NCAAF Week 12 Rewind
By Brian Edwards
Alabama got warmed up for the Iron Bowl by blasting Georgia State 63-7 as a 45-point home favorite Thursday night. Greg McElroy hit Julio Jones with a pair of touchdown passes and the defense didn’t give up a score, as Bill Curry’s team got its lone touchdown on one of its many kick-off returns.
As of Sunday night, the Tide was listed as a four-point home favorite for Friday's Iron Bowl vs. Auburn. 'Bama has only beaten the Tigers once before in Tuscaloosa.
Boise State made another strong statement in Week 12, handing Fresno State a bagel in a 51-0 win as a 30 ½-point favorite. The Broncos dealt out cream-cheese treatment to a team that had scored 27 points or more in its 10 previous games.
Kellen Moore threw three more touchdown passes, bringing his season total to 27. Chris Petersen’s team is now 8-2 ATS. The Broncos will put their unbeaten record on the line Friday at Nevada before hosting Utah St. in their regular-season finale. Most books had BSU as a 14 1/2-point road favorite over the Wolfpack as of Sunday night
Just like I said all week long, Wisconsin rolled to an easy 48-28 win at The Big House. Like I said back in August and again this past week, Rich Rodriguez is going to get pink slipped after the Wolverines lose in blowout fashion in the regular-season finale at Ohio St.
The Badgers are doing everything they can to bolster their resume in case teams like Boise St., Oregon and Auburn go down. They jumped out to a 24-0 lead on Michigan in the second quarter and were able to hold on even though their lead was cut to 31-21 at one point.
Michigan St. kepts its Big Ten title hopes alive by outscoring Purdue 22-3 in the fourth quarter. Down double digits midway through the final stanza, the Spartans rallied to capture a 35-31 victory. The comeback win spoiled the hopes of bettors who took the Boilers on the money line for a plus-900 payout at The Las Vegas Hilton (risk $100 to win $900). Nevertheless, Purdue still cashed tickets as a 21-point road underdog.
Once upon a time, Steve Spurrier’s teams scored 50-plus points about every other week. But during his tenure at South Carolina, Spurrier’s sqauad had only eclipsed the 50-point mark once in six years (52-17 vs. Middle Tennessee in ’06).
One week removed from winning the SEC East for the first time, the Gamecocks had 56 points by halftime en route to a 69-24 win over Troy as 21 ½-point home favorites. Marcus Lattimore had 102 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries. Stephen Garcia completed 9-of-12 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, while WR Alshon Jeffery had five receptions for 120 yards.
South Carolina will play at Clemson next Saturday before going to the Ga. Dome to face Auburn in the SEC Championship Game.
Some books posted Florida as a 24-point favorite for its home finale against Appalachian State. The Gators were able to cash tickets in their 48-10 win over the Mountaineers. UF senior WR Carl Moore was ejected for fighting and will therefore miss the first half of next week’s game at FSU.
Ohio St. created a three-way tie at the top of the Big Ten standings by rallying late in the fourth quarter to win 20-17 at Iowa. The Buckeyes hooked up their backers who got their bets in early in the week at 2 ½, but game-day wagers resulted in a push with the line moving up to Ohio St. minus three. The 37 combined points stayed ‘under’ the 47 ½-point total.
Maybe Ron Zook will hold onto his job at Illinois, after all? The Illini bounced back from last week’s fourth-quarter collapse to Minnesota by thumping Northwestern 48-27 at Wrigley Field. Zook’s team took the cash as a 7 ½-point favorite.
Virginia Tech clinched a spot in the ACC title game by dominating the second half in a 31-17 win at Miami as a 2 ½-point road ‘chalk.’ Ryan Williams rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries. The Hokies have won nine in a row and have gone 8-1 ATS since losing to Boise St. and James Madison in a five-day stretch to start the regular season.
Stanford demolished California by a 48-14 score thanks to another monster game from Andrew Luck, who completed 16-of-21 passes for 235 yards and two TDs without being picked off. Luck also had 72 rushing yards on just three carries. The Cardinal easily took the cash as a 6 ½-point favorite against the Bears, who were 5-0 ATS in their previous home games.
LSU got a seven-yard TD run from Stevan Ridley to propel it to a 43-36 win over Ole Miss, which nonetheless covered the number as a 14 ½-point road underdog. The Tigers kept their slim national-title hopes alive going into next week’s game against Arkansas in Little Rock.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
Mitch Sherman of the Omaha World-Herald reported late Sunday night that Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini denied rumors that QB Taylor Martinez had quit the team. Pelini was seen berating Martinez on the sidelines during the second half and was also flagged 15 yards by the officials for yelling at them. The Nebraska chancellor expressed disappointment in Pelini's behavior and said the coach's decorum would be addressed with him by either AD Tom Osborne, the chancellor himself or both.
What a difference a week made for Mike Riley’s team in Corvallis. Oregon St. suffered an unfathomable 31-14 home loss to Washington St. as a 24-point home favorite, only to bounce back and crush USC 36-7 as a three-point home underdog. The Beavers hooked up money-line backers with a plus-135 payout. Lame Chafin's team is now 4-7 ATS and will be without QB Matt Barkley for this week's game vs. Notre Dame.
Ga. Tech rallied from a halftime deficit to beat Duke 30-20 as a 10-point home favorite. The 50 combined points stayed ‘under’ the 60 ½-point total. Also in the ACC, Clemson dropped Wake Forest 30-10 as a 13-point road favorite. The 40 points fell ‘under’ the 49-point tally.
PGA Tour golfer Luke Donald has to have been at an outstanding tailgate before going into the Northwestern-Illinois game at Wrigley. Donald was invited to the press box to sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ and clearly showed up with his buzz blazing. Donald made some of Harry Carray’s best performances look as if they were done sober. Luke, have another, brother!
I’m guessing East Carolina AD Terry Holland wasn’t happy about the Pirates giving up 62 points in a blowout loss at Rice. After his scathing letter to boosters following a 76-35 loss to Navy a few weeks ago, who know what he’ll come up with this week?
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