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11/21/2008 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Burris wasn't a happy camper at the CFL's awards banquet Thursday night.
After both he and Calgary Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis were snubbed for individual awards, a rather testy Burris greeted reporters at Casino de Montreal.
"Let's get this over with," Burris fumed. "We've got a dag-gum game to play, and if we're going to keep getting robbed like this..."
It seems Burris and the Stampeders figure the only way to earn respect in the CFL is to win the Grey Cup by downing the hometown Montreal Alouettes despite finishing the regular season with the league's best record at 13-5.
"I've always said this, so the media here, please listen to this...there's one thing you can never take away from a team, and that's a championship," Burris continued.
John Hufnagel, the former NFL assistant coach who's in his first year as Calgary's head coach and GM, certainly has the Stampeders positioned right to earn their first Grey Cup title since 2001, which incidentally came at Olympic Stadium.
Hufnagel is certainly familiar with Canadian football, He played 12 seasons as a CFL quarterback with Calgary, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg from 1976 to '87, then served as the Stampeders' offensive coordinator from 1990 to '96 before heading to the Arena Football League.
Then Hufnagel spent seven seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL with Cleveland, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New England and the New York Giants before returning to Canada.
During Hufnagel's time in the NFL, he worked with the likes of Peyton and Eli Manning as well as New England superstar Tom Brady.
Burris has certainly flourished under Hufnagel, setting career highs this year in passing yards (5,094) and touchdowns (39). Burris was also the CFL's top rushing quarterback with 595 yards to earn his first nomination for the CFL's outstanding player award - won by Montreal's Anthony Calvillo.
Burris also has quite a supporting cast as Calgary's offense also includes the league's top rusher (Joffrey Reynolds, 1,310 yards) and receiver (Ken-Yon Rambo, 100 catches, 1,473 yards, eight touchdowns).
However, Rambo isn't Burris' only option on passing downs. Nik Lewis added 87 catches for 1,109 yards and 10 touchdowns while Jeremaine Copeland (52 catches, 764 yards, seven touchdowns) still remains a dangerous receiver despite sub-par stats - by his standards.
With all the offensive firepower, Calgary finished the season tied with Montreal for tops in average time of possession (32:09) and first in field goals (50) while finishing second in scoring (32 points per game), average yards per game (412), average gain per rush (6.4 yards), touchdowns (58), passing TDs (39) and yards allowed (356 per game).
Last year, Calgarys defense was the CFL's worst, but with the offseason hiring of Chris Jones from Montreal, the unit has transformed into the league's best.
The Stampeders were the toughest team to score against, allowing a league-low 21.5 points per game. They also gave up just 90 yards rushing per game, 24 touchdowns and 11 rushing touchdowns, all tops in the CFL.
Calgary's defense also finished second overall in takeways with 50 (19 interceptions, 19 fumbles and 12 on downs). As a team, the Stampeders were tied with B.C. with the top giveaway-takeaway ratio at plus-20.
Linebacker Shannon James was the defense's leader, posting a team-high 73 tackles. Safety Wes Lysack was the club's top pass defender with four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
DeAngelis had a solid season, leading the CFL in scoring with 217 points while connecting on 50-of-58 field goals. Punter Burke Dales finished fourth overall with 46.1-yard average.
<< Around the CFL: Montreal trying to win big one at home
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes will definitely have
home-field advantage for the Grey Cup.
The Alouettes will have the support of 60,000-plus rabid supporters on Sunday
when they take on the Calgary Stampeders at
<< Rampage winger Lisin rejoins Coyotes
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes recalled right winger
Enver Lisin from their American Hockey League affiliate, the San Antonio
Rampage, to replace Daniel Winnik, who was placed on injured reserve, it was
announc
<< Let's make a deal: Knicks trade away Crawford, Randolph
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks made a couple of big
trades on Friday, including a trade of guard Jamal Crawford to the Golden
State Warriors for forward Al Harrington.
Later on Friday, the Knicks announced t
<< Red Bulls, Crew both gunning for first MLS Cup
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the dust settles on the Major League Soccer
title game at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, one of the two combatants - the
New York Red Bulls or the heavily favored Columbus Crew - will be hoisting
their r
Giants Burress to extension >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico
Burress is suffering from a right hamstring injury and is considered a game-
time decision to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
Burress, who was hurt
Giants' Burress game-time decision >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico
Burress is suffering from a right hamstring injury and is considered a game-
time decision to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
Burress, who was hurt
Habs' Komisarek out at least a month >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Komisarek
will miss at least a month with what the team is calling an upper-body injury.
The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Komisarek, the seventh overall selection by
the
Collins leads No. 17 Miami past Southern Miss >>
St. Thomas, VI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwayne Collins scored 14 points and grabbed
nine rebounds to lead the 17th-ranked Miami Hurricanes to a 70-60 win over
Southern Miss in the Paradise Jam opener.
Jack McClinton and Lance Hurdle added 13
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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