Thursday NCAAFB: PITT@UCONN, ECU@UAB

Submitted by formerlyanonymous on

Big East on ESPN. How bad is it? Pitt is leading the conference with a 3-0 record. Their non-conference record? 2-3 with losses to Utah in overtime, against Miami who is not the goodt, and Notre Dame.

On the other side, we've got UCONN. We've seen how bad they can be. Hell, they couldn't even put up more than 10 points against one of the worst defenses in the NCAA. Despite tihs, they are coming off a fairly decent (by Big East standards) win over WVU in what was one of the ugliest games I've seen all year.

The line is Pitt -6, with O/U around 47.5. I want nothing to do with the line, but mark me down for the under.

For those of you with CBS College Sports, you've got the chance to catch the East Carolina Pirates at UAB (-1.5). Yes, that's UAB favored over ECU. Why you might ask? Check out ECU's box score against Navy. Yes, that's 76 points by Navy in regulation. Yikes.

Like Michigan, ECU also has a chasm between offense and defense. The Pirates are 7th in passing yards and 14th in points scored per game (36.4). For all that, they're 117th in points allowed (41.3). They don't run much either, ranking 94th in the NCAA in rush yards per game.

UAB isn't a good team. They're 3-6 overall with a couple close losses to Marshall (shootout), Tennessee (overtime), Mississippi State, and Florida Atlantic. They do have wins over Troy, UTEP, and Southern Miss (overtime). They are fairly balanced, ranked 43rd in both rushing and passing yards per game. Their defense is slightly better than ECU, but that's not saying much.

I like ECU to cover and win straight up. They'll be looking to right the ship after last week's embarassment. O/U is around 68, and I have no idea what to make of it. I'm feeling the over, but 68 is quite a few points.

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m1jjb00

November 11th, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^

That's the impact player?  I see Reyes is on the field.  Brian mentioned him in the UFR, but what I've seen afterwards suggests that he can play.  Is Lawrence Wilson in?  Oh there he is getting easily blocked out of the play. 

Joined: 11/21/2009

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Captain Obvious

November 11th, 2010 at 9:01 PM ^

on ESPN.  Calls in playbook: stretch run, offtackle run (used mostly on 3rd and long), draw, play action bomb, and random trick play.

If our offense ever becomes boring again I'm going to be pissed.

Joined: 03/17/2009

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formerlyanonymous

November 11th, 2010 at 9:06 PM ^

Half time topic:

Utah vs ND this weekend. Hatred aside, anyone else feeling like ND could pull out this win? As I mentioned in the DERP of a "Lou Holtz is an idiot because the senile old man had his years confused" thread, I think ND has a shot and Utah is way overrated. The Utes are riding last year's accolades and a "big win" over Pitt that should now be realized as total crap.

I've been thoroughly unimpressed in their season despite having a few meh to decent wins against fringe ranked teams (like Air Force). That said, they haven't looked amazing and were then rolled by the only team deserving of a ranking (TCU, who I'm also skeptical about, although much less).

To me, Tulsa ~ Utah. Judging by last week's game, that means ND is ~ Utah according to the transitive property of recent games (albeit a weak property).

Discuss through the half.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 38964

formerlyanonymous

November 11th, 2010 at 9:08 PM ^

2nd topic: Is this week's slate of games the meh-est of the year thus far? There was a week around #3 where no ranked teams played each other, but it panned out because rankings were still in preseason bias mode. By now, we know more about teams, and this week looks boring.

Discuss through the half.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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mgokev

November 11th, 2010 at 9:21 PM ^

There's still some good games out there this weekend.  USC (NTUSC) is playing UF for the SEC East crown.  That is a battle between ranked teams.

Off topic, but I talked to a Cincinnati alum today and I asked him his opinion on Brian Kelly.  Response: "What an arrogant shit head.  No one liked him person-wise while he was here but we all put up with him because we were winning.  I also knew some of the players and Kelly was very demeaning.  Many players hated him after the recruiting process.  Two faced coach."

I'm sure he's a little bitter that they are now losing and Kelly jumped ship, but still, I could see that as being the case.

Joined: 06/17/2009

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lhglrkwg

November 11th, 2010 at 9:46 PM ^

the offenses of uconn and pitt are so bad. i know our D is bad, but I'd much rather have a sweet offense and no D because I would be gouging my eyes out if our QBs were as bad as frazer or sunseri.

its an arm punting battle out there

Joined: 07/03/2008

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formerlyanonymous

November 11th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^

Land, formerly part of air field,  was donated to the state. The stadium was first built with the hope of luring the Patriots out of the Boston area. UCONN was just supposed to be a side beneficiary. When the Pats settled the details to play in what is now Gillette Stadium, UCONN became the primary user.

At the time, they weren't really a football power at all. They were just investingating into moving to the FBS level, and had previously been playing on a small field near campus. Due to tight times that several university athletic departments faced (like Wisconsin when they cut baseball), they took the new, bigger stadium for a much lower cost in order to boost their athletic accumen.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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jabberwock

November 11th, 2010 at 10:04 PM ^

don't you go for 2 there?

Make it you tie.

Miss it, you can still get the lead with a FG.

If Pitt kicks a FG in this quarter you now need a touchdown.

 

Smarter strategizers please advise?

Joined: 07/04/2008

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