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08/22/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - 2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: Hawaii has been known as a passing team ever since head coach June Jones took over the Warriors almost a decade ago, and yet there were still more surprises in store for Jones and the rest of the Western Athletic Conference when junior quarterback Colt Brennan finally got comfortable in the pocket for the Honolulu-based squad. In front of the largest crowd ever to catch a glimpse of the Warriors, the team came up a little short in their season opener versus Alabama on the road, 25-17, but managed to crush UNLV in the home opener two weeks later, 42-13. The WAC opener versus Boise State also took some wind out of the team's sails as they went down in a 41-34 defeat in Idaho, but from then on it was nearly a perfect season for the program. A school-record nine-game win streak ensued, with the squad almost making it 10 in a row to close out the regular season, were it not for a hard-luck 35-32 setback versus Oregon State at Aloha Stadium on December 2nd. Nevertheless, the Warriors made their way into the postseason and their very own Hawaii Bowl versus Arizona State, the team's fourth shot in the event's five-year history. Brennan blew away the Sun Devils in a 41-24 decision thanks to the record-setting play of wideout Jason Rivers, who tied a school record with 14 receptions and established a new NCAA bowl standard with a ridiculous 308 yards receiving. Not to be overlooked, Brennan saved his best for last as he brought the team back from a 10-3 halftime deficit by passing for a school-record 559 yards and connected on a total of five touchdowns. The TD total was significant because it left the California native with an NCAA single-season record of 58 scoring passes. Records, from the team level and in the conference, along with national marks, fell week after week seemingly with the alarmingly accurate play of Brennan, who was named the 2006 winner of the Sammy Baugh Award and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting for a team that tied a program record with 11 wins overall and placed second in the WAC standings with a 7-1 mark. Brennan, who was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year, threw for more than 300 yards and five touchdowns in eight different games, yet he was so productive with the nation's best completion percentage (.726) that he sat out the fourth quarter in six of the team's 14 outings.
2007 ANALYSIS:
OFFENSE: Is there any question who the focus of the offense will be this season for the Warriors? Brennan, who became the first Hawaii quarterback to earn All-American status since 1978, led the nation in seven statistical categories as a junior and set a new mark for passing efficiency for a single season at 185.96. Easily within range of any and all quarterback records with the Warriors, Brennan is on the cusp of greatness and will have plenty of weapons at his disposal out on the wings. Returning starters at wideout include juniors Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen and senior Jason Rivers. An honorable mention All-American selection, Bess was a first-team All-WAC choice for the second straight campaign as he led the squad with 96 grabs for 1,220 yards. While any team would be happy to have even one receiver with double- digit touchdowns, Bess was one of four receivers to register at least 10 TD catches, leading the unit with 15. With his huge postseason effort, Rivers finished with 72 catches for 10 TDs and an average of more than 16 yards per reception. In the two years that he's played for the Warriors, Grice- Mullen already has 23 touchdowns and close to 2,000 receiving yards. With Brennan getting the green light to throw down the field whenever he sees fit, Bess, Rivers and Grice-Mullen might just become the first set of teammates to all record over 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. The front line for Hawaii returns two starters in senior Hercules Satele and sophomore John Estes, which leaves Aaron Kia to come in at center, Keith Ah-soon the right tackle and Keoni Steinhoff at left tackle. In past years the running back position was nothing more than a blocking back for the Hawaii quarterbacks to buy some additional time in the pocket, but after Nate Ilaoa nearly gained 1,000 yards in 2006 the position might be redefined, which means junior David Farmer and freshman Kealoha Pilares will become even more important as they try to fill the void.
DEFENSE: As was the case with the so-called rushing attack in recent years for the Warriors, the defense did little more than buy time for the offense to rest up for another exciting burst down the field. However, the unit turned the corner last year as it ranked third in the conference in run defense, giving up just 136.1 ypg after placing 98th in the nation in that department a year earlier. The pass defense was a bit looser, allowing 241.7 ypg, but much of that had to do with the fact that almost every opponent was fighting an uphill battle both against the Warriors and the clock as they tried to catch up. Whatever the reason, junior linebacker Adam Leonard is not going to go away easily this season, especially after placing first on the unit with 114 stops a year ago, earning him All-WAC Second Team honors. In addition, Leonard also recorded team highs with nine pass breakups and four recovered fumbles. Joining Leonard in the middle of the field are Solomon Elimimian, Micah Lau and Tyson Kafentzis, the latter being one of the best athletes coach Jones has ever been around. Elimimian finished second on the unit with 89 stops which again was a result of so many teams having to pass the ball just to stay competitive. The front line has lost some considerable talent, leaving only senior Michael Lafaele as the only returning starter, which means juniors David Veikune and Keala Watson, along with senior Karl Noa will have to pick up the pace and gel as quickly as possible. The secondary remains almost intact with the inclusions of Gerard Lewis, Myron Newberry and Jacob Patek, which leaves the only remaining position at free safety falling to Desmond Thomas in all likelihood.
SPECIAL TEAMS: As one would expect with such a wildly successful offense, the Warriors had little need for a punter last season, leaving Kurt Milne with a mere 17 attempts, compared to 60 for the opposition. With Milne now gone, that means that either placekicker Dan Kelly or perhaps Briton Forester might fall into that spot. As far as making returns is concerned, any number of players could be in for kickoffs after as many as eight players were credited with such returns a season ago. Malcolm Lane might get the bulk of those attempts, while Newberry expects to again handle punts after handling a team-high 22 of them in 2006.
OUTLOOK: Hawaii, which enters the season ranked 23rd in the nation according to the AP, has seen more than its share of productive quarterbacks over the years. However, in the case of Brennan, he's learned how to make the tough throws without having to suffer the negative consequences. In 559 pass attempts a season ago, the signal-caller was picked off a mere 12 times, just 25 total after two seasons with more than 1,000 pass attempts. Considering the competition in the first four games this season (Northern Colorado, Louisiana Tech, UNLV and Charleston Southern), the Warriors might not get a lot of credit for senseless blowouts. However, the momentum, combined with meetings against Idaho and Utah State right afterwards should create a well-oiled offensive machine that few defenses will have an answer for.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
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