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09/21/2011 - Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Oregon Ducks hit the road this weekend for their Pac-12 Conference opener against the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson.
Oregon, which reached the BCS National Championship Game a year ago, began the 2011 season with a 40-27 loss to a very good LSU team on a neutral field. Since that disappointing setback, the Ducks have reeled off back-to-back victories, including last week's 56-7 romp over FCS foe Missouri State. They have now scored 125 points the last two games, but it remains to be seen if that level of offensive production will carry into league action.
"You really clean it up as you get into Pac-12 play, with the two new teams in it, the championship game, and it's going to be an exciting season," said Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who understands the importance of playing flawless football in this league opener. "I really don't know how it's going to play itself out. By and large the Pac-12 season opens up next week for everybody, and we got to be ready to go."
The schedule has been brutal for Arizona early on this season, as the team is set to play its third consecutive top-10 opponent. After crushing Northern Arizona to open the campaign, the Wildcats have been beaten soundly by Oklahoma State and Stanford in consecutive weeks. After the loss to Stanford by a 37-10 final last weekend, 'Cats head coach Mike Stoops remained resolute.
"With our team, we have to do things right, and we are doing a lot of good things," said Stoops. "We just got exposed because we are young, but when you play against these types of team, you do get better. That is the bright side we have to focus on."
Oregon owns a 22-14 series lead over Arizona, which includes victories in each of the last three meetings.
The Ducks had their way offensively against Missouri State last week as expected, posting 681 total yards en route to eight touchdowns. The ground attack was lethal, compiling 416 yards on 43 attempts. LaMichael James is one of the nation's top tailbacks, and he raced for 204 yards and three scores. Quarterback Darron Thomas was effective through the air, completing 11-of-15 passes for 206 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
"Obviously, we feel like we can run the ball, but with Darron back there it allows us to be a balanced football team and make the defense cover the entire field," says Kelly of the offense. "As we develop more depth out of a receiver, and have some people there that people have to take notice too, then I think it's just going to help us as a team."
Through three outings, the Ducks are generating 50.7 ppg and 539.7 total ypg, and 12 of the 19 offensive scores have come through the air. Thomas has thrown 10 touchdowns against only one interception and has completed 62.5 percent of his throws. James has rushed for 325 yards and five scores on just 42 carries, and Lavasier Tuinei paces the receivers with three touchdown receptions.
The Ducks held Missouri State to 289 total yards and one touchdown despite failing to generate a single turnover. Surprisingly, the Oregon defense was on the field for nearly 40 minutes despite limiting Missouri State to 6-of-17 efficiency on third-down conversion attempts. Opponents are scoring 22.3 ppg against Oregon thus far.
Arizona knew it was facing a tough Stanford defense last week and failed miserably in an effort to establish the run, finishing with a mere 51 rushing yards on 23 attempts, an average of just 2.2 yards per tote. That lack of success put added pressure on quarterback Nick Foles and the passing attack. Foles did complete 24-of-33 passes for 239 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, but that effort simply wasn't enough.
"They did exactly what I thought they would do," said Foles. "They were very physical on both sides of the ball. We didn't execute very well on third down and that killed us."
Stanford was able to hold the ball for nearly 36 minutes against Arizona and scored five offensive touchdowns, including three on the ground. The Cardinal were able to rush for 242 yards at a clip of 6.2 yards per carry and averaged a gaudy 16.2 yards per pass completion.
Overall this season, Arizona is generating 21.7 ppg and 419.7 total ypg while yielding 28.0 ppg and 473.3 total ypg. The Wildcats have committed just one turnover so far, but they have also notched a mere two takeaways while posting only three sacks. Foles is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and has completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns against zero interceptions. Juron Criner is a star at receiver as well, but the Wildcats are hampered by what has to be considered one of the worst ground attacks in the FBS.
<< Commodores and Gamecocks square off in battle of unbeatens
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having survived yet another scare, the 12th-
ranked South Carolina Gamecocks will take on a surprising group of Vanderbilt
Commodores in Columbia this weekend.
Vanderbilt is undoubtedly feeling good after crus
<< Padres turn to Bass in finale with Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie right-hander Anthony Bass makes the second start of
his career, and first since June, when the San Diego Padres visit Coors Field
to wrap up a three-game series today against the Colorado Rockies.
A 23-year-old, Bas
<< U.S. to face Switzerland in 2012 Davis Cup opener
Bangkok, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The all-time titles leader United States
will battle host Switzerland in an opening-round tie next year, as the 2012
Davis Cup World Group draw was announced on Wednesday.
The 32-time champion America
<< Marlins' Vazquez tries to stall Braves' playoff plans
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting boosted by a pair of youngsters last night,
the Atlanta Braves are counting on veteran Derek Lowe to get back on track
Wednesday and inch the club closer to a playoff spot.
Atlanta's offense will also have it
Alabama hosts Arkansas in clash of ranked SEC foes >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what promises to be one the toughest
battles of the college football weekend, the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide
welcome the 14th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks to Tuscaloosa for an SEC clash.
Bobby Petrin
Kentucky hosts No. 15 Florida in SEC fray >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Florida Gators have dominated
the Kentucky Wildcats for the past three decades, and they will attempt to
continue that trend on Saturday night when the SEC foes meet in Lexington.
Will Muscham
No. 2 LSU visits No. 16 West Virginia >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked LSU Tigers of the SEC and
the 16th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big East Conference will
collide in what should be a physical battle from Morgantown.
LSU owns the nation's longe
No. 9 Nebraska hits road to battle Wyoming >>
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hitting the road for the first time this
season, the ninth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers make their way to Laramie this
weekend to challenge the Wyoming Cowboys in non-conference action at War
Memorial Stadium.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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