Revenge Games - Circled Games

[GoSooners]

East Carolina at WVU Sept 12

It's true that this will be a revenge game. But from a betting perspective it may not be a good game to play as you have a BCS conference team playing a non BCS team. For WV backers, you'll probably end up giving more points than you like. The real kinds of betting opportunities you get with teams like East Carolina were for example their first couple games last year where they played VT and WV at home and were getting points and getting no respect from the oddsmakers. And on the other side of that coin, later in the season when ECU was getting hyped by the media as the next BCS bowl buster for knocking off two BCS teams, they then had to go on the road and play another BCS team NCST and give points. That was a perfect betting opportunity to go against ECU. And after giving a TD to NCST lost the game outright. If it's anything I learned last season it's that you don't bet on non-bcs teams giving points to a bcs conference school. Any way you look at it, it's just not a good investment. No matter how good the betting situation looks. It's true that you have a fair share of non bcs teams knocking off the big boys every year. But very seldom will you see them do it as favorites. It usually comes as a surprise. And there's usually an extenuating circumstance involved like a young rebuilding BCS team going on the road early in the season. Like VT vs ECU last year. Or WV, who had a new coach and system in trying to make Pat White a passing QB. Which didn't work so well early on. So ECU went from being 9 point dogs to VT and 7 point dogs to WVU to 7 point favorites over NCST. This is a 16 point swing from their first game. Which from a betting value persepctive was HUGE. What was really funny about this situation was that a couple weeks after ECU lost to NCST on the road as 7 favorites, the public still hadn't learned their lesson, and also made them a 6 point favorite when they played another BCS team Virginia on the road, with the same results. Virginia won straight up. So ECU's hype from those first two games carried over until October 11th. And in fact after ECU covered their first two games, they lost their next 4 games ATS. All as favorites. But the media hype made them a good play against after that.

 

[russ1945]

GS: Nice observation. I agree timing is everything. These two teams meet early in the season again (Sept. 12) and both play patsies the first week of the season. So both teams are already preparing for this years meeting. It is at W Vir and (as OU fans well know) W Vir can get into a zone from time to time. Still a good one to keep in mind but the spread will determine if it is a play or not. Revenge...at home...defintely one to watch.

 

[GoSooners]

GS: Nice observation. I agree timing is everything. These two teams meet early in the season again (Sept. 12) and both play patsies the first week of the season. So both teams are already preparing for this years meeting. It is at W Vir and (as OU fans well know) W Vir can get into a zone from time to time. Still a good one to keep in mind but the spread will determine if it is a play or not. Revenge...at home...defintely one to watch.

Something else to keep in mind is Pat White is no longer playing for WV. I would hold off betting big on WV until we know how they are going to operate without him in HC Stewart's and WV's second year removed from coach Rodriguez.

 

[nd2000]

Something else to keep in mind is Pat White is no longer playing for WV. I would hold off betting big on WV until we know how they are going to operate without him in HC Stewart's and WV's second year removed from coach Rodriguez.

Personally, i think WVU is going to be a team that continues to go downhill. HC Stewart is terrible. Probably the nicest man you could ever meet, but he is a horrible coach IMO. If he doesn't recruit well, the WVU program could be headed straight for the shitter because he will get out-coached by the majority of the coaches in the Big East.

 

[CasualObserver]

Iowa will pound Northwestern at home in 2009

Reasons.

1. Northwestern out-toughed the hawkeyes last year AT IOWA CITY ON HOMECOMING FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA.

2. Because of the 11 team league, there are screwy Home/Away situations that occur in the Big Ten. Iowa gets Northwestern at home for a 2nd year in a row. The hawkeyes will be out to prove something after getting beat on their home field on homecoming the year before.

Lay the lumber. Take the hawks in this one.

 

[AR_23]

Texas vs Texas Tech in Austin 9/19

McCoy out for fuking revenge.

 

[groundhog11]

East Carolina at WVU Sept 12

agree.....

 

[groundhog11]

It is hard to get a grasp on this wvu team....Im not sure losing pat white will be that big a deal....dont get me wrong, he is awesome....but with JB as QB he can scramble and he will also run from time to time....instead of JB getting 20 carries a game like pat white did they will go more to devine and they will be throwing the ball more so teams will have to loosen up a little.....

Offense: The problem right now looks to be the o-line....WR,QB RB are all ok....might need some RB depth....several people have expereince on the o-line so hopefully they can gel more by aug. camp.....


Defense: They are all around solid....look for T.Finau to come in June and contribut along the D-line....Reed Wiilliams is bcak at LB which will be a big plus....THe only problem could be CB but time will tell.....This could be the best defense since 1996 when they had the number 1 D in the country.....


Overall: I look for wvu to be a little better off this year....Big East looks to be weaker which will help and I think Stewart learned several lessons last year.....All the coaches have been retained which will aide in more player development and he is not as nice a guy with the players....He is being harder on them.....Nonconference games, I see wvu winning them all except at aub....Sfla will be tough as will pitt.....

 

[UoweDucks]

Some more color on the opening day game UO @ BSU. BTW I would hope that by now Peterson has fixed that inverted release on Peterson's throwing motion.



In Boise, they can't wait to get their hands on the Ducks; Pac-10 news, notes & links

Posted by Ken Goe, The Oregonian April 15, 2009 08:34AM

Idaho Statesman Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore riddled the Oregon secondary last season.
In case you were wondering, they are pretty excited in Boise for that Sept. 3 game against Oregon in Bronco Stadium.
How excited?
The Idaho Statesman, Boise's daily newspaper, is counting down the seconds until kickoff.
It doesn't take much imagination to guess what kind of reaction the Ducks will get when they trot onto the Smurf Turf for the first time.
It's not every day that an established Pacific-10 Conference contender deigns to play in Boise, where the Broncos have been darned near impossible to beat.
There are a lot of ties between the two coaching staffs. Boise State defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox played at Oregon, on both sides of the ball. His brother was a very good UO tight end, and his dad is an Oregon legend.
Heck, Boise State coach Chris Petersen was an Oregon assistant and, for a long time, rumored to be the heir apparent to Mike Bellotti. Well, Bellotti stepped down and the job went instead to UO offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Now, Kelly has to begin his head-coaching career in one of college football's toughest environments.
Then, there is the bad blood lingering from what UO fans still contend was a late hit last year on Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Every time the subject comes up, Boise State fans see it as disrespect for the fact the Broncos came into Autzen Stadium and beat Oregon.
Oh boy, no wonder they are revving up for this already in Boise.
Click here for the Idaho Statesman's ticking countdown of the minutes and seconds remaining until the Oregon game.
The Broncos have their spring game on Friday.
The Boise State coaches have consulted with other coaching staffs, including Oregon State's as they prepare for the 2009 season.

 

[russ1945]

Ducks: You may have hit on a phenomom - we could call it the double revenge/circle game. Boise rates much higher in my breakdown because they are in the plus column (offense outscores their opponents - avg per game). Oregon is in the minus column. But new year, new teams, etc.
Last year Oregon had three games and three wins under their belt and Boise St was their 4th straight home game. Oregon still lost. This year they go to Boise and it is Kelly's first game as a head coach. Oregon may be Boise State's only speed bump to a perfect season since Boise has about as easy a schedule as anyone could ever hope for. No wonder they are making such a big deal about it. If they lose the air is out of their balloon before it even has a chance to take off. Oregon has incentives and an experienced QB can deal with the crowd. Boise will do whatever it takes, and if they get behind may go on some fourth down conversions that they might otherwise have passed on. It literally makes or breaks Boise State's season and any hopes of a BCS bowl. If TCU beat Boise St. LY then I don't see any reason Oregon can't beat them this year. Who knows maybe playing each other early on is best for Oregon as they have Utah and California in Sept also. Oregon lost a lot, at least more than Boise, so if they could pull it off it would be one hell of a momentum maker for Kelly and the players. I can't wait to see that one.
My countdown clock is running also.

 

[UoweDucks]

Ducks: You may have hit on a phenomom - we could call it the double revenge/circle game. Boise rates much higher in my breakdown because they are in the plus column (offense outscores their opponents - avg per game). Oregon is in the minus column. But new year, new teams, etc.
Last year Oregon had three games and three wins under their belt and Boise St was their 4th straight home game. Oregon still lost. This year they go to Boise and it is Kelly's first game as a head coach. Oregon may be Boise State's only speed bump to a perfect season since Boise has about as easy a schedule as anyone could ever hope for. No wonder they are making such a big deal about it. If they lose the air is out of their balloon before it even has a chance to take off. Oregon has incentives and an experienced QB can deal with the crowd. Boise will do whatever it takes, and if they get behind may go on some fourth down conversions that they might otherwise have passed on. It literally makes or breaks Boise State's season and any hopes of a BCS bowl. If TCU beat Boise St. LY then I don't see any reason Oregon can't beat them this year. Who knows maybe playing each other early on is best for Oregon as they have Utah and California in Sept also. Oregon lost a lot, at least more than Boise, so if they could pull it off it would be one hell of a momentum maker for Kelly and the players. I can't wait to see that one.
My countdown clock is running also.

What a terrific choice for first game of the season. It is what CFB is all about. You are right that playing it early helps Oregon. The ducks have traditionally been VERY good vs teams with more than a week to prepare. I've put in for tix and depending on my sons football practice schedule, I'll be there.

 

[Gator627]

They had 5 TO's against Houston too. According to Steel's list Houston returns 8 on offense including the QB. I thought Kevin Kolb was the QB and he graduates. Do you know anything about that?

Kevin Kolb is about to start his 3rd season with the Eagles.

You probably didnt notice since they just bring in another no-name type QB and they light up the scoreboard all the same.

 

[russ1945]

Kevin Kolb is about to start his 3rd season with the Eagles.

You probably didnt notice since they just bring in another no-name type QB and they light up the scoreboard all the same.

My bad. I know they put a whooping on Tulsa LY. Houston and Texas Tech just seem to have a system where they can just plug one in although I am quite sure they would love to have Kolb back. I have not done a break down on Houston yet for 2009.

 

[russ1945]

How much will Tulsa's offense be effected by the loss of Gus Malzahn?

I know you brought this up awhile back but their recent spring game may have answered your question. Last Saturday The Tulsa offense scored 8 TD's and it looks like they have QB's galore. Freshman Shavodrick Beaver led them on four drives, threw for 2 TD's and ran for 66 yds and 1 TD. Sophmore G.J. Kinne was 15/30 for 219 yds and 2 TDs and Junior Jacob Bower threw for 77 yds and 1 TD going 11/20.
I just went over last years game with East Carolina and I think I will make that a circle/revenge game for Tulsa also. QB Johnson had his worst game of the year but Tulsa led FD's 28-14 and yardage 399-278 but had 7 TO's to E.C.'s 1. Johnson threw 5 ints and funbled on a sack. T.O.'s set up almost all of E.C.'s scores and that was for the CUSA title. Yeah, I think I will circle this one myself. Oh yes, they play at Tulsa this year too.

 

[russ1945]

Having fun with Mike Leach
Evidently, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach has been re-energized – at least in his dealings with the media – by his new contract. Leach has been a quote machine in the past 10 or so days.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Image-->First, he took aim at the Cleveland Browns' new coaching staff after word surfaced that Browns officials didn't like former Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree's attitude when he visited with team officials before the draft. Supposedly, someone in the Browns' organization called Crabtree a "diva."
Leach's response: "Michael Crabtree has been more successful as a receiver than that guy [Eric Mangini] as a coach at this point. … My definition of a diva is someone who's loud and self-absorbed. Michael Crabtree is the furthest thing from loud that I've seen. ... Let's see how all those non-divas do up in Cleveland this year."
Second, he took aim at the entire NFL and how the league's teams draft quarterbacks: "The truth of the matter is that the NFL drafts quarterbacks notoriously bad. That's indisputable. ... I don't have an answer for why they don't have a skill for drafting a quarterback. Well, I think the priorities are out of order. 'Accurate' and 'makes good decisions' needs to be a priority, not something they need to teach him because they don't do that very well."
Third, Leach was incredulous that Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee – who was a reserve for much of his senior season – was drafted in the fourth round by Dallas (and Tech quarterback Graham Harrell – who led the nation in passing – wasn't drafted at all): "The Dallas Cowboys like him more than his coaches at A&M did."
Fourth, after Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman talked on back-to-back days about Leach's comments on McGee, Leach let fly again, with tongue firmly planted in his cheek: "I've always known A&M had great players. The fact that they have the luxury to put a third- or fourth-round draft pick on the bench, to me, identifies what a truly great team they are. It's an honor for us at Texas Tech to have the opportunity to play them. There are numerous players on our team that will never get a look or play a down in the NFL, so you can imagine how exciting it is for me and them to go play a team the magnitude of Texas A&M and look over there on the bench and see third- and fourth-round draft picks."
Tech plays host to A&M on Oct. 24 this season.


Comment:
I don't know if Leach circled this game or Mike Sherman did but the gauntlet has surely been thrown down. For a coach who took so much time with his contract it has not taken him long to make new enemies.
He is feeling his oats for one reason or another.

 

[russ1945]

I started this thread back in February and that was probably way too soon. This thread could prove beneficial at finding the kind of games where you get the A game you look for when you back a team. I just thought I would throw some attention on it in hopes some guys who are just starting to get back in here can maybe throw us a bone or two. I am still looking for more myself.