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Crimson Tide begin national title defense against visiting SpartansNCAA Football Betting Lines09/01/2010 - Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked atop the AP Poll as the 2010 season gets underway, begins defense of their national title when they play host to the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday evening at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. San Jose State, one of the weaker teams in the nation the last few years, plays its football out of the Western Athletic Conference, and faces the daunting task of opening this new campaign against the top-ranked team in the country for just the second time in its history. The only other previous season-opening encounter against No. 1 took place in 2000 when the Spartans challenged Nebraska. SJSU's last win over a ranked foe was also in 2000 when it defeated No. 9 TCU at home, 27-24. The Spartans' last road win over a ranked opponent was back in 1980 when they won at No. 9 Baylor, 30-22. San Jose State went a dismal 2-10 a year ago and enters the 2010 season with a new head coach as Mike MacIntyre takes over for the retired Dick Tomey. MacIntyre, the son of former Vanderbilt head coach George MacIntyre, has never been a head coach at the major college football level before, instead serving as an assistant most recently at Duke, and also in the NFL. Alabama, under the guidance of Nick Saban, went a perfect 14-0 last season, capturing the 13th national championship trophy in its storied history. The top-ranked Tide took out No. 2 Texas in the BCS Championship Game, 37-21. Saban owns an official record of 28-8 in his three years at 'Bama, and is one of two coaches to have won two BCS National Championships (Florida's Urban Meyer being the other), having also accomplished the feat while at LSU in 2003. This game marks the first-ever meeting between San Jose State and Alabama on the gridiron. The Spartans are young, with nearly 30 players preparing to make their college football debut. MacIntyre pointed out that fact recently, "Fifty percent of our two-deep are first-time players. It will be their first time playing in a major college football game. I would say we have 'diaper rash.' We're young." Jordan La Secla (near-60 percent completion rate in 2009, with 10 TDs and 11 INTs) has been named the starter at QB, at least for this opener, as the fifth-year senior will try to lead to the Spartans by example, both on and off the field. La Secla is thrilled at the opportunity handed to him, "Obviously, I was excited (to hear the news). It's been a tough camp for me - a lot of competition, but you have to be ready for that every year. I'm just really excited we can take the next step now. The team's been waiting for somebody to be announced. Now that Coach has made the decision, we can take the next step forward as an offense to get things rolling." Getting things rolling won't be easy against an Alabama defense that is among the best in the nation. San Jose State ranked nearly last in the FBS in scoring (13.8 ppg) last year, and finished 117th in rushing (76.7 ypg). Hoping to improve upon both figures, the Spartans will likely hand the ball to either Lamon Muldrow or Brandon Rutley, the former having rushed for 592 yards and three TDs in '09, and the latter also expected to see time in the defensive backfield for San Jose State this fall. With regard to the receiving corps, Jalal Beauchman and Josh Harrison are expected to be the guys La Secla looks to most often, but both will need to raise their respective games if the Spartans are to have any success on offense this season. Defensively, the Spartans were downright terrible against the run last season, ranking 119th nationally (259.2 ypg). At first glance, this year's defense doesn't appear to be overly impressive, but there is some talent, notably guys like Duke Ihenacho and Mohamed Marah. Coach MacIntyre loves the way Ihenacho, a two-time All-WAC performer, plays the game, "If he (Ihenacho) keeps doing well, after coaching in the NFL for five years, this young man has the ability to do it if all the breaks come his way." Marah is back after suffering a season-ending injury last year, and could be one of the players that MacIntyre tries to have go both ways as the 6-0 senior has played both linebacker and running back while at SJSU. Last season, Alabama ranked fourth in the SEC and 22nd nationally in scoring (32.1 ppg), and the team averaged 403.0 total ypg. With eight starters back on offense, it wouldn't be that surprising if the Tide were somehow able to increase those figures. In order for that to happen, reigning Heisman Trophy- winning tailback Mark Ingram must have the kind of campaign he did a year ago when he rushed for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns. Unfortunately, Ingram underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and will miss this game, and potentially more time moving forward. Saban explained what went into the decision to address the situation now rather than later, "It was a situation where everyone involved thought it would be better to take care of now, so he would not have any issues with it later in the season." The coach continued, "This is not an injury that will affect Mark's future ability to make a full recovery in a relatively short time frame." In Ingram's absence, sophomore Trent Richardson is expected to get the bulk of the carries in the opener, but it will likely be QB Greg McElroy's job to put the offense in position to score after throwing for 2,508 yards and 17 TDs with only four INTs a year ago. Three starting wide receivers are back in place, and Julio Jones appears to be the best of the bunch. Jones was inconsistent in '09, but he has NFL ability and will be expected to take a major step forward as a junior. The offensive line isn't as stable as Saban would like, at least not yet, but the hope is three returning starters will have the unit as a whole whipped into shape in no time. While the Alabama offense is loaded with returning starters, only one starter is back on defense. Saban, while reserving judgment on his defense at the outset, is excited about the guys he expects to make plays on that side of the ball. "We don't have a lot of depth, but I do like the talent level we have." He continued, "I do like the attitude that the players have worked with. I think this is going to be a defensive team that improves throughout the course of the season." Alabama ranked first in the SEC and second nationally in scoring defense (11.7 ppg), rushing defense (78.1 ypg) and total defense (244.1 ypg) last season. The Tide also proved to be an opportunistic bunch, finishing with the fourth- best turnover margin in the country (plus-19). The defensive line figures to be solid despite four new starters, as many holdovers saw extensive playing time in 2009. The man to watch is Marcell Dareus (6.5 sacks), who was the defensive MVP of the BCS Championship Game. The return of LB Dont'a Hightower from a season-ending knee injury will be paramount to the unit's overall success as when healthy, he is among the best players at his position in the SEC. Another guy the coaches expect big things from is sophomore safety Mark Barron, who came up with seven INTs a year ago.
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NFL Football BettingBILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover. BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week. COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy. TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win. RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win. PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start. JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch. SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do. VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams. DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home. SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one. BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1. BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses. RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw. PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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