Hurricanes blow into Columbus to battle Buckeyes

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A much-anticipated matchup between the second- ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the 12th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes will ensue in Columbus on Saturday afternoon.

As expected, Miami cruised to victory over Florida A&M in the opener, besting the overmatched Rattlers by a 45-0 final. The Hurricanes played that game on Thursday, September 2nd, so they have had just as much time as the Buckeyes to prepare for this week's showdown. Miami was a program in despair when Randy Shannon took over four years ago, but the well-regarded coach has restored the 'Canes to respectability. In 2009, Shannon guided his team to the program's best mark since the 2005 at 9-4, including 5-3 versus ACC competition.

"Games are games, and they go and come," said Shannon, failing to buy into the hype of this showdown. "You just have to enjoy the times you play in them and keep moving on."

As for Ohio State, it cruised to a 45-7 victory over Marshall last Thursday to kick off a campaign full of lofty expectations.

"It's going to be a more difficult world next week," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said, acknowledging the spike in competition that Miami represents.

The Buckeyes are now 10-0 in season openers under Tressel, and they have won 55 consecutive regular season non-conference home games against unranked teams. They are one of just three teams to post 10 or more wins in five consecutive seasons and are loaded on both sides of the ball this year.

Ohio State has won two of the three all-time meetings with Miami, including a thrilling victory in 2003 that decided the national championship.

Many believe that Miami's fortunes this season rest solely on the arm and legs of quarterback Jacory Harris. If the opener is any indication, the 'Canes are in for a successful campaign. Against Florida A&M, Harris connected on 12- of-15 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior Leonard Hankerson caught six passes for 115 yards and a career-best two touchdowns for the Hurricanes, while Damien Berry also caught a TD pass. Lamar Miller carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards and a score for Miami, which also got a rushing touchdown from Mike James.

"Individually, we had some guys who did a lot of great things out there today," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "For the most part, it shows what kind of team we have."

Defensively, Miami was simply dominant against Florida A&M, allowing just 110 yards in the clash. The run defense was stifling, holding the Rattlers to 52 yards on 39 attempts. Clearly, a high total of eight sacks amounting to 62 yards in losses was a major factor in the impressive stats. Olivier Vernon was downright unstoppable, as the sophomore defensive end posted 3.5 sacks in the tilt. He also finished with seven total tackles to lead the 'Canes. Miami came up with just one takeaway, but the most important number of all from that contest is zero, the amount of points scored by the opposition.

Ohio State racked up 529 total yards in the romp over Marshall in the opener, and there was tremendous balance established between the run and the pass. The Buckeyes posted 280 rushing yards at a clip of 6.8 yards per carry, and Brandon Saine posted 103 yards on just nine carries with two touchdowns.

As for the passing game, Terrelle Pryor looked the part of a Heisman candidate. The junior signal caller, who is under constant scrutiny, completed 17-of-25 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions. DeVier Posey scored on two of his four catches, and Dane Sanzenbacher posted 113 yards and a score on three grabs.

Defensively, Ohio State played quite well against Marshall, limiting the Thundering Herd to 199 total yards, including 44 rushing yards. The only points scored by Marshall came on a return of a blocked field goal, so that play obviously can't be pinned on the defense, which is considered one of the nation's most talented groups.

Linebacker Brian Rolle is one of the stars of the Ohio State defense, and he returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. He quickly turned his attention to the Hurricanes after that tilt.

"You get the feeling that team feels like they're back on the rise like they were in the early 2000s," said Brian Rolle of Miami. "We've got to play our brand of football, and at the end of the game next week we'll be able to assess where we are."

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds

Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it. Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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