CFB - Lock of the Year!

NCAA Football Betting Lines

06/15/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - My 2007 college football conference previews wont begin for another month but with the NBA Finals over and the Triple Crown races completed, its time to jump all over a week one contest that looks too good to be true - Georgia Tech at Notre Dame.

Yes, I know the game wont be played until September 1st. Nonetheless, how many five-star plays are so obvious they cannot wait to be released, even with two and a half months in the interim?

Notre Dame was the NCAAs medias darling last season, despite losing by a combined 73 points to LSU, USC and Michigan. The Fighting Irish had won three games over Georgia Tech, Michigan State and UCLA by a grand total of 10 points and their other seven victories came against teams with a combined record of 37-51.

The Irish finished the season at 10-3, but with a disturbing 4-8-1 mark against the spread (ATS). The much-ballyhooed offensive attack never materialized as the team averaged six points and 66 yards less per game in 07 as opposed to 06. The boys from South Bend ended with a 6-1 home mark with a disastrous ATS record of 2-5.

Georgia Tech had won nine of 10 games after dropping a 14-10 decision to Notre Dame in week one last year. However, three straight losses to end the year left the Yellow Jackets with a disappointing 9-5 record. One statistic that contributed to the losing ways was a turnover differential of -6 in those final three contests.

Calvin Johnson caught his last ball at Georgia Tech, which is a major negative, but the fact that Reggie Ball has thrown his last pass makes up for it. Taylor Bennett will start for the Jackets this season after completing 19-of-29 for 326 yards and three TDs in the Gator Bowl loss to West Virginia. The 326 yards were the most thrown in a game by a single Tech QB since 2001.

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE VS. GEORGIA TECH DEFENSE

We will finally see how much of a difference Charlie Weis can make with a team that returns just nine overall starters, along with a brand new quarterback, halfback and two wide receivers. There are three QBs vying for the number one job, including top prospect, Jimmy Clausen, but none have impressed the coaching staff enough to gain a decided edge.

Weis has already stated that the team will look to run the ball much more in 07, especially in the early going. Unfortunately, both guards from last year have moved on leaving the team extremely inexperienced inside the tackles for that type of offense.

Georgia Techs defensive strength resides in its front four. The Jackets' run defense ranked second to Miami in ACC play, giving up just 91 yards per game. They also tied the Hurricanes with 24 sacks, led by linebacker Philip Wheeler who had nine. The senior finished the year second on the team in tackles (89), including 10 against the Irish!

Another big negative for Notre Dame in this opening day match-up is the lack of height of its new wide receivers. David Grimes and George West are both under six feet, while last years starters Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight were 6-feet-5 and 6-feet-2, respectively. Both of Techs projected starting corners are 6-feet or over. The Yellow Jackets were one of only 30 schools to have more interceptions than TD passes allowed, and they return four players in the secondary who started at least seven games last season.

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE VS. GEORGIA TECH OFFENSE

A new coordinator will be roaming the sidelines for the Fighting Irish this year. Corwin Brown, who had been the New York Jets DBs coach, takes over for Rick Minter, and will institute a change from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4. Its a smart move since the club has lost three starters from 2006.

The back seven, led by super safety Tom Zbikowski and leading tackler, LB Maurice Crum, will be the strength of the unit, but the run defense is a major question mark. Last year, with an experienced front four, opponents rushed for just under four yards per carry. In addition, 19 of the clubs 31 sacks have to be replaced as Victor Abiamiri and Derek Landri have taken 17.5 of them to the NFL.

Georgia Techs superb rushing attack will take full advantage of NDs weak defensive line, which allowed 176 yards (4.9 ypc) to its own top four halfbacks in the Spring Game. Yellow Jackets running back Tashard Choice, who led the ACC in rushing last year with 1,473 and a 5.0 average, will have a field day vs. the Irish, especially since hell be running behind an experienced offensive line that returns four starters.

New quarterback Bennett Taylor cemented his position as Techs future signal- caller by completing 10-of-15 passes for 197 yards in the spring game. Even though Calvin Johnson is gone, look for James Johnson and redshirt freshman, Demaryius Thomas to pick up the slack. Johnson caught 39 balls last season, improving from just 14 as a freshman and Thomas was the talk of the spring with six receptions for 87 yards.

LAST YEARS GAME

They met in South Bend on September 2, 2006 with Notre Dame pulling out the four-point victory, failed to cover the 6.5-point spread. The Jackets raced to an early 10-0 lead only to see it whittle away midway in the third quarter. A questionable late hit called on Philip Wheeler gave Brady Quinn and the ND offense an automatic first down on third-and-10 deep inside Georgia Tech territory. The Irish cashed in when Darius Walker scampered 13 yards for the go-ahead and eventual winning score.

Most of the Notre Dame's yardage came from Quinn and Walker. They combined for 345 of the 384 total yards - a figure that wont be repeated this season. Even though the contest will be played in South Bend, Georgia Tech has the edge in all skill positions, and more importantly, on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

WINNING ON THR ROAD

The Jackets have fared well in their opening road contest each of the last three years, so being away from home will pose no problems. They handed Virginia Tech its first loss of the season last year, defeated Auburn the previous season, 23-14, and chopped down Clemson in Death Valley back in 2004. The Irish will be three to five-point favorites in this contest and they wont even win the game!

Throughout the season there will be many other opportunities to cash in, but none look as strong as this match-up of a team geared for a top-15 finish against a highly-overrated club that might get a bowl bid on name alone. Stay tuned throughout the summer, as I preview more opening week match-ups while unlocking the easiest wins in early September.

Vegaas NCAA Football Betting News

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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