No. 6 Huskers' Martinez to measure self vs. Idaho

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/10/2010 -

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -After passing his trial run as Nebraska's starter, Taylor Martinez can strengthen his grip on the quarterback's job with another strong outing Saturday against Idaho.

Martinez won over his teammates, not to mention the fans, in last week's 49-10 season-opening win over Western Kentucky. Now the redshirt freshman is poised to establish himself as the sixth-ranked Cornhuskers' clear starter going into next week's test at Washington.

``I just feel like now he knows it's his huddle, and he's going to run the show,'' receiver Mike McNeill said. ``He's got a lot of confidence.''

Martinez ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 136 yards against a Western Kentucky team that has lost 21 straight. He should get a better measure of himself against Idaho, which beat Bowling Green in the last seconds of the Humanitarian Bowl last year and opened with a 45-0 rout of North Dakota.

Nebraska's quarterback shuffle has gone as smoothly as offensive coordinator Shawn Watson could have hoped. Martinez beat out 2009 starter Zac Lee, a senior, and top backup Cody Green, a sophomore.

Watson said Lee and Green have offered their help to Martinez in film study and on the practice field.

``I'm proud of what they've done because both Cody and Zac wanted to have that opportunity,'' Watson said. ``Those guys have put the team first, which is part of our culture here.''

Watson told the quarterbacks the pecking order five days before the opener. To that point, Green said, Watson had updated the three almost daily about where they stood in the competition.

``That's all you can ask for,'' Green said. ``It would be a lot worse if everything was secretive and then, bam, here is the starter. It wasn't like that. We knew (Martinez) was starting, and we knew the reason why he was starting.''

Lee declined an interview request, as did Martinez.

Watson said Martinez, who was clearly uncomfortable speaking with reporters after last week's game, reluctantly accepts all that comes with being a Nebraska quarterback.

``I see that he knows he is getting attention,'' Watson said. ``I think he would really like it to all go away and let him do his thing.''

His thing is running the ball, not his mouth.

McNeill said he and his teammates have witnessed Martinez's explosiveness since last year, when Martinez was on the scout team. The fans got their first glimpse of Martinez in the spring game, which put him in position to make a bid for the job in preseason practice.

``A lot of time people get hyped up during camp or spring ball, and you never really know what you're going to get,'' McNeill said. ``But we all knew, that kid can flat out run. I knew he was going to run the ball well, but I was just impressed with the clock management and the play calls.''

Though his team is a four-touchdown favorite against Idaho, coach Bo Pelini said the Vandals present a bigger challenge than the Hilltoppers did.

The Vandals had the nation's second-best turnaround last year, going from 2-10 in 2008 to 8-5. NFL prospect Nathan Enderle, a North Platte, Neb., native, returns to his home state after passing for 333 yards and two TDs against North Dakota.

Idaho coach Robb Akey said his players should soak up the Memorial Stadium atmosphere and the 85,000-strong ``Sea of Red.'' But he said the Vandals won't just show up just to collect their $800,000 guarantee.

``Nobody is going to pick us to win this game,'' he said, ``so there's no way we can go in there and screw it up. I believe this: If we play as fast as we can, as hard as we can and as long as we can, and if we execute things better, we give ourselves some opportunities. We'll see what that will do when we read the scoreboard at the end of the ball game.''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.

Wwwherald NCAA Football Betting News

<< Report: NCAA looks into Tennessee basketball program
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA has reportedly looked into the Tennessee men's basketball program as part of an overall investigation into the school's athletics program. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Thursday,

<< No. 11 Wisconsin on 14-game home opener win streak
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -Wisconsin wants to shoot down any comparisons with another top ranked team that could be made Saturday when the 11th-ranked Badgers take on San Jose State.The Spartans lost 48-3 to No. 1 Alabama last Saturday and San Jose State c

<< Wyoming, mourning death of player, faces Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -The Wyoming football teams says they will play this weekend in honor of a fallen teammate.The Cowboys play at No. 5 Texas on Saturday night. Before the game, Ruben Narcisse's photo will grace the giant stadium scoreboard screen a

<< No. 9 Iowa understandably wary of Iowa St
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -The rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State has become predictable.The Hawkeyes are usally expected to pound the underdog Cyclones - and it usually doesn't happen.Iowa State has made life miserable for the rival Hawkeyes, winning s

<< LSU's versatile Shepard sees himself as play maker
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Russell Shepard's career at LSU isn't turning out quite as he had envisioned, and that might be the best thing that ever happened to him.The Tigers' quarterback-turned-wide receiver has remade his game in the mold of dynamic p

Funk among leaders in South Korea >>
Songdo, South Korea (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tradition winner Fred Funk, Michael Allen and Jay Don Blake each posted rounds of three-under 69 on Friday to share the opening-round lead of the Posco E&C Songdo Championship. This was th

Wisconsin riding 14-game home opener win streak >>
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -Wisconsin wants to shoot down the No. 1 comparison that's sure to be made Saturday when the 11th-ranked Badgers take on San Jose State: How would Wisconsin fare against Alabama?The Spartans lost 48-3 to the top-ranked Crimson Tid

No. 7 Oregon, Tennessee meet for 1st big test >>
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Justin Wilcox had to stop and rewind the tape on Oregon running back LaMichael James a few times to make sure it was playing at regular speed.The Tennessee defensive coordinator thought for a moment he was watching on fast-for

2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 10th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CLASSIFICATION ROUND Spain vs. Slovenia, 11 p.m. Russia vs. Argentina, 2 p.m.

EIU ready for Sean Payton ceremony >>
Charleston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off Thursday's season-opening win, Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints will have his jersey number retired by his alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, during the Panthers' h

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .