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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS- (covers.com):week 12 tv bettors guide.
Ball State at Toledo (-5), total 53
7 pm ET, ESPN2
The Ball State Cardinals have the superior record in the MAC and the better ATS record for the year too, but the line has already shifted from the Toledo Rockets -3 to -5.
Toledo’s results over the past two weeks likely caused the early movement. Apparently overcoming their slow start, the Rockets scored consecutive wins as an underdog over conference opponents with better records.
Ball State, on the other hand, was last seen scaring the bejeezus out of Michigan before taking a bye week and likely falling back down to earth in the process.
Wednesday, Nov. 15
Miami (Oh.) at Bowling Green (-3 ½), total 49
7:30 pm ET, ESPN2
The Deuce shifts its midweek focus from the MAC West to the MAC East on Wednesday, when the Miami Redhawks visit the Bowling Green Falcons.
Bowling Green is at home against a 1-9 SU team who they beat on the road by 28 points last year, so why the small spread? It could be the fact that the Falcons lost to lowly Temple just two games ago, letting the Owls rack up a quarterback rating of 201.6.
Thursday, Nov. 16
West Virginia at Pittsburgh (+11), total 54
7:30 pm ET, ESPN
It’s the Backyard Brawl, y’all!
Last year in Morgantown the West Virginia Mountaineers ran the ball 62 times for 451 yards and four touchdowns en route to winning by 32 and easily covering the spread. Then-freshmen Patrick White and Steve Slaton combined for 399 of those yards and all of the scores. Think they’ll try to repeat the same formula? Yeah, me too.
The Pitt Panthers have lost three straight, all in the Big East. This marks their first appearance as a dog this year and the double-digit spread might make them an intriguing play at home. Their run defense, however, might negate bettors’ intrigue. I mean, giving up 268 rushing yards to Rutgers is one thing, but 300-plus to UConn? Come on.
Akron at Ohio (-6), total 40
7:30 pm ET, ESPNU
If you’re a Big East hater and consider yourself more of a MAC daddy, then the mid-week Mid-American Conference bonanza continues with the .500 Akron Zips visiting the East-leading Ohio Bobcats.
The Bobcats are a major success story after going 10-24 SU and 11-21 ATS from 2003 through last season. This year they’re 7-3 SU and 5-3-1 ATS thanks to their success in conference battles.
Friday, Nov. 17
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois (+3 ½), total 48
8 pm ET, ESPNU
If you haven’t OD’d on the MAC by now, you might as well keep going with potentially the best game of the bunch.
The Central Michigan Chippewas are undefeated in conference play and their 9-1 ATS record has been a goldmine for steadfast backers. But they lost last year’s matchup at home and didn’t even face the Northern Illinois Huskies’ super-back Garrett Wolfe.
Wolfe’s been held under 100 yards in four straight games, but in the 17 previous MAC games dating to the start of 2004 he averaged 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns per game. In the Chippewas’ last visit to Huskie Stadium, Wolfe had 226 yards and four majors on the ground.
Saturday, Nov. 18
Maryland at Boston College (-7), total 41
Noon ET, ESPN
A solid ACC game to kick off the Saturday viewing. The Maryland Terrapins need this game before hosting Wake Forest next week in a potential clash for the Atlantic Division. The winner gets Georgia Tech in the conference championship game.
The Boston College Eagles need this game if they want double-digit regular season wins, likely the only way they’ll break the minor bowl rut they’re stuck in under head coach Tom O’Brien. If only they’d won in Winston-Salem a couple of weeks ago…
Michigan State at Penn State (-16 ½), total 45
Noon ET, ESPN2
Sniff, sniff… you smell that? That’s the odor wafting off this potential stinker in Happy Valley as the Michigan State Writeoffs, I mean Spartans, pay a visit to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The head coach has been relieved of his duties, the star quarterback is concussed and the team as a whole has dropped seven of its last eight games and lost all of them at the window. Who else could I be talking about but the Spartans?
The Nits are fresh off a 47-0 pasting of Temple and have covered the number in five of the last six meetings with Michigan State. They’ve also won each of the last four games at Beaver Stadium by an average of 30 points.
Buffalo at Wisconsin (-38), total 46
Noon ET, ESPNU
The Buffalo Bulls are playing the last of their three “sold losses” on the season. Paraphrasing Grand Funk Railroad, the Bulls’ scheduling motto has been “We’ll come into your town and get run into the ground, we’re a (Mid-)American team…”. Buffalo went 1-1 ATS in its earlier visits to Boston College and Auburn, 6-3-1 ATS overall.
The Wisconsin Badgers continue to roll, one of four Division 1-A teams with double-digit wins and an 8-1-1 ATS record to boot. They haven’t faced a spread even close to this weekend’s 38 points, however, and only won by six points in the one game in which they were a three-touchdown favorite.
Indiana at Purdue (-10), total 57
Noon ET, ESPN Classic
The Indiana Hoosiers only mustered six combined points in their games against Michigan and Ohio State. The Purdue Boilermakers totaled three points in their games against Penn State and Wisconsin.
Against Big Ten teams with a losing conference record, however, the Hoosiers average 34.3 points per game while the Boilermakers average 26.8. With two of the conference’s most sieve-like defenses on display, it has the makings of a shootout at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Connecticut at Syracuse (-2 ½), total 39
Noon ET, MSG
The Connecticut Huskies are averaging over 200 rushing yards per game over their last four. The Syracuse Orange are allowing nearly 250 yards on the ground per game over that same span.
The Orange remain the best bet in the Big East going 7-3 ATS on the season and covering both times as a favorite. UConn, however, just beat Pitt with a freshman-laden team and covered against conference giants Louisville and Rutgers earlier in the year.
Oklahoma at Baylor (+20), total 51 ½
Noon ET, FSN
Both teams lost their brightest stars star to an injury within the last month or so, but their subsequent performances display the true disparity in talent and depth between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Baylor Bears.
The Sooners have won all four conference games since losing Adrian Peterson and covered the spread in three of the four, all while averaging 190 yards on the ground without their star back. The Bears, on the other hand, have been manhandled since losing quarterback Shawn Bell for the season, losing their games by 34 and 42 points.
Temple at Navy (-31 ½), total 53 ½
12:30 pm ET, CSTV
Week 11 betting lowlight: I took the Temple Owls with the 36 points at Penn State after noting the Owls’ sassy 5-1 ATS record over the previous six games. Note to self: never, EVER back the Owls again, no matter how many points they’re getting, unless I see their opponents passed out in a ditch after a tequila bender mere hours before kickoff.
That likely doesn’t describe the Navy Midshipmen, as I`ve never seen Annapolis mentioned in Maxim’s “Top-100 party towns”. The Middies seems back on track after losing quarterback Brian Hampton for the season, racking up 758 rushing yards over their last two games. No, that’s not a typo.
Army at Notre Dame (-31 ½), total 54
2:30 pm ET, NBC
The world is right again for fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Not only are they suddenly back in the BCS Championship picture, the Golden Domers are back on TV after an incredibly rare non-televised game at the Air Force Academy last weekend.
The Irish covered as a double-digit favorite for the first time this year against Navy, then did the same against the Falcons. Can they go 3-for-3 against the service academies when the Army Black Knights come to South Bend? It could be a struggle for a Notre Dame team with a huge visit to USC only one week away.
Michigan at Ohio State (-6 ½), total 41 ½
3:30 pm ET, ABC
I didn’t think I’d have much to say about this one, but I just saw an ESPN piece comparing the Michigan Wolverines to Jim Braddock, the Depression-era boxer played by Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man last year.
Yeah, like the Wolverines are overcoming adversity, fighting for their families, their livelihoods and making an entire nation feel better about itself in the process. Huh? Aren’t they one of the most storied football teams around, playing in the biggest stadium in America? How are they a Cinderella story?
The Wolverines are, of course, underdogs to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Bucks are playing at home and have a better point differential among the teams’ common opponents, so the early spread is warranted. So is ESPN saying that Ohio State is the college football equivalent of Max Baer, the 1930s German wonder? I’m so confused.
Auburn at Alabama (+3), total 40
3:30 pm ET, CBS
Bummer for CBS, as one of their annual classics kicks off at the same time as the college game of the year. Could be a decent game in Tuscaloosa, but will even diehard SEC followers tune in? Neither the Auburn Tigers nor the Alabama Crimson Tide can claim to be the best school in the SEC West starting with the letter ‘A’. Sucks to be them.
Auburn has won the last four meetings, but all by 10 points or less. After getting trampled at home last week and plummeting down the rankings, can they rebound against the Tide? Alabama will want to finish the regular season with a little bit of pride after dropping their last home game to perennial basement-dwellers Mississippi State.
Kansas State at Kansas (-2), total 51 ½
3:30 pm ET, FSN
Speaking of conference games few people will watch with the Michigan – Ohio State game on, the Kansas State Wildcats visit Lawrence to take on state rivals the Kansas Jayhawks. Unlike CBS, however, FSN likely wasn’t counting on nigh ratings when they booked this game.
K-State, of course, just screwed up the Longhorns’ chances of repeating as national champs with last Saturday’s huge upset. Kansas also scored a win in its last game. Sure, it was over a lesser opponent in Iowa State, but the 31-point margin of victory was nice.
San Diego State at TCU (-18), total 40 ½
4 pm ET, Versus
Versus jumps into the late-afternoon fray with a potentially lopsided Mountain West game that only the players’ grandparents and girlfriends are likely to watch.
The San Diego State Aztecs have covered in each of their last three games and made the dual-quarterback system work effectively in its most recent win against UNLV.
The Texas Christian Horned Frogs have won four straight games, but only won last year’s meeting by three points as a 6 ½-point fave.
Washington at Washington State (-9), total 43
6:45 pm ET, FSN
The start of the East Coast evening games is a mid-afternoon kickoff in Martin Stadium as the Washington State Cougars host the Washington Huskies in the annual Apple Cup.
The Cougars barely covered as 3-point favorites last year, but are favored by a bigger margin this year because (a) they’ve proven their worth with wins over Oregon and UCLA, among others, and (b) the Huskies have fallen apart after a surprising start to the season, losing six straight games and only covering twice in that span.
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest (+1), total 38 ½
7 pm ET, ESPN
They wouldn’t dare, would they? They what?!? You’re kidding… really? Well kiss my grits, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are underdogs yet again!
These are the same Deacons who just smoked Florida State 30-0 in Tallahassee. The same Deacons who sit ahead of the Virginia Tech Hokies in both the ACC standings and the national rankings. The same Deacons who’ve covered the spread in all six games in which they’ve been dogged, winning five of them outright.
Books seem to think bettors will bank on the wheels falling off Wake Forest’s “Smoke & Mirrors Express”. The Hokies suffered two bad beats mid-season, but now they’re playing like a team capable of spoiling Wake’s dream season.
Whoa! I just, like, totally experienced déjà vu. You too? Freaky.
South Florida at Louisville (-16 ½), total 55
7:30 pm ET, ESPNU
The South Florida Bulls may be catching the Louisville Cardinals at a good time. One week after they ended West Virginia’s title hopes, the Cards lost theirs at Rutgers’ hands. The loss in New Jersey gives Louisville a 1-4 ATS record over their last five, the mirror image of the Bulls’ 4-1 ATS record over the same span.
Then again, the Cardinals may recall their 31-point loss in Tampa last year and use this Saturday’s game as an exercise in both revenge and catharsis. The Cards haven’t slapped a 20-point defeat on anyone since the Hurricanes blew into town and Brian Brohm may be due for another spanking of a Floridian team.
Rutgers at Cincinnati (+6 ½), total 40
7:45 pm ET, ESPN
The Top-10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights are… ha ha ha! Sorry, I just read that phrase out loud and couldn’t help myself. You try it! You stumble over the words too?
Anyways, the Knights still get no respect, no matter who they beat. 6 ½ points? Pitt was a heavier road favorite against the Cincinnati Bearcats, for crying out loud! Of course, the small spread could also have something to do with Cincy’s stingy defense, which sees the Bearcats with an awesome 6-0-1 ATS record over their last seven.
Cal at USC (-5 ½), total 54
8 pm ET, ABC
ABC didn’t bother with its regional splits for either of its Saturday slots. Ohio State and Michigan was a sure thing, but they expected the California Golden Bears’ visit to the Southern Cal Trojans to have a nearly equal effect on the BCS rankings.
Too bad Cal didn’t follow the script, blowing last weekend’s game in Arizona as a double-digit favorite. USC, in the meantime, scored a solid win over Oregon and suddenly the Pac-10 game of the year doesn’t look so fresh and so clean.
Oh, it’ll decide the conference all right, but the game was more fun when we all thought both teams had a shot at appearing in the national title game.
UAB at Southern Miss (-14), total 45
8 pm ET, CSTV
These C-USA East Division foes are adhering to recent form. The struggling Alabama-Birmingham Blazers went 17-18 SU and 16-18 ATS between 2003 and 2005, while the hot again Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles went 23-14 SU and 21-15 ATS aver the same span.
With that in mind, bettors should heed the recent results in the teams’ head-to-head meetings. Southern Miss has won all six games in the new millennium but last year’s 9-point margin of victory provided the most lopsided score of the bunch. No matter the records, these guys always seem to play it close.
UCLA at Arizona State (-3 ½), total 53 ½
10:15 pm ET, FSN
Yes, it’s a clash of disappointing Pac-10 teams under .500 in conference games, but it’s also a late kickoff, which means one thing: a chance to chase your losses! Ah, blessed redemption! Wait, did I say “chase your losses”? Ha ha, silly me. Of course I meant “inflate your winnings”. Ahh, blessed easy money…
Both the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona State Sun Devils have been disappointing on the field, but both have been moneymakers at the window with a combined 12-7 ATS record.
The game also features what was likely a difficult total for the books to calculate. The Bruins are one of the nation’s top ‘under’ teams while the Sun Devils’ home games with a line have averaged 59 points.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS- (associated press): double digit spread set for wvu @ pitt.
West Virginia needed a pep talk before its last game, but coach Rich Rodriguez doesn`t think he`ll have to give one this time around.
The seventh-ranked Mountaineers look to stay in the Big East title race when they visit Pittsburgh Thursday in the 99th meeting between the teams.
Oddsmakers have Pittsburgh listed as a 11-point home underdog. The total is set at 54.
West Virginia (8-1, 3-1) was knocked out of the national title hunt with a 44-34 loss at then-No. 5 Louisville on Nov. 2. Rodriguez thought his team looked down during pregame warmups before its matchup against Cincinnati on Saturday and instructed his players to chest bump one another in the locker room before kickoff.
Though the Mountaineers failed to score in the first quarter for the first time in 15 games, the strategy seemed to work as West Virginia walked away with a 42-24 win over the Bearcats.
``I told them to loosen up and put a smile on their faces ... and let them have some fun for crying out loud,`` Rodriguez said.
However, Rodriguez doesn`t expect to have to pick his team up for Thursday`s Backyard Brawl.
``If you have to get guys` intensity level up for the Pitt game, they don`t understand what Pitt and West Virginia football is about,`` he said.
The Panthers (6-4, 2-3) lead the all-time series 59-36-3, but the teams have split the last six meetings. West Virginia quarterback Pat White rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns in his team`s 45-13 win in Morgantown last season, setting a Big East rushing record for a quarterback that he then broke with 247 yards against Syracuse on Oct. 14.
``Any rivalry game is fun for everybody,`` said running back Steve Slaton, who rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns in last season`s game. ``Last year, I got a full feel, the full affect of it. Everybody told me it was big.``
The Mountaineers will again be looking to overpower the Panthers with their running game. West Virginia ranks second in the nation with 318.2 rushing yards per game, Slaton is second in the country with 151.4 a contest and White has run for 567 yards and 11 touchdowns in his last four games.
Pitt, meanwhile, ranks 90th in the nation with 157.6 rushing yards allowed per game.
White and Slaton each ran for a pair of touchdowns Saturday and the Mountaineers scored five of their six TDs on drives of five or fewer plays. West Virginia racked up 313 rushing yards against a Cincinnati defense that hadn`t allowed more than 166 on the ground in any of its first nine games this year.
``In the back of everybody`s mind, we were still tight from last week,`` said Slaton, who ran for 148 yards on 12 carries. ``Coach Rod had us all loose and ready to turn it around. We were patient on offense. We hit the holes and got it going.``
The Mountaineers are tied with Louisville for second place in the conference, one game behind undefeated Rutgers. West Virginia hosts the seventh-ranked Scarlet Knights in the regular-season finale for both teams on Dec. 2.
``Our goal after we lost to Louisville was to get back into the Big East race. That`s our focus right now as we go forward,`` Rodriguez told the team`s official website.
The Panthers have dropped three straight, including Saturday`s 46-45 defeat in double overtime at Connecticut. Pitt blew a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost on a successful 2-point conversion by the Huskies.
``You sit back and evaluate, we should have done this and should have done that, but we closed games like that before,`` said quarterback Tyler Palko, who completed 20 of 25 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. ``We didn`t do it today.``
Palko has thrown 22 touchdown passes, 10 more than South Florida`s Matt Grothe, who ranks second in the Big East. The Panthers are throwing for 232.2 yards per game, second in the conference to only Louisville, which passed for 354 against the Mountaineers.
Pitt, which began the year with six wins in its first seven games, wraps up its regular season by hosting the Cardinals on Nov. 25.
NCAA FOOTBALL PICKS: (associated press): oklahoma looses wide reciever.
Oklahoma receiver Manuel Johnson will not play Saturday against Baylor after being knocked out last weekend on a helmet-to-helmet hit in the Sooners` 34-24 victory over Texas Tech.
``They`re not having him do anything yet. They`ll start getting him into some lifting and some exercising the middle of the week, but he won`t play this week,`` coach Bob Stoops said.
Johnson had just caught a 4-yard pass in the fourth quarter when he and Texas Tech`s Chris Parker collided and hit helmets. The Sooner was carted off the field and taken to an ambulance.
Johnson, who has 23 catches for 255 yards for No. 16 Oklahoma (8-2, 5-1 Big 12), was hospitalized after the game but was released Sunday.
Before the injury, Johnson had set career-highs with six catches for 87 yards in the game. The sophomore also caught a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Stoops said there was no update on the status of tailback Adrian Peterson, who has missed four games with a broken collarbone. Following the injury, the 2004 Heisman runner-up said he hoped to return in four to six weeks, but Oklahoma trainer Scott Anderson said it would be six weeks.
Peterson has been off limits to reporters the past three weeks.
``He`s not playing this week,`` Stoops said. ``Next week if you want to talk about it, we`ll talk about it. There`s nothing else. You`re asking me to project a week here what`s going to happen. I don`t know.``
Stoops said Peterson`s primary backup, Allen Patrick, was able to practice after missing the Texas Tech game with an ankle injury. Patrick had 440 yards in three games as Peterson`s replacement.
NCAA FOOTBALL FREE PICKS- (associated press) : miami quarterback out for season.
Miami quarterback Kyle Wright underwent surgery to repair his broken right thumb and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Miami coach Larry Coker said Tuesday there was a slim chance Wright could return if Miami (5-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) qualifies for a bowl game, but didn`t sound optimistic.
``Probably his best option would be to come back in the spring,`` Coker said. ``We`ll see how it progresses.``
Wright underwent surgery Monday after getting hurt Nov. 4 against Virginia Tech. He was in uniform but did not play last weekend in Miami`s loss to Maryland, when Kirby Freeman made his first career start.
Freeman will start again Saturday when Miami visits Virginia (4-6, 3-3). The Hurricanes have lost three straight games and need one more victory to become bowl eligible.
Oddsmakers have listed the Canes as 3-point favorites for Saturday`s contest and the total is set at 37.
Wright had 1,655 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He`s had chronic problems with his thumb, which he first broke at 12 and again in high school. He sprained it last season in a win over Temple.
NCAA FOOTBALL PICKS- (associated press): boise state running back hospitalized.
Boise State running back Ian Johnson, the nation`s leader in touchdowns, is hospitalized with a partially collapsed left lung.
Johnson isn`t expected to leave O`Connor Hospital in San Jose, Calif. until Tuesday, the school said. His status for Saturday`s home finale against Utah State is uncertain.
Oddsmakers have listed the Broncos as 37 1/2-point favorites and the over/under is set at 56.
Johnson was injured sometime during Boise State`s 23-20 win on Saturday at San Jose State. Johnson didn`t speak to reporters after the game and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. He did not accompany the team back to Boise.
Johnson leads the country with 21 touchdowns and had 29 carries for 149 yards in the Broncos` victory on Saturday.
Boise State (10-0, 6-0 Western Athletic Conference) moved up to No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches`poll and was No. 12 in the BCS rankings released Sunday. If the Broncos finish in the top 12 of the final BCS poll, they would automatically qualify for one of the big-money bowl games, becoming the second team from a non-BCS conference to earn a berth. Utah played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2004.
NCAA COLLEGE FOOTBALL FREE PICKS- (associated press): paterno expected back for finale.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno is expected to be ack at practice this week and could be at Beaver Stadium for this weekend`s regular-season finale, defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said.
Paterno sat out last week`s game against Temple while recovering from left leg surgery. It was the first game he had missed since 1977.
``We`re anticipating that he will be at the game on Saturday,`` Bradley said Tuesday at a news conference.
Oddsmakers have listed the Nittany Lions as 17 1/2-point favorites for Saturday`s home game against Michigan State.
A team doctor has said that he would let Paterno return to coach on game days as it`s from the press box and that his recovery is progressing well.
Bradley said he expected the 79-year-old coach to return to the football complex Tuesday as the team gets ready to play Michigan State.
Paterno had leg surgery last week to repair a broken shinbone and two torn knee ligaments in his left leg, injuries sustained after a sideline collision on Nov. 4 at Wisconsin.
NCAA COLLEGE FOOTBALL FREE PICKS: (associated press): texas quarterback injured in loss at kansas state. Texas will evaluate quarterback Colt McCoy`s progress this week as he recovers from a stinger that sidelined him Saturday night in Kansas State`s 45-42 upset of the Longhorns. Texas went into this game as 16 1/2-point faves.
McCoy left after scoring on a 1-yard run on Texas` first drive.
``After the injury, Colt experienced shoulder weakness and neck pain,`` trainer Kenny Boyd said. ``When evaluating injuries, we look for return of normal strength and a reduction of pain before putting a player back into the game. Colt wasn`t released to play because his symptoms, including strength, did not improve.``
Senior offensive guard Justin Blalock injured his left knee during the game and will also be evaluated during Texas` bye week.
The Longhorns finish the regular season against Texas A&M on Nov. 24.
FREE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS- (covers.com): top ten ats teams as of 11/14.
1 Brigham Young
2 Central Michigan
3 Nevada
4 East Carolina
5 Ohio State
6 Wisconsin
7 Hawaii
8 Middle Tennessee St.
9 San Jose State
10 Houston
FREE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS- (associated press) florida star linebacker doubtful.
Third-ranked Florida likely will be without defensive leader Brandon Siler against Western Carolina on Saturday.
The linebacker, who is second on the team with 57 tackles and nine tackles for a loss, has a partially torn ligament in his left knee. Coach Urban Meyer called Siler ``very questionable`` for Florida`s home finale.
Oddsmakers have yet to release a line for this contest.
Meyer acknowledged it was a mistake to let him play against South Carolina.
``He talked us into it, and he didn`t play very well,`` Meyer said. ``That was probably a mistake, but it`s hard to keep a tough guy like that out of the lineup.``
Siler had two tackles in the 17-16 victory Saturday and was benched for the final series as quarterback Blake Mitchell drove the Gamecocks into field-goal range.
``He wasn`t giving us everything we needed,`` co-defensive coordinator Charlie Strong said.
Linebacker Earl Everett also was on the sideline with a sprained ankle. The Gators finished the game with freshmen Brandon Spikes and Dustin Doe on the field.
Meyer said Spikes likely will replace Siler against the Catamounts (2-8), a Division I-AA opponent that has lost eight in a row.
Siler hurt his knee last Wednesday, missed practice the following day and was ``very questionable`` for the Gamecocks. Team doctors had a special knee brace fitted and flown in from California. Siler ran with it before the game, convincing coaches, trainers and doctors he was ready to play. His performance proved otherwise.
``He did not injure it worse, but that`s a significant injury,`` Meyer said.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL FREE PICKS: (espn.com) florida state offensive coordinator resigns.
Florida State offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden is stepping down.
He resigned Tuesday, just three days after the Seminoles were shut out for the first time in 233 games.
Athletic director David Hart Jr. says the resignation will be effective at the end of this season.
Bowden, the youngest son of Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, replaced now-Georgia head coach Mark Richt as the Seminoles' offensive coordinator in 2001.
Florida State has its homecoming game Saturday against Western Michigan followed by the season finale on Nov. 25 against intrastate rival Florida.
Bobby Bowden has stood by his son's performance as offensive coordinator despite a notable decline in scoring and yardage gained in the past half-dozen seasons.
The school had skirted a nepotism policy by having the younger Bowden report to another coach on the staff other than his father.
NCAA FOOTBALL PICKS: (associated press): north carolina names butch davis new head coach.
Former NFL coach Butch Davis will return to the sidelines as coach at North Carolina, which is 1-9 and hasn't beaten a Division I-A team this season.
He will replace the fired John Bunting, the school said Monday. The hiring had been widely expected the past week after Davis' name rose to the top of the list of candidates.
Davis, who will turn 55 on Friday, brings a reputation for orchestrating turnarounds -- which is just what the struggling Tar Heels need. North Carolina ranks among the worst offenses and defenses in the country.
"Butch Davis became our first choice early in the process, although we did not know of his interest in us," athletic director Dick Baddour said. "We were excited to learn of his interest in Carolina and our football program and proceeded from that point. He's a first-class individual who is committed to preparing his student-athletes for success in all aspects of their lives."
Davis coached the Miami Hurricanes from 1995-2000, compiling a 51-20 record before leaving for the NFL's Cleveland Browns and leaving behind the players with whom Larry Coker won the national title in 2001. He went 24-35 with the Browns before resigning in 2004 and has worked the past two seasons in broadcasting.
School officials said Davis agreed in principle last week to take the job. Terms were unavailable and the contract will be released once the school's trustees approve it.
Baddour said none of the key figures involved in the hiring would be available for additional comment until Davis is formally introduced as coach on Nov. 27, two days after the Tar Heels play Duke in their season finale.
"The timing of my decision to consider coaching opportunities and the opening at UNC seemed to intersect perfectly," Davis said. "Dick Baddour made my introduction to Carolina happen in a well-planned, well-organized manner and did an outstanding job of presenting the virtues of UNC -- its people, its strong commitment to both academics and athletics as well as the exciting, active part it plays in the community. Obviously, he succeeded."
The announcement came 22 days after Bunting was fired following an embarrassing shutout loss at Virginia.
Almost immediately, speculation centered on Davis, and so did the school's search. Davis spoke of his desire to return to coaching but didn't specify which jobs interested him. Last week, media reports linked Davis to the North Carolina opening.
"I am very impressed with Butch Davis' record as both an outstanding coach and strong advocate of academic performance," university chancellor James Moeser said. "My own personal interaction with Butch, supported by all of my conversations with faculty and administrators who have known him over the years, confirmed the view that he has the values and commitments we care about most at Carolina."
Davis is the third football coach hired by Baddour in the past decade. Baddour promoted Carl Torbush when Mack Brown left for Texas in 1997 and then fired Torbush and hired Bunting in 2000.
Bunting is 25-45 in his sixth season as the coach at his alma mater and hasn't had a winning season since his first team went 8-5 in 2001 and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Bunting is owed $286,200 a year through the 2009 season.
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