Nicholls to play three FBS opponents
NCAA Football Betting Lines
02/03/2012 -
Thibodaux, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nicholls State University football
program is going heavy on the FBS opposition and light on the home games in a
2012 schedule announced on Friday.
The Colonels' first three games are against FBS opponents - a first in program
history - and they will play only four home games at John L. Guidry Stadium.
"We are very excited about the 2012 schedule. It's very challenging, which is
what we want," Nicholls third-year head coach Charlie Stubbs said. "Playing
this kind of demanding schedule will make us stretch and grow to our potential
as we strive to improve as a program."
Nicholls will open the season by visiting the FBS opposition, Oregon State on
Sept. 1, transitioning Sun Belt Conference member South Alabama on Sept. 8 and
Tulsa on Sept. 15. Stubbs is a former Tulsa assistant coach.
The Colonels will play their home opener on Sept. 22 against Evangel, which
they defeated, 42-0, last season.
Their Southland Conference home games are against 2011 conference champion and
FCS runner-up Sam Houston State (Oct. 13), McNeese State (Nov. 3) and
Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 17).
Nicholls will go the road to face Southland opponents Central Arkansas (Oct.
6), Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 20), Northwestern State (Oct. 27) and Lamar (Nov.
10).
"I know the conference schedule will be super challenging and we will be
tested early," said Stubbs, whose team finished 1-10 overall and 0-7 in the
Southland this past season.
2012 Nicholls Football Schedule
Sept. 1, at Oregon State, Corvallis, Ore.
Sept. 8, at South Alabama, Mobile, Ala.
Sept. 15, at Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla.
Sept. 22, Evangel, Thibodaux, La.
Oct. 6, at Central Arkansas*, Conway, Ark.
Oct. 13, Sam Houston State*, Thibodaux, La.
Oct. 20, at Stephen F. Austin*, Nacogdoches, Texas
Oct. 27, at Northwestern State*, Natchitoches, La.
Nov. 3, McNeese State*, Thibodaux, La.
Nov. 10, at Lamar*, Beaumont, Texas
Nov. 15, Southeastern Louisiana*, Thibodaux, La.
* - Southland Conference game
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Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
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Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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NFL Football Trash Talk
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject
would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms.
Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends,
their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the
sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies
your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming
the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like
your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in
defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your
hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say,
will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt
focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea
is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to
make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
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