No Bull! Pittsburgh downs No. 10 South Florida
Cfootball Betting Lines
10/02/2008 -
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeSean McCoy ran for 142 yards and a pair of
touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 4:43 remaining in the fourth
quarter, boosting Pittsburgh to a 26-21 upset of 10th-ranked South Florida.
McCoy, who carried the ball 28 times, frustrated the Bulls by making defenders
miss tackles several times, and helped give the Panthers (4-1, 2-0 Big East)
their fourth straight victory after a season-opening loss to Bowling Green.
Bill Stull completed 16-of-27 passes for 228 yards with a score for
the Panthers, who have beaten the last three ranked teams they've played.
Matt Grothe connected on 11-of-21 passes for 129 yards with a TD and was
picked off once. He also ran for a score, but the Bulls (5-1, 0-1) faltered
defensively late in the game. Mike Ford had 14 rushes for 73 yards.
South Florida drove from its own 14 to the end zone, going ahead 21-20
following Grothe's 22-yard TD pass to Jessie Hester with 5:57 left. Ford had
55 yards rushing during the drive, which had just one pass, the scrambling
connection from Grothe to Hester in the right side of the end zone.
Pittsburgh needed just three plays to go ahead for good. Stull found Oderick
Turner for a 38-yard gain over the middle, and then McCoy used a brilliant
shake move to get by a defender on a sweep to the left for 19 yards. McCoy
then cut back and powered into the end zone from three yards out.
The Panthers failed on the two-point conversion, but consecutive sacks of
Grothe forced the Bulls to punt with 3 1/2 minutes left.
McCoy ran 12 yards on a 3rd-and-9 draw play for a first down, eating up much
of the remaining time. The Panthers punted, leaving USF with the ball at its
own 28 with 22 seconds left.
Grothe scrambled eight yards and then completed a pass for 15 more to Dontavia
Bogan near midfield. Grothe's prayer pass on the final play fell incomplete
near the goal line.
The Bulls struck first with Quenton Washington blocking a Dave Brytus punt,
and Charlton Sinclair scooped up the ball and rumbled 27 yards to the end zone
with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
Stull came back with a 52-yard bomb for a score to freshman wide receiver
Jonathan Baldwin less than three minutes later, and the Panthers came up big
on special teams early in the second. Maikon Bonani's 42-yard field goal
attempt was blocked by Aaron Berry, but Pitt gave the ball back on the next
play as McCoy fumbled.
McCoy scored on a six-yard run with 4:59 left in the half, breaking an ankle
tackle before surging to the left corner to give the Panthers a 14-7 lead.
Conor Lee tacked on a 35-yard field goal for a 10-point difference with 22
seconds left in the half. That final drive was assisted by a pass interference
penalty on USF on a 3rd-and-13 play.
Grothe scored on a one-yard plunge with 9:27 left in the third quarter.
The Panthers got the ball at their own four following a punt late in the
third, and drove all the way to the USF 14 before Lee nailed a 31-yard field
goal with 9:40 remaining for a 20-14 difference.
Game Notes
The Bulls don't play again until Oct. 18 at home against
Syracuse...Pittsburgh's next game is Oct. 18 at Navy...Pittsburgh has a 4-1
start for the fourth time in the last nine years.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
New York Giants betting lines
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Dallas Cowboys betting lines
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
Oakland Raiders betting lines
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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