Thursday's FREE NCAA Football Selection
4 STAR SELECTION (4.25% of Bankroll)
AKRON -11 over Kent State
It's not often that two teams play consecutive games against each other, but the Kent State Golden Flashes and Akron Zips will do so here when they collide in the Mid-American Conference opener from the Rubber Bowl. The two teams met in the 2002 regular season finale with the Zips coming away with a crushing 48-10 victory and their sixth straight win in the annual Battle of the Wagon Wheel. The triumph was Akron's fourth in its last six games, after a dismal 0-6 start to the season, and they look to carry over their late-season success to this campaign.
Kent State finished the year just 1-7 in conference play despite having one of the top rushing teams in the nation last season. Quarterback Joshua Cribbs is a double threat as he rushed and threw for more than 1,000 yards for the second straight season. If he can duplicate those stats this season, he will become the first player in NCAA history to throw and run for 1,000 yards in three consecutive campaigns. Defensively the Golden Flashes had all kinds of trouble stopping the opposition in 2002. The biggest problem was slowing down the run, as the unit yielded over 200 rushing ypg. The unit returns only one player from the defensive line so things may not improve dramatically, especially against the Zips.
Akron possessed one of the nation's top offenses last season, ranking 28th overall with averages of 27.1 points and 404.3 total yards per contest. The squad is led by preseason All-MAC candidate Charlie Frye, who set numerous team records last season. The mobile and big-armed play caller will have a talented group of wideouts to throw to while tailback Bob Hendry is considered one of the top runners in the MAC. With ALL 11 starters returning, including four players that weigh over 300 pounds, Akron's offense should be even better this time around. If the defense could keep pace with the offense, the Zips could be a force to be reckoned with in the MAC. They have some quality returners on the stop unit and should be improved from last season which will be a great complement to the offense.
In this meeting of two bitter rivals, Akron clearly has the edge, especially with their veteran offense facing the greenhorn Kent State defense. The Zips simply have too much on offense for the Golden Flashes to handle and should win the game rather easily in front of the hometown faithful. Akron usually starts strong as shown by their 6-1 spread mark in home openers. Kent State went a pathetic 1-9 ATS last season, including dropping their last 8 spread decisions of the season. They are just 31-48 ATS in MAC play and are not quick starters, going just 3-8 ATS in their lined openers. While this game has the potential to be a blowout like last season's finale, we'll call for Kent State to keep a little more respectable; however, they should finish no closer than 2 TD's of the Zips who will come away with a comfortable SU/ATS win.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: AKRON 38 KENT STATE 23
Thursday's FREE NFL Exhibition Selection
BALTIMORE -4 over NY Giants
Still without the services of All-Pro players Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey, the New York Giants will try to avoid a winless preseason when they tangle with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Head coach Jim Fassel's club is coming off a 15-14 loss to the New York Jets and will take the field without several regulars. Strahan, the NFL's all-time sack leader, is sidelined with a broken toe, while Shockey is out with hurting ribs. The Giants will also be without safeties Shaun Williams and Johnnie Harris.
Oh, yeah, starting quarterback Kerry Collins will also rest for this contest. Third-string quarterback Jason Garrett is expected to play extensively this week, while second-stringer Jesse Palmer should play the rest of the contest. To make matters worse, the Giants will be down to a 4th-string long snapper, as all three of their players at the position are hurt. This could make punts and FG attempts quite an adventure and certainly no sure thing. Look for the Ravens to apply some additional pressure and work on their kick blocking.
Baltimore head coach Brian Billick has somewhat of a quarterback controversy on his hands with the way rookie Kyle Boller is playing. Boller, who is competing with Chris Redman for the spot, received his first start of the preseason last week, completing 14-of-20 passes for 101 yards in a 24-3 loss to Washington. Meanwhile, Redman was 17-of-28 for 163 yards and an interception. Look for both to get quality time here behind the starting offensive line as Billick gives each QB another chance to win the starting job. Billick was not happy at all with the Ravens performance last week in Washington and will be looking for a strong effort here going into the regular season. Look for Billick to have his team playing much better this week. Ray Lewis and the Ravens "D" should be frothing at the mouth as usual, and with the Baltimore starters seeing significantly more playing time than the Giants’ starters, our play on is on the Ravens.
4 STAR SELECTION (4.25% of Bankroll)
AKRON -11 over Kent State
It's not often that two teams play consecutive games against each other, but the Kent State Golden Flashes and Akron Zips will do so here when they collide in the Mid-American Conference opener from the Rubber Bowl. The two teams met in the 2002 regular season finale with the Zips coming away with a crushing 48-10 victory and their sixth straight win in the annual Battle of the Wagon Wheel. The triumph was Akron's fourth in its last six games, after a dismal 0-6 start to the season, and they look to carry over their late-season success to this campaign.
Kent State finished the year just 1-7 in conference play despite having one of the top rushing teams in the nation last season. Quarterback Joshua Cribbs is a double threat as he rushed and threw for more than 1,000 yards for the second straight season. If he can duplicate those stats this season, he will become the first player in NCAA history to throw and run for 1,000 yards in three consecutive campaigns. Defensively the Golden Flashes had all kinds of trouble stopping the opposition in 2002. The biggest problem was slowing down the run, as the unit yielded over 200 rushing ypg. The unit returns only one player from the defensive line so things may not improve dramatically, especially against the Zips.
Akron possessed one of the nation's top offenses last season, ranking 28th overall with averages of 27.1 points and 404.3 total yards per contest. The squad is led by preseason All-MAC candidate Charlie Frye, who set numerous team records last season. The mobile and big-armed play caller will have a talented group of wideouts to throw to while tailback Bob Hendry is considered one of the top runners in the MAC. With ALL 11 starters returning, including four players that weigh over 300 pounds, Akron's offense should be even better this time around. If the defense could keep pace with the offense, the Zips could be a force to be reckoned with in the MAC. They have some quality returners on the stop unit and should be improved from last season which will be a great complement to the offense.
In this meeting of two bitter rivals, Akron clearly has the edge, especially with their veteran offense facing the greenhorn Kent State defense. The Zips simply have too much on offense for the Golden Flashes to handle and should win the game rather easily in front of the hometown faithful. Akron usually starts strong as shown by their 6-1 spread mark in home openers. Kent State went a pathetic 1-9 ATS last season, including dropping their last 8 spread decisions of the season. They are just 31-48 ATS in MAC play and are not quick starters, going just 3-8 ATS in their lined openers. While this game has the potential to be a blowout like last season's finale, we'll call for Kent State to keep a little more respectable; however, they should finish no closer than 2 TD's of the Zips who will come away with a comfortable SU/ATS win.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: AKRON 38 KENT STATE 23
Thursday's FREE NFL Exhibition Selection
BALTIMORE -4 over NY Giants
Still without the services of All-Pro players Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey, the New York Giants will try to avoid a winless preseason when they tangle with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Head coach Jim Fassel's club is coming off a 15-14 loss to the New York Jets and will take the field without several regulars. Strahan, the NFL's all-time sack leader, is sidelined with a broken toe, while Shockey is out with hurting ribs. The Giants will also be without safeties Shaun Williams and Johnnie Harris.
Oh, yeah, starting quarterback Kerry Collins will also rest for this contest. Third-string quarterback Jason Garrett is expected to play extensively this week, while second-stringer Jesse Palmer should play the rest of the contest. To make matters worse, the Giants will be down to a 4th-string long snapper, as all three of their players at the position are hurt. This could make punts and FG attempts quite an adventure and certainly no sure thing. Look for the Ravens to apply some additional pressure and work on their kick blocking.
Baltimore head coach Brian Billick has somewhat of a quarterback controversy on his hands with the way rookie Kyle Boller is playing. Boller, who is competing with Chris Redman for the spot, received his first start of the preseason last week, completing 14-of-20 passes for 101 yards in a 24-3 loss to Washington. Meanwhile, Redman was 17-of-28 for 163 yards and an interception. Look for both to get quality time here behind the starting offensive line as Billick gives each QB another chance to win the starting job. Billick was not happy at all with the Ravens performance last week in Washington and will be looking for a strong effort here going into the regular season. Look for Billick to have his team playing much better this week. Ray Lewis and the Ravens "D" should be frothing at the mouth as usual, and with the Baltimore starters seeing significantly more playing time than the Giants’ starters, our play on is on the Ravens.
