Defense comes up big for Mountaineers

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/05/2010 -

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -West Virginia is accustomed to scoring in bunches. What stood out after the season opener was an effort unseen from its defense in quite some time.

The Mountaineers earned their first home shutout win in 13 years on Saturday, giving up just 186 yards in a 31-0 victory over Coastal Carolina.

``Having a shutout is huge for this defense,'' senior defensive lineman Chris Neild said. ``This is the first shutout that I've been a part of since I've been playing here. We knew that we had to come out fast and make a statement and I think we did with this game.''

The Mountaineers returned nine starters on defense this season, led by a three-man front consisting of Neild, Julian Miller and Scooter Berry, so the result against an FCS opponent wasn't too surprising.

West Virginia also rolled out a new defensive formation with four linemen on passing downs that included junior college transfer Bruce Irvin. Coastal Carolina quarterback Zach MacDowall hurried many of his passes and often threw to spots where he didn't have any receivers.

``We put so much pressure on that quarterback on third down that he had a hard time releasing the ball,'' said West Virginia safeties coach Steve Dunlap. ``If we can continue to do that, it makes the secondary coaches look awfully smart.''

The pursuit to the ball also showed on running downs.

West Virginia was maligned for allowing six 100-yard individual rushing efforts last season, but eight different Coastal Carolina players combined for just 63 yards.

Safety Terence Garvin, a new starter, had 10 tackles to match his total for all of last season.

``We were flying around out there and I thought we looked real fast,'' Neild said.

Maybe not fast enough at times. The Mountaineers were unable to register any sacks and forced only two turnovers. They'll get the chance to improve on that Friday night at Marshall (0-1).

``I'm pleased with the way our defense played, reacted and took control of the game,'' said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart. ``The most important thing is that we played with reckless abandonment. There were collisions and not just contact.''

Some of the collisions came at a cost. Safety Robert Sands, the Big East's interception leader last season, hurt a thumb and his right shoulder on consecutive plays in the third quarter. His status for Friday's game wasn't immediately determined.

West Virginia earned its first shutout since a 38-0 win at Cincinnati in 2005 and its first home shutout win since beating Rutgers 48-0 in 1997.

The defense might be counted on for more such efforts until the offense can put together a complete game.

West Virginia led only 10-0 at halftime but scored on three of its first four drives of the second half. Geno Smith, making his first career start, completed 20 of 27 passes for 216 yards before taking a seat early in the fourth.

``I don't want to make excuses for Geno, but this was his first complete game and he's a sophomore,'' Stewart said. ``He'll get better and he's my guy.''

Noel Devine rushed for 111 yards, but the largest chunk of his yards came on a 39-yard run late in the game to set up West Virginia's final touchdown.

West Virginia has been looking for another offensive weapon to emerge to help out Devine and slot receiver Jock Sanders and the Mountaineers may have found that in sophomore Tavon Austin.

Austin, hoping to become more than just a return specialist for the Mountaineers, showed his speed at wide receiver against the Chanticleers, coming up with two nice runs after catches. He led the team with 90 yards on five receptions.

``The object was to get the ball in our playmakers' hands and I think that's something that we did today,'' Smith said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwcricket365 NCAA Football Betting News

<< Veteran coach Jack Crowe leads JSU to huge victory
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -Jack Crowe has been coaching football for 40 years, but even he was at a loss to describe how Jacksonville State pulled off the unthinkable with a 49-48 double-overtime victory over Mississippi on Saturday.Not only was it undoubt

<< With Hampton out, Robinson shines for No. 9 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -The anticipation for Iowa sophomore running back Jewel Hampton's return from knee surgery and a one-game suspension has reached a fevered pitch in Iowa City.Meanwhile, Adam Robinson keeps moving the chains.Robinson, an unherald

<< No. 5 Texas' new running game unimpressive
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -Texas spent the offseason loading up a new power running game that was going to get tough yards and first downs when they need it.The Longhorns still have some work to do.By the numbers, Texas was able to grind out 197 yards on 4

<< Bomar, Pascoe among 7 on Giants practice squad
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Quarterback Rhett Bomar is back with the New York Giants.Bomar, who threw more passes than any other Giant this preseason, was among seven players signed to the team's practice squad on Sunday.The Giants say they also si

<< Smyth wins Senior Masters by three
Woburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ireland's Des Smyth posted a three-under 69 Sunday to win the Travis Perkins Senior Masters by three strokes. Smyth finished the event at 10-under-par 206. The victory was Smyth's third on the European Seni

Clijsters, Venus roll into quarterfinals in New York >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams each recorded straight-set victories in fourth-round play Sunday at the 2010 U.S. Open. Clijsters needed just 59 minutes to post a 6-2 ,6-1

Verdasco moves on to fourth round at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fernando Verdasco was a third-round winner Sunday at the U.S. Open. The eighth-seeded Spaniard dispatched Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Verdasco was a quarter-finalist here l

Frogs overcome Fiesta flashback to beat Oregon St. >>
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Andy Dalton and the TCU Horned Frogs can now start looking forward to trying to make another BCS run.The sixth-ranked Frogs survived a tough opening test, beating No. 24 Oregon State 30-21 Saturday night in their first game si

Nats recall P Balester >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals recalled right- hander Collin Balester from Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. It's the third callup this season for Balester, and over six appearances in the 2010 campaign, he is 0

Cousins' hit lifts Marlins over Braves in extras >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Cousins' pinch-hit single -- his first big league hit -- in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Emilio Bonifacio, as the Florida Marlins got by the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-g

MySportsbook.com offers Blackjack contest and $10,000.00 in Free Prize money!

Every month MySportsbook.com's casino host, Jack Black, gives away $10,000.00 in free casino prize money. To Enter - All you have to do is play at least 10 hands (total) of Blackjack on one of the specified dates of the blackjack contest. The online casino host randomly hands out free bonuses ranging from $50 - $500, and one lucky player who will receive a free $2,500.00 bonus.

"We have been running this monthly free blackjack contest to our active mebers for 5 years now, and the players just love it," says Jack Black, online casino host at MySportsbook.com. "And why wouldn't they love a free chance to win some extra online blackjack cash."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.

FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting