It's Darron Thomas time for the No. 11 Ducks
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/03/2010 -
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -Darron Thomas seems to have it easy, making his debut as Oregon's starting quarterback at home and with the No. 11 Ducks heavily favored.
But it's quite the contrary.
When Thomas takes the field on Saturday against New Mexico, all eyes will be on whether the sophomore can lift Oregon out of the Jeremiah Masoli debacle and whether coach Chip Kelly did right in choosing him to start over senior Nate Costa.
Thomas' response? Bring it on.
``It's a good thing, because now you're in the spotlight,'' he said. ``I'm happy for it. It's good not to be in the back. I'm prepared for it and ready to go.''
Thomas played in five games as a true freshman in 2008, completing 16 of 33 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Called upon when Oregon was hit by a slew of injuries, Thomas came close to leading the Ducks on a come-from-behind victory against Boise State that season.
Thomas then redshirted the 2009 season.
Masoli led Oregon to a 10-3 record, the Pac-10 championship and a Rose Bowl berth last season. He was a possible Heisman Trophy candidate before his dramatic fall from grace.
Masoli was accused in the theft of a pair of laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity house in January. He was suspended for this season after pleading guilty to a burglary charge, but was later stopped by police for a traffic violation and marijuana was found in the car.
As a result, Kelly kicked him off the team.
Masoli appealed to the NCAA to play as a walk-on this season at Mississippi, but he was turned down. The loss left Oregon without a clear starter. Thomas competed for the job against Costa throughout fall camp, before edging him in a scrimmage last week. While Costa is more of a traditional passer, Thomas is more of a threat on the ground, more in the mold of Dennis Dixon.
Adding to the pressure on Saturday will be the absence of running back LaMichael James, who is serving a one-game suspension after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge stemming from an altercation with an ex-girlfriend.
Last season James rushed for a team-high 1,546 yards, setting a new record for freshmen in the Pac-10. He averaged 6.7 yards and added 14 TDs to earn the league's freshman of the year.
Fellow sophomore Kenjon Barner will start in James' place on Saturday. Also a return specialist, Barner had 1,553 all-purpose yards last season.
By all accounts, Barner had a productive fall camp. Oregon coach Chip Kelly says he is ``just scratching the surface of what he can be.''
But even with the few uncertainties - new QB, no star running back - Oregon remains a force, selected to repeat as Pac-10 champions this season.
``It's back in business and we're ready to go for New Mexico,'' Thomas said. ``I'm ready for it to be an exciting day on Saturday.''
In contrast, the Lobos aren't feeling a whole lot of pressure. New Mexico went 1-11 last season as the team dealt with its own off-field troubles, including then-first year coach Mike Locksley's altercation with a former assistant.
Now, like Oregon, the Lobos are eager to move forward.
``When you play a team like Oregon and they're ranked No. 11 in the country, there's really no pressure on us,'' Locksley said. ``I think it's going to be to our benefit to go up there, play loose, have fun, take some opportunities and take advantage of some opportunities against a real good team.''
New Mexico, which has a spread offense similar to Oregon's, will start sophomore B.R. Holbrook at quarterback. He leads a group dominated by fellow sophomores, who lack experience but will likely gain it considerably on Saturday. The Lobos have a 4-3 defense led by Carmen Messina, who led the nation with 162 tackles last season.
New Mexico is 7-43 against ranked opponents. But the last time they played a Pac-10 opponent, they beat Arizona 36-28 in 2008.
``As I told our team, we realize the challenge the reigning Pac-10 champions present us, but we also know that we have to make them beat us,'' Locksley said. ``We need to do the things that we've talked about since January to ensure that we make a Pac-10 champion team like Oregon beat us and not help them.''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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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.