Cowboys roll in offensive coordinator's debut

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/06/2010 -

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -Oklahoma State uber-booster Boone Pickens spoke for most fans of the Cowboys before their season opener Saturday night against Washington State.

``I'm anxious to see what we've got in the way of an offense,'' Pickens said, noting the offseason hiring of Dana Holgorsen as the Cowboys' new coordinator and play-caller.

Pickens undoubtedly came away satisfied as Oklahoma State rolled up 544 yards in a 65-17 rout of the Cougars. But even after Oklahoma State didn't commit a turnover, had only four penalties and posted its highest-scoring season opener since 1916, Holgorsen said the Cowboys remain far from a finished product.

``We've just got to get better at operating the offense,'' Holgorsen said. ``Whatever they give us, we've got to be able to take it.''

Holgorsen came to Oklahoma State with quite the reputation. He helped Mike Leach construct Texas Tech's frenetic offense before spending the last two years at Houston, where he turned that program into an offensive force. But with four new starters on Oklahoma State's offensive line, a 26-year-old quarterback who hadn't started a football game in nine years, and a mostly inexperienced receiving corps, he wondered how quickly the Cowboys could master his intricate offense.

Early on, quarterback Brandon Weeden looked a bit shaky, acknowledging he had ``jitters.'' Then tailback Kendall Hunter took over. Hunter, a third-team All-America selection in 2008, was severely limited last season by an ankle injury. But he looked like his former self against Washington State, carrying 21 times for 257 yards - the 12th-best single-game total in school history - and four touchdowns.

``When you average 11 yards a carry, you probably ought to give it to him,'' Holgorsen said.

Hunter left the game after the Cowboys' first series of the second half or he could have threatened Barry Sanders' school record of 332 yards, set against Texas Tech during his Heisman Trophy season in 1988.

``I am trying to protect (Sanders) a little bit,'' quipped Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, who played with Sanders that season. ``We'll see if he'll buy a club-level suite if we protect his record.''

Joking aside, Weeden said that Hunter's success running the ball keyed the Cowboys' success in the passing game ``and made things a little easier for me.'' Weeden, a former New York Yankees minor league baseball player, completed 22 of 30 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns, all to Justin Blackmon, before giving way to freshmen backups Clint Chelf and Johnny Deaton.

``We're going to do whatever,'' Weeden said. ``I'll throw it five times a game or I'll throw it 50 times a game. It doesn't matter to me as long as we come away with a win.''

Except for Blackmon, who had eight catches for 125 yards, no other receiver stood out for the Cowboys. Josh Cooper had five catches, but for only 31 yards. Bo Bowling had three catches for 30 yards. Seven other players had at least one catch for Oklahoma State, but Holgorsen didn't sound pleased.

``We've got a long ways to go on offense,'' he said. ``I thought Brandon managed the game well. I thought we took care of the ball well. Obviously, Kendall, they had a hard time tackling him, and then we had at least one deep threat in Blackmon. I'm happy with those three guys, but ... we are still looking for about another six guys to step up and become real players.''

The Cowboys did have an offensive twist not expected with Holgorsen - on a handful of plays, they used a full-house backfield, with three running backs joining Weeden behind the line. Holgorsen smiled when asked about that. He said he and another assistant hatched the scheme this summer during a staff outing.

``It gives you a different way to run the football and use a play-action pass,'' Gundy said Sunday. ``I think it's taking advantage of the personnel we have and using it to the best of our ability.''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.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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