In the FCS Huddle: ODU hopes to keep soaring in Year 2
NCAA Football Betting Lines
05/14/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - His first-year program was about to make
its initial road trip last season when Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder
learned something, just days before the Monarchs' visit to Jacksonville
University:
Among the 60-player travel squad, about half had never been to Florida
previously. Roughly 20 players had never been on a flight. During the week,
Wilder and his staff worked as hard on calming nerves as he did on a gameplan.
When the charter plane took off out of Norfolk, Va., Wilder received one of
the bigger surprises of the season.
"There's kids sitting back there behind me that are nervous about the flight,"
he remembered. "So I'm up front, I'm trying to go through all these scenarios
in my head, (like) how am I going to talk to them pre-game? We get ready to
take off, the plane's going down the runway, and as the plane starts to lift
off, I look back and I see 60 kids all with their hands in the air, screaming
at the top of their lungs like they're on a roller coaster.
"That tells me at that point that we're going to be fine, number one, and this
team is different - they're loose, they're relaxed, whether it's because they
don't know any better or we've done a good job preparing them. That really set
the stage for our season."
In their first campaign since 1940, the biggest surprise of ODU's season was
the 9-2 record, which represented the most wins for a start-up program in FCS
history. The Monarchs ranked fifth in the FCS in home attendance average
(19,782) with seven sellouts at renovated Foreman Field. They scored at least
28 points in each game, finishing with a 35-point average to tie for third
in the FCS. They lost only to Monmouth (31-28) and at Fordham (34-29).
Now about that roller coaster ride...
ODU did so well so quickly that nobody will be happy if the Monarchs fall back
to earth when they start to play a tougher schedule. This year, they will
remain an independent school for a second straight season, adding the likes of
William & Mary, Gardner-Webb and Cal Poly to the home schedule as well as a
trip to neighboring Hampton. Next season, they will join the Colonial Athletic
Association - the top conference in the FCS by any objective measure.
"Coming off this first season, I really feel like we absolutely exceeded all
our expectations that I had or the people associated with Old Dominion had in
our first season," said the 45-year-old Wilder, who knows CAA Football
intimately after spending 22 years as a player and assistant coach at the
University of Maine.
"As many people have been reminding me in a fun sort of way, we really set the
bar high for this program. That's the way I wanted it. I want us to build a
championship program here at Old Dominion. I feel like we can do that with the
area that we're in, the recruiting, the school that we have here, the
facilities that we have at Old Dominion, we have everything in place to build
a championship program. And that's the goal."
The team's motto for 2010 - "Humble & Hungry" - seems to start with the team's
increased depth. Even quarterback Thomas DeMarco, who rushed for
892 yards and 17 touchdowns and threw for 1,921 yards and 21 touchdowns
against only four interceptions as a redshirt freshman, was pushed during
spring practices by transfer Dominique Blackman, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound left-
hander. Blackman has a stronger arm than DeMarco and showed he can run the
offense, but DeMarco still holds the No. 1 job.
The Monarchs played many freshmen and redshirt freshmen last season, and
competition thrived when newcomers joined the fold this spring. Tailback
Angus Harper pushed his way into a deep rotation led by Mario Crawford.
Hofstra transfers Ronnie Cameron and Deron Mayo earned starting roles on the
defensive line, while West Virginia transfer Dominik Davenport joined the mix
up front. Linebacker J.J. Williams, who redshirted last season, earned a
starting role. Among returnees, standout strong safety Craig Wilkins was moved
up to linebacker and free safety Devon Simmons moved into Wilkins' old spot,
bringing more speed to the defense.
Almost all of the team returns, including leading tackler Mych McJunkins at
linebacker, leading wide receiver Reid Evans, All-American punter Jonathan
Plisco (an FCS-best 44.8 yards per punt), and special teams standouts Dustin
Phillips and Edmon McClam.
"We're now at the position for the first time with our program," Wilder said,
"where we have depth and we have competition at positions all across the
board. And I've always felt like in order to develop a championship team,
you've got to have competition every day at practice, you've got to have
competition in your winter workouts, you've got to have competition with your
summer workouts. And we know have that. Our team clearly understands that if
they don't show up every day and give their best effort, there's somebody else
who might take their position.
"We can't look beyond anybody because, to be quite honest, we're not that
good. We're not an established team like a William & Mary that we're going to
play. We've played football for one year."
AROUND THE FCS
- Tim Hawkins emerged out of spring practices as the No. 1 quarterback at
Texas State, which is replacing four-year starter Bradley George. Hawkins, who
will be a redshirt sophomore this fall, won the job over Eric Soza, who is in
the process of transferring from the Southland Conference school. Incoming
freshman Tyler Arndt, who threw for over 7,100 yards and 75 touchdowns during
his high school career, will make his case for the top job this summer.
- Tony Robertson's injury-plagued career at Appalachian State has come to an
end, although the defensive end will remain with the program as a student
assistant coach this season. Robertson was an All-America honorable mention
selection by The Sportsbook Betting Lines in 2007, but has played in only three games
each of the past two seasons because of a foot injury. Robertson injured his
shoulder while lifting weights in January, and surgery on it wiped out his
final season of eligibility.
- Senior-to-be Sean Creadick should fit nicely as quarterback Greg Denham's
favorite target at UC Davis after the Aggies lost All-Great West first-team
selections Chris Carter and Bakari Grant. Creadick caught nine passes
for 105 yards and a touchdown as the Blue squad, led by Denham, beat the Gold
squad, 14-3, in the intrasquad scrimmage which ended spring practices.
- The Ivy League is at the head of the class among the 19 FCS football
programs that earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards. The awards are given each
year to teams in the top 10 percent of their sport based on the most recent
multi-year Academic Progress Rate.
The NCAA recognized all eight Ivy football programs: Brown, Columbia, Cornell,
Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale. Honorees from CAA Football were
Maine, Northeastern, Richmond, Villanova and William & Mary. Bucknell, Colgate
and Holy Cross of the Patriot League, Davidson and Dayton of the Pioneer
Football League, and Presbyterian of the Big South Conference also earned the
recognition.
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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