per carry. The North Texas defense is allowing 4.7 yards per carry.


RUN TO VICTORY: Tailback Jeffrey Wilson has been a key cog for North Texas. In the team's three wins, Wilson has averaged 142.7 rushing yards and the team has rushed for an average of 265.3. In the Mean Green's three losses, Wilson has averaged 44.3 and the team 31.3.


SACK CREW: Army has 15 sacks this season, and they've been nicely spread around. Alex Aukerman, Andrew King and Kenneth Brinson share the team lead with four apiece. Aukerman, a hybrid defender who can line up at either linebacker or end, has 8.5 tackles for loss and his 1.4 per game ranks 22nd in the country.


DEFENSE RULES: The Army defense is allowing only 14 points per game to rank fourth in the nation. The Black Knights also rank second in total defense, allowing an average of 245.2 yards per game, and second against the run, allowing just 99 yards per game on the ground.


''We've got to do a good job of making competitive plays in the run game,'' Littrell said. ''We've got to get off the ball. Our running backs are going to have to break tackles.''


FAMILIAR FOE: Both teams beat Rice. Army posted a 31-14 triumph over the Owls in September. Two weeks later, North Texas beat them 42-35 in double overtime.

 

[CNOTES]

WSU meets ASU amid accusations
October 21, 2016


TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) Washington State coach Mike Leach told the Pac-12 to look at whether Arizona State stole signs last season, joining a chorus of teams accusing the Sun Devils.


Leach has taken it too far this season, according to the Pac-12.


The conference fined Leach $10,000 and officially reprimanded him on Thursday, adding a layer of intrigue before the Cougars travel to the desert to face the Sun Devils.


''Conference rules prohibit Pac-12 member institutions from disparaging each other and discrediting other institutions,'' Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in statement. ''Information or accusations relative to rule violations must be handled by institutions filing those concerns with the Conference office through a formal process, and institutions must refrain from discussing those concerns publicly.''


Leach is not the only person to accuse the Sun Devils of stealing signs.


Utah's players said Arizona State stole signs during a game last year and both Oregon and Washington took the extra step of putting up sheets to block the Sun Devils' view from the other sideline.


The Sun Devils maintain they have done nothing wrong. Pac-12 rules do not prohibit sign stealing unless audio and video equipment were used to decipher the signs.


''Make this perfectly clear: We do everything exactly by the rules. Period,'' Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. ''Obviously, we take a great deal of pride in the integrity that our program has. I'll just leave it at that. I'm not going to get involved in things like that that are ridiculous. We're very open and honest about how we do things.''


A few more things to watch for when the Sun Devils host the Cougars:


OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS: Washington State had a dismal start to the season, losing to FCS Eastern Washington at home and Boise State on the road. The Cougars (4-2, 3-0 Pac-12) have righted themselves since then, winning four straight to join No. 5 Washington atop the Pac-12 North. Arizona State started the season strong and has faded now that conference play has started. After opening with four straight wins, the Sun Devils (5-2, 2-2) have lost two of three to fall a game behind No. 19 Utah and Colorado in the South Division.


WILKINS' HEALTH: Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins insisted he was 100 percent healthy after last week's loss to Colorado despite clearly having limited mobility. Wilkins did not play the week before against UCLA after suffering a right ankle sprain against USC and Graham acknowledged the sophomore was limited against the Buffaloes. Wilkins practiced this week and his mobility could play a huge part in Arizona State's chances Saturday night; the Sun Devils' run game suffers when he is not able to tuck and run.


FALK'S SEASON: Washington State quarterback Luke Falk led the nation in passing yards per game last season and was second in completion percentage. He's back among the national leaders as a junior. Falk enters Saturday's game second nationally with a completion rate of 71.5 percent and is fifth with 352 yards passing per game. Arizona State is last among the 128 FBS teams, giving up 384.4 yards per game, so Falk could have another big night.


THE SERIES: Arizona State has won 10 of the past 12 games against Washington State, though the Cougars won last year's game 38-24 in Pullman after a fourth quarter comeback. Washington State has not won in Tempe since 2001 and has not won consecutive games in the series since 2002-04. ASU leads the all-time series 26-14-2.

 

[CNOTES]

South Carolina, UMass struggle to score
October 21, 2016


COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolina-UMass may not be the game for you, not if you're looking for a lot of offense.


The Gamecocks (2-4) and Minutemen (1-6), who play Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, are two or the worst offenses in the country. Both teams are in the bottom six of the 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams when it comes to scoring. UMass is 118th in the country at 19.7 points a game while South Carolina is dead last at 14 points a contest.


First-year Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp has had to bite his lip and focus on the positives instead of his team's lack of offense .


''There is a lot of encouragement as far as those guys are going to continue to improve and get better,'' he said. ''Does it sometimes get you a little upset about where things are? Certainly, but I also try to keep some perspective about where we are and we're going to continue to improve.''


Part of that process could be a change at quarterback and scrapping the redshirt plans for highly regarded South Carolina freshman quarterback Jake Bentley. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Bentley was targeted to spend the season on the sidelines after giving up his senior season in high school - Bentley turns 19 next month - to enroll at South Carolina.


But the lack of attack has Muschamp and quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper searching for any answers to turn around the season.


Muschamp, as he has all season, was tight-lipped about his starting QB. Senior Perry Orth started three games while freshman Brandon McIlwain, who enrolled in January, started the others. Neither has been able to consistently move the Gamecocks.


''We are not in it to just play close. We want to win games,'' he said. ''That's what I've challenged our guys about, really straining and focusing for those six or eight plays whenever they come in the game to make a difference in those situations.''


UMass understands that too well, tight end Andrew Breneman said.


''I think we could look at every game we have played and say what could have been,'' he said. ''There were way too many mistakes from everyone, offense and defense.''


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Some other things to watch when South Carolina plays UMass


DE-FENSE: South Carolina has been better than expected at keeping opponents out of the end zone, sixth in the Southeastern Conference at 20.2 points given up a game. Gamecocks defensive end Darius English said the team worked on basics during its bye last week and feel refreshed headed into the season's second half.

SEC TOUGH: Massachusetts is facing its third Southeastern Conference opponent this season after throwing scares into Florida and Mississippi State. The Minutemen trailed the Gators 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter before losing 24-7. UMass was up 14-13 at halftime on Mississippi State before the Bulldogs took control with 28 points in the third quarter for a 47-35 victory. This is Massachusetts first game with South Carolina. UMass received $1.25 million for its trip to Florida and will get $1.5 million for playing the Gamecocks.


YOUNG GAMECOCKS: The Gamecocks hope to continue bringing along their young offensive players. Freshman A.J. Turner is the team's leading rusher with 300 yards. Sophomore Deebo Samuel and freshman Bryan Edwards, both starting receivers, returned from injuries last game against Georgia and combined for seven catches for 125 yards. Samuel also had a 9-yard TD run against the Bulldogs.


FORD TOUGH: Sophomore quarterback Andrew Ford has thrown for 12 touchdowns and six interceptions in four starts for Massachusetts. He hit his first 11 passes a week ago in a 56-28 loss to Louisiana Tech last week.

BOWL CHANCES: South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said he's spoken with the team about its goals of playing in a bowl game this season - one that must start by beating UMass. A win would equal its victory total from a season ago. Even if the Gamecocks win, getting to six wins to make the postseason will be difficult with SEC games against No. 18 Tennessee, Missouri and No. 15 Florida and a rivalry game at No. 4 Clemson.

 

[CNOTES]

Colorado keeping its focus on Pac-12
October 21, 2016


STANFORD, Calif. (AP) A year ago, Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre watched his struggling team play Stanford close early before a pair of quick scores just before halftime broke the game open and helped catapult the Cardinal to its third Pac-12 championship in four years.


How quickly things have changed.


This season the Buffaloes are tied for first place in the South Division and charging hard toward a potential berth in the conference title game while Stanford is two games off the pace in the North and simply trying to stay in the postseason picture.


Both teams can take a big step forward when they meet for a rare noon kickoff Saturday at Stanford Stadium.


Beating Stanford would not only enhance the Buffaloes' (5-2, 3-1) hold on the division lead but it would also make them bowl eligible just one year after they lost eight of their nine conference games.


That's nice, Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay said, but he and his teammates remain focused on a bigger prize.


''Our goal is Pac-12 champs, there's nothing less than that for us,'' Lindsay said. ''The bowl game will come as we continue to win games. We just need to focus on ourselves and Colorado football.''


The Buffaloes are off to their best start since 2005 but have lost five straight to the Cardinal, including all three times since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011.


MacIntyre said his team has to match Stanford's toughness in order to win, something the Buffaloes failed to do a year ago when they lost 42-10


''We have to be more physical than we were last year,'' MacIntyre said. ''We have to go in there and go toe-to-toe with them. We have to surpass what they do to be able to win the football game. That's a big challenge for us.''


This year could be different.


Stanford (4-2, 2-2) has come back to the pack after being dominant in the conference for several years. Many of the problems have come on offense and have been self-inflicted, from turnovers to costly penalties in the red zone that have repeatedly derailed the Cardinal's once-prolific offense.


''Those are things that we don't have here and that we don't accept here,'' Stanford coach David Shaw said. ''The thing with us is not doing those things that hurt us. It's just those one or two plays that kill a drive that we just can't have.''


Here are a few more things to look for when Stanford hosts Colorado:


MCCAFFREY ON THE MEND: Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey was held out of last week's win over Notre Dame with an unspecified injury. The 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist did some light on-field work three days after the Cardinal beat the Irish but is still questionable. If McCaffrey can't go, Stanford will once again lean on Bryce Love, who had his first career 100-yard game against Notre Dame.

RETURN OF THE MAC: Before taking over the Buffaloes program in 2013, MacIntyre spent three seasons as the coach at San Jose State and went 16-21 with the Spartans. While he's looking forward to going back to the Bay Area, MacIntyre won't have much time for walking down memory lane. ''After the game I'll probably get to see a few of those guys before we get on the bus to head back,'' MacIntyre said. ''That was a very special place in our family's lives.''


LINDSAY ON A ROLL: While McCaffrey is must-see TV every time he touches the ball, Lindsay has also done quite well for himself this season. The Colorado junior leads the Pac-12 with 614 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns and is the reigning conference player of the week after rushing for a career-best 216 yards and three scores against Arizona State.


GILBERT'S PASS RUSH: Colorado outside linebacker Jimmie Gilbert leads the Pac-12 with 6 + sacks this season and leads the nation with five forced fumbles. Gilbert has had at least one forced fumble in three consecutive games and will be facing a Stanford offensive line that has been banged up most of the year.

 

[CNOTES]

No. 10 Wisconsin looks to keep division hopes alive at Iowa
October 21, 2016


IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) In just three weeks, Wisconsin might go from being the toast of the Big Ten West to, well, toast in the Big Ten West.


The 10th-ranked Badgers (4-2, 1-2) earned the nation's respect after close losses to Michigan and Ohio State, dropping just two spots in this week's poll. And yet a loss on Saturday at unranked Iowa (5-2, 3-1) would put the Badgers three back of the Hawkeyes in the win column with just five games left.


There's also No. 8 Nebraska (6-0, 3-0), which hosts a Purdue team that just fired its coach on Saturday before it visits Wisconsin next week.


The Badgers might prove to be the best overall team in the West. They might also be out of the division title chase before Halloween.


''For us to be the best, we have to keep improving each week. That's the (halfway) report,'' Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said.


Iowa was supposed to be the team that everyone one in the West was looking up at by now.


Instead, the Hawkeyes are eager to prove they're a real division contender again.


Iowa rallied from two losses in three games with a tight win at Minnesota on Oct. 8. Last week, they sealed Boilermakers coach Darrell Hazell's demise with a 49-35 win that included three late and largely meaningless Purdue touchdowns.


Here are the factors that could decide things on Saturday when Iowa and Wisconsin renew acquaintances in Iowa City:


SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES


Purdue's late rally obscured the fact that the Hawkeyes have been much better defensively in recent weeks. On offense, Iowa has a pair of dangerous backs on pace for 1,000-yard seasons in LeShun Daniels Jr. and Akrum Wadley. Quarterback C.J. Beathard hasn't put up great numbers, largely because the Hawkeyes receivers have lacked the ability to separate from defensive backs. Still, Beathard is completing 60 percent of his passes and has 11 TDs against just four picks.


DEFENSE MATTERS


Wisconsin's defense has been spectacular all season. The Badgers are ninth nationally in points allowed per game at 15.2, despite the fact that they've already faced LSU and the Wolverines and Buckeyes. Iowa is 21st in the country with just 19.2 points allowed per game and has let up seven points or less three times this season. ''In games like this typically, little things are really going to matter - and they're good at little things. So if we're going to want to be in this ballgame, we're going to have to do that a little bit better, too, and really be detailed because it's going to be tough,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.


CICHY'S THE MAN


Wisconsin junior linebacker was named the Big Ten's defensive player of the week on Monday after making 15 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, and forcing a fumble against the Buckeyes. He and fellow linebacker T.J. Watt might prove to be a handful for an offensive line that could be without starters Cole Croston and Boone Myers.


HOME WOES


The visiting team has won the last five meetings in this series dating back to 2009. Iowa last hosted Wisconsin in 2014, when it also had control of its own destiny in the Big Ten West. But Melvin Gordon had 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Badgers rallied for a 26-24 win.


HE SAID IT


''I don't want to be Dr. Doom here. I think he's got a chance,'' Ferentz on tight end George Kittle, who is questionable for Saturday's game with a foot injury.

 

[CNOTES]

No. 3 Michigan has proven ability to focus on any opponent
October 21, 2016


ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) Michigan has gotten good at focusing on each opponent, avoiding the tendency some teams have of overlooking inferior opponents.


Illinois provides another opportunity, especially with the Wolverines' game next week against rival Michigan State on the road and next month's showdown at No. 2 Ohio State.


The third-ranked Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) are favored to rout the Fighting Illini (2-4, 1-2) by more than five touchdowns. When they've been favorites by a lot of points this season, they've usually delivered. The latest example came in Michigan's last game when it was expected to win at Rutgers by nearly four touchdowns and ended up winning 78-0.


Jim Harbaugh, though, looks and sounds the same every week. Whether his team is preparing to play the Scarlet Knights, or a ranked team such as Wisconsin, he beats the same drum publicly and privately.


Even though Illinois appears to pose no threat to spoiling the Wolverines' potentially special season, you wouldn't know it by listening to Harbaugh.


''It'll be a challenge,'' he said. ''A championship-type football game for our team.''

Here are some things to watch when Michigan hosts Illinois on Saturday:


THE COMEBACK: Michigan linebacker Mike McCray has been one of the top players on a highly touted defense, making 32 tackles, including five for losses, intercepting a pass and forcing a fumble. McCray, a senior, hadn't started a game until this year's opener against Hawaii. He missed all of last season with a shoulder injury.


''It's a lot different now,'' McCray said. ''I feel a lot better. I'm not down or anything on myself.''


BACKFIELD BY COMMITTEE: Illinois' best bet to move the ball has been its running game. The Illini are averaging 189.8 yards rushing, primarily due to the work of tailbacks Reggie Corbin, Kendrick Foster and Ke'Shawn Vaughn. Vaughn went into the season as the starter, a job that the freshman Corbin has taken over. All three share time in the backfield. The top producer so far has been Foster, who has run for 384 yards - 6.2 per carry - with five rushing touchdowns and two more receiving.


''We have like a three-headed monster in the backfield,'' Foster said. ''We all bring something from speed to wiggle to explosiveness.''


NO OFFENSE: History will be made at the Big House when Harbaugh and first-year coach Lovie Smith become the first college coaches to face each other after leading teams to the Super Bowl. In their only previous NFL matchup, Harbaugh helped San Francisco beat the Smith-led Chicago Bears 32-7 in 2012. When asked about matching up with Smith again, Harbaugh couldn't recall the game in which Colin Kaepernick made his first start for the 49ers.


''I don't remember any meetings we had in NFL,'' Harbaugh said.


TAKEAWAYS: Smith came to Illinois preaching the takeaway philosophy his Bears teams relied on and the Illini are tied for fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-eight. The five turnovers Illinois forced in last Saturday's win over Rutgers were a big difference in the game.


''We've got to keep building on that,'' Smith said. ''That's a part of our DNA.''


THREE AND OUT: Michigan's Jabrill Peppers-led defense leads the nation in six categories, including how it fares on third downs. Teams are converting just 12.2 percent of third downs against the Wolverines this season.


''It takes all 11 playing well together,'' Harbaugh said. ''Stopping the run on third and short yardage situation, pass-rush, tackling, not allowing yards after contract, not allowing yards after shorter passes, defending deeper balls.''

 

[CNOTES]

No. 17 Arkansas, No. 21 Auburn meet again after 4-OT battle
October 21, 2016


AUBURN, Ala. (AP) The Auburn Tigers are rested from an open date while Arkansas has reached the midpoint of a grueling stretch against ranked teams.


A win in their matchup Saturday would elevate either team's mood and, perhaps, their season.


The 21st-ranked Tigers (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) hope to have a healthy Kerryon Johnson back running the ball with the extra week following a dominating win over Mississippi State. The 17th-ranked Razorbacks (5-2, 1-2) are fresh from their first league victory, 34-30 over No. 23 Mississippi.


They're also on Round 3 of a five-week stretch against ranked SEC teams.


''To play in the SEC West, it's just a way of life,'' Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said.


As close as they come historically, this rivalry had mostly produced fairly one-sided games in recent years before the Razorbacks' 54-46 win in four overtimes last season.


Auburn holds a 6-5-1 record in meetings at Jordan-Hare Stadium and has overall outscored Arkansas just 633-629 in 25 previous games.


The Tigers this season have had one of the SEC's better defenses while Arkansas managed to score 34 points on the Rebels and 30 in a loss to No. 1 Alabama two weeks ago.


''Our offense is really starting to hum the last couple of games,'' Bielema said.


Auburn's offense has been humming pretty well lately, too. Much of that on both counts has to do with the league's two most efficient passers, the Tigers' Sean White and the Razorbacks' Austin Allen.


A still-inexperienced White helped bring Auburn back on the road last season and further cemented the trust of his coaches and teammates.


''We were still learning about Sean at the time,'' Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. ''We learned a lot about him that day. We saw the way he handled pressure and getting hit. He showed a lot of toughness that game.''


---


Some other things to watch for when Auburn hosts Arkansas:


AUBURN'S BACKS: Johnson injured his right ankle early in the Mississippi State game, and has practiced this week, though Malzahn hasn't disclosed much about his status beyond that. Kamryn Pettway wound up rushing 39 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns in that game for a team that's third in the SEC in rushing.


RUSHING WILLIAMS: Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams took over as the SEC's leader in rushing yards following his career-best 180-yard rushing performance against Mississippi. The sophomore had his neck broken in the game against the Tigers last year, missing the final six games of the season, but he's returned to top form this year - having gained 785 yards on the ground through the first seven games.

RAZORBACKS VS. RANKED: Saturday will be Bielema's 46th game as the coach of the Razorbacks, and it will be his 23rd against a ranked opponent. Five of those have come this season, with Saturday's game against the Tigers marking Arkansas' third straight game against a ranked member of the SEC. Next up: No. 15 Florida and No. 25 LSU.


MAD MALZAHN: Malzahn tries not to dwell on last year's game against his home state Razorbacks, but it appeared to be a turning point in the season. After that, Auburn struggled down the stretch until the bowl game. ''When I think about it, it still makes me mad, but that's last year,'' Malzahn said. ''That's history. There's nothing I can do about it.''


EFFICIENT QBS: White is the league's highest rated passer with a 157.2 rating and a 69.7-percent completion rate. Allen is the second-most efficient thrower (156.0) and also leads the SEC with 18 touchdown passes.