Hurricanes blow into Columbus to battle Buckeyes

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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."

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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