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09/03/2010 -
ATLANTA (AP) -Paul Johnson didn't know what to expect when making his debut as Georgia Tech's coach in 2008.
As it turned out, Johnson inherited some pretty good talent from former coach Chan Gailey, including four players - Demaryius Thomas, Jonathan Dwyer, Derrick Morgan and Morgan Burnett - who helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the 2009 ACC championship before entering the 2010 NFL draft as juniors.
Some Georgia Tech fans may be wary of the possibility of a dropoff from last year's 11-3 finish entering Saturday's opener against South Carolina State. After all, Thomas, Dwyer, Morgan and Burnett led the team in receiving, rushing, sacks and interceptions, respectively.
Johnson sounded anything but wary as he compared his No. 16 Georgia Tech team with the 2008 team.
``We're a lot better football team. A lot,'' Johnson said this week. ``I had no idea two years ago ... what we were going to see. I've got a pretty good idea, I think, what we'll see on Saturday.
``But I've got to see it.''
Johnson may need more than one game to have his beliefs about his team confirmed. It may be difficult to evaluate the Yellow Jackets based on the opener, even though South Carolina State is an elite FCS team.
South Carolina State finished 10-2 last year and won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship before losing to Appalachian State in the FCS playoffs.
``Certainly they have some guys who could play at Georgia Tech, I don't think there's any doubt about that,'' Johnson said.
``The more tape I watch, the more impressed I am with them. I think they've got a good plan. They've got some really good individual players and they play well together as a team. I'm sure they're coming in here with a mindset they're coming in here to get a win in Atlanta.''
Two Atlantic Coast Conference teams, Virginia and Duke, lost to FCS teams - William & Mary and Richmond, respectively - a year ago.
``We haven't talked about FCS or FBS; we just have talked about South Carolina State,'' Johnson said. ``We just have to worry about Georgia Tech, and we know if we don't go out and play well they are very capable of beating us. Hopefully we will go out and play our A game. Hopefully that will be good enough.''
South Carolina State lost at South Carolina 38-14 last season. Then-No. 23 Clemson beat the Bulldogs 54-0 in 2008.
``This is the fourth straight year that we have played a major school,'' said South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough. ``I'd like to think we have made some strides.''
Johnson said South Carolina State ``has kind of dominated their conference the last few years.''
``You don't win 20 games in the past two years without having some good players and knowing what you are doing,'' Johnson said. ``They have a good program, so we are preparing for this no different than any game we have ever prepared for.''
South Carolina State is led by senior Malcolm Long, who passed for more than 2,500 yards last year. The offensive line returns every starter, but the Bulldogs lost their top three receivers and Will Ford, the MEAC's all-time leading career rusher with 4,660 yards.
Georgia Tech also is led by a senior quarterback. The school this week unveiled a website to promote Joshua Nesbitt as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Nesbitt, who often keeps the ball on short-yardage and fourth-down plays, ran for 18 touchdowns in 2009.
Anthony Allen will take over from Dwyer as the lead runner in Johnson's spread option offense. Allen averaged almost 10 yards per carry a year ago and could thrive in his first opportunity to be the top threat.
This will be the debut of new defensive coordinator Al Groh's 3-4 scheme at Georgia Tech. Groh, fired as Virginia's coach last year, was hired to revamp a Georgia Tech defense that gave up 30 or more points in six games last season, including a 30-24 home loss to in-state rival Georgia to end the regular season.
Johnson fired former defensive coordinator Dave Wommack after the Yellow Jackets' 24-14 Orange Bowl loss to Iowa.
``We won't know about our defense probably until we've played two or three games,'' Johnson said. ``I think they're excited. I think they'll fly around. The big thing to me is can they not have a lot of (missed) mental assignments. Will they continue to play hard?''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Hawaii QB Moniz leaves game
Honolulu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz left
Thursday's season-opener against No. 14 Southern California when he was hit
near the head by linebacker Michael Morgan.
Moniz scrambled for 13 yards to the USC five late in
<< Barkley leads Trojans to win over Hawaii in Kiffin's USC debut
Honolulu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Barkley tied a school record by throwing
for five touchdowns, as 14th-ranked Southern California beat Hawaii, 49-36,
giving Lane Kiffin a victory in his coaching debut with the Trojans.
Ronald Johnso
<< Raiders take down Seahawks in preseason finale
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bruce Gradkowski threw for 128 yards and two
scores on 7-of-14 passing, as the Oakland Raiders edged the Seattle Seahawks,
27-24, in the teams' preseason finale.
Kyle Boller completed 7-of-13 pass attempts
<< 49ers edge Chargers to complete unbeaten preseason
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Davis' two-yard touchdown pass to
Jehuu Caulcrick in the fourth quarter lifted the San Francisco 49ers over the
San Diego Chargers, 17-14, in the preseason finale for both clubs.
Davis completed
Bruins sign Wyatt Smith >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have signed forward Wyatt
Smith to a one-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Smith spent last year with Pittsburgh's American Hockey League affiliate in
Wi
North Carolina to keep 12 players out of Saturday's opener >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of North Carolina has
declared six players ineligible for Saturday's game against LSU for violations
of school or NCAA rules and will keep six others out of the season-opener
while t
Nationwide to sponsor Memorial Tournament >>
Dublin, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nationwide Insurance will become the presenting
sponsor of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament beginning in 2011.
The company has committed to sponsor Jack Nicklaus' popular tournament, held
annually at Muirfi
Zito hopes to get on track at Chavez Ravine >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The door has been left open for the Giants to make a run at
the National League West title. That means now would be a good time for Barry
Zito to get back on track.
The struggling former Cy Young Award winner will try to s
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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