09/05/2008 - Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The performance of Delaware State senior quarterback Vashon Winton at times on Thursday night might have been enough to frustrate the average signal-caller.
Winton misfired on more passes than he completed in the first half and threw two costly interceptions as an upstart Florida A&M squad pushed the Hornets to overtime.
But Winton persevered to help Delaware State (1-0) to a 35-28 victory by rushing for four touchdowns and throwing another. His final score, a six-yard bootleg run gave the Hornets the lead in overtime and free safety Jerome Strums' second interception of the night on FAMU's first offensive play of the extra session ended a wild MEAC opener.
"I just try to find a way to win, by any means necessary," said Winton, who is trying to lead the Hornets to their second straight MEAC championship. "We just go out and play."
DSU coach Al Lavan wasn't surprised by the way Winton held things together.
"That's been Vashon's history since he's been here," said Lavan. "He knows how to manage an offense, he is a winner."
Winton also had plenty of help from tailback Chris Strother, playing in place of injured starter Kareem Jones (sprained foot). Strother had 32 carries for 144 yards.
It didn't look like there would be much need for heroics when the Hornets jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against a youthful Rattler squad (1-1).
Winton gave DSU a 7-0 lead with a bootleg from the one at the six-minute mark and then hit Eddie Brown on a crossing route for 16 yards and another touchdown. The second score was set up when Stanley Banks forced a fumble by FAMU's LeRoy Vann that was recovered by B.J. Conley at the Rattler 19.
Winton's third touchdown from four yards out gave the Hornets a 21-7 advantage, but FAMU tied the game on a pair of Kevin Elliott TD catches from 10 and 34 yards, respectively.
Elliott's second TD with two minutes left in the third period came on a flea flicker from Kentucky transfer Curtis Pulley (3-of-6 for 57 yards passing and 7-87 rushing).
"We all did a good job of settling down after they jumped on us 14-0," Pulley said. "We kept battling and almost won."
The teams traded fourth quarter scores, with Winton getting into the end zone again on the read option from four yards out, and Vann electrifying the Rattler bench with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that made it 28- all with 8:07 remaining.
Winton and the offense got the Hornets into position for a 47-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation with a 10-play drive in the last 4:23, but Riley Flickinger's effort fell just short of the crossbar.
In overtime, it took Delaware State only three plays to hit the end zone as Winton completed passes to Zacharri Charles and Derrick McNeil and then darted in on another bootleg to make it 35-28.
It took just one play for the Hornet defense to end the game. With defensive end Akiel Russell pressuring Pulley on a bootleg pass, the FAMU quarterback appeared to be trying to throw the ball away. But Strums made a diving interception near the 15 to clinch the win for DSU.
"Our expectations are very high," said Lavan. "We just encourage our guys to play as hard as they can, as long as they can."
Florida A&M also came out of the game with some positives.
"It was a gallant effort, taking the defending (MEAC) champions to overtime," said Joe Taylor, who has moved to FAMU after 16 years at Hampton. "I'm so proud of them going on the road, before a TV audience and playing like this. I saw enough tonight to know we're going to be all right."
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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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