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12/24/2006 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Jackson ran 21 yards to the end zone with 8:27 left in overtime, as the St. Louis Rams kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 37-31 victory over the Washington Redskins.
After both teams had punted, Marc Bulger hooked up with Torry Holt for five yards, Jackson carried twice for five yards, and Stephen Davis had an eight- yard run. Jackson then broke free down the middle for the 21-yard game-winning touchdown.
Bulger completed 25-of-38 passes for 388 yards and four touchdowns for the Rams (7-8), who won their second straight. Isaac Bruce had a season-high 148 receiving yards and now has 13,310 receiving yards to pass Andre Reed (13,198) for seventh all-time. Jackson rushed for 150 yards on 33 carries, and also had six receptions for 102 yards, passing Marshall Faulk (87) for the franchise record for receptions by a running back in a single season with 88.
Jason Campbell completed 13-of-26 passes for 160 yards and a score for the Redskins (5-10), who are one of the few NFL teams that have been officially eliminated from postseason contention. Ladell Betts rushed for 129 yards on 29 carries with two scores, and tied Rob Goode (1951) for most consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing in franchise history. This was his fifth straight game at the century mark, and first 1,000-yard rushing season. Chris Cooley caught seven passes for 77 yards and a score.
After a pair of false starts, the Rams had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins to take a three-point lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
After Washington punted, Jackson fumbled and Lemar Marshall recovered for the Redskins, who tied the score at 31 with a 52-yard Shaun Suisham field goal.
After St. Louis had punted, Betts broke free downfield but Oshiomogho Atogwe punched the ball loose and the Rams recovered it at the two-minute mark. Out of the shotgun, Bulger then found Kevin Curtis for 18 yards, Holt for 14 yards, and Jackson for 24 yards to set up a 41-yard field-goal Wilkins attempt that hooked left, as the game went into overtime.
Washington got on the board on its first drive courtesy of T.J. Duckett, who rushed for 11 yards and then scored from five yards out for an early 7-0 lead with 6:41 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Rams responded right away in the second quarter. Bruce got his 80th career reception on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bulger to cap an eight-play, 85-yard drive. Dominique Byrd then notched his first NFL reception on a 27- yard touchdown pass from Bulger with 9:49 remaining.
Washington capitalized on a blocked punt by Vernon Fox, as Betts needed just two plays to score from eight yards out for a 14-14 tie with 6:14 left. Cooley then caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Campbell with 21 seconds left for a 21-14 Skins lead at halftime.
Betts kept it going in the second half, scoring on a seven-yard run with 8:49 remaining to cap an 11-play, 72-yard drive.
St. Louis answered when Jackson broke free for a 64-yard touchdown pass to cap a five-play, 82-yard drive with 6:30 remaining. Davis then caught his first touchdown pass as a Ram on a 10-yard shuffle pass to tie the score, 28-28, with 1:49 left in the third.
Game Notes
Washington cornerback Shawn Springs broke a shoulder blade in the first quarter...Bulger, Jackson and wide receiver Torry Holt were selected to the 2006 NFC Pro Bowl roster earlier this week...The Redskins hold a 20-7-1 lead in their all-time series with the Rams, but had a three-game winning streak snapped...Washington was a 24-9 road winner when the teams last matched up, in Week 13 of last season. The Rams' previous win in the series was a 23-20 road victory in 1997, and their most recent home victory against Washington came by a 10-6 count for the then-Los Angeles Rams in 1993...The Rams are 1-4 against the Redskins in St. Louis all-time. Washington had a seven-game winning streak in the city of St. Louis snapped since last losing there, to the Cardinals, in 1984.
<< Saints move closer to bye with win over Giants
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reggie Bush rushed for a career-high
126 yards with a score, as New Orleans moved one step closer to a first-round
bye after a 30-7 win over the fading New York Giants.
Bush recorded the first 100-y
<< Ravens stop Steelers, vault into No. 2 seed in AFC
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve McNair threw three touchdowns as
Baltimore moved in to the second seed in the AFC with a 31-7 shellacking
of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.
McNair went 21-of-31 with 256 yards a
<< Young leads streaking Titans past Bills
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Vince Young threw for 183 yards and
two touchdowns, and also ran for 61 yards and a score, as Tennessee edged
Buffalo, 30-29, to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
Young, who completed 13-of-20
<< New England clinches AFC East with win over Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady threw for 249 yards and a
touchdown as New England edged Jacksonville, 24-21, to win its fourth
consecutive AFC East title at Alltel Stadium.
Brady completed 28-of-39 passes for t
Leinart sprains shoulder >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt
Leinart sprained his left shoulder in the first half against the San Francisco
49ers on Sunday.
Leinart got sacked by Roderick Green just under the two-minute mark of th
Bengals botch PAT as Broncos slip away victorious >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Broncos improved their playoff chances with
a lot of luck Sunday, as the Bengals botched an extra point attempt with 41
seconds remaining, giving Denver a 24-23 win at a snowy Invesco Field.
Carson Palm
Cards KO 49ers; Leinart injures shoulder >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Leinart completed 9-of-13 passes for
162 yards and a score before spraining his left shoulder just before halftime,
as the Arizona Cardinals went on to top San Francisco, 26-20, and knock the
49ers o
Chargers rally for win, but Seahawks clinch division >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philip Rivers did it again, rebounding from a
horrid start to lead the Chargers to a comeback victory, 20-17, over Seattle.
Despite the defeat, the Seahawks clinched their third straight NFC West title
by vi
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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