Hawaii at La. Tech
Casual college football fans don?t even pay attention to mid-week games like the ones we occasionally see on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as we get deeper into the season. Bettors, on the other hand, love the opportunity to get ahead of the books going into the weekend.
Gamblers get that chance tonight when Louisiana Tech (1-2 straight up, 0-2 against the spread) plays host to Hawaii (2-1 SU, 2-0 ATS) in Ruston, LA. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Bulldogs as 2 ?-point favorites. On Monday, the number was 3 ? at most books, but it shot up to five by late Tuesday afternoon. Most spots had La. Tech favored by 5 1/2 early this afternoon with the total in the 55-56 range. The Warriors are plus-180 on the money line (risk $100 to win $180).
What prompted such a move? Probably the brutal travel situation this spot represents for Hawaii, which must go all the way to the southeast from Honolulu. The Warriors opened the season with a 25-20 home win over Central Arkansas in a non-lined game.
Then in Week 2, Greg McMackin?s squad ventured to Seattle where it captured a 38-20 victory at Washington State as a two-point road favorite. Following the win over the Cougars, Hawaii stayed on the West coast and prepped for a Week 3 showdown at UNLV.
The Rebels won a 34-33 decision at Sam Boyd Stadium, but the Warriors hooked up their backers as 7 ?-point road underdogs. After the loss to UNLV on Sep. 19, Hawaii returned home and had its open date this past weekend.
On Sunday, the Warriors practiced in the morning before flying to Dallas later that afternoon. They arrived in Dallas on Monday morning and held an afternoon practice at Trinity High School, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Hawaii had a 45-minute workout Tuesday morning in Dallas before flying to Monroe, LA., which is a 30-minute drive to Ruston.
?This is an important ball game for us," McMackin told the Advertiser. "The whole nation has a chance to see what Warrior football is all about. I feel a big responsibility for us to represent the team, our staff and the people of Hawai'i."
Derek Dooley?s team began the year with back-to-back road losses to Auburn (37-13) and Navy (32-14). La. Tech bounced back in its home opener by spanking Nicholls St. by a 48-13 count in a non-lined affair.
Ross Jenkins led the Bulldogs to victory by completing 21-of-30 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Freshman running back Tyrone Duplessis ran for a team-high 71 yards on just eight carries. Daniel Porter and D.J. Morrow both had TD runs.
However, Porter has yet to get going this year. He was held to just 41 rushing yards on 13 totes vs. Nicholls St. For the season, Porter is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry, gaining 134 rushing yards on 40 carries.
Porter garnered first-team All-WAC honors in 2008 when he rushed for 1,262 yards and nine touchdowns. The senior RB, who is diminutive in size but has blazing speed, averaged 5.2 YPC last season.
Porter will face a Hawaii run defense that?s giving up 126.7 rushing yards per game. This unit had only two returning starters and one of those, senior LB Brashton Satele, has been lost for the season with a torn labrum. On the other side of the ball, senior WR Malcolm Lane (35 catches, 613 yards and 6 TDs in ?08) is also done for the year due to academics. Lane is redshirting and expected to return next season.
Hawaii senior QB Greg Alexander has played outstanding in 2009. He is completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,234 yards with a 9/2 touchdown-interception ratio. Alexander?s favorite target has been junior Greg Salas, who has 20 receptions for 479 yards and four touchdowns. Rodney Bradley has 18 catches for 381 and four TDs.
La. Tech will need to generate more pass rush this week to keep Alexander from getting into a rhythm. The Bulldogs have recorded just two sacks, the fewest amount of all WAC teams.
La. Tech safety Deon Young will move to cornerback this week against the Warriors? pass-happy attack. Young is second in the WAC with two interceptions through three games.
Hawaii starting OT Laupepa Letuli, a senior, is ?out? this week with a knee injury suffered in a weight training session last week.
When the Warriors came to Ruston early in the 2007 season, a campaign in which they went unbeaten to garner a Sugar Bowl bid, they were nearly beaten outright in a 45-44 win in overtime. The Bulldogs easily took the money as 28-point home underdogs versus Colt Brennan and Co.
In 2005, La. Tech stroked Hawaii 46-14 as a three-point home favorite. The Warriors won last year?s meeting 24-14 as 7 ?-point favorites.
Dooley has requested that fans greet the Warriors in the stands with a ?Sea of Red? in the WAC opener for both schools. ESPN2 will have the telecast Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
--La. Tech sophomore LB Adrien Cole is third in the WAC in tackles with 27.
--Hawaii has won six of the seven all-time meetings against La. Tech.
--New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley doesn?t look like head-coaching material right now. Locksley made a name for himself as Ron Zook?s recruiting coordinator at both Florida and Illinois. He is best known for his recruiting magic in the Washington D.C. area. However, since taking over the Lobos, he has been accused of sexual harassment and age defamation. And now this: AD Paul Krebs has reprimanded the first-year coach after an incident last week in which he punched one of his assistants and bloodied his lip. Worst of all, New Mexico is off to an 0-4 start.
--According to an LVSC alert sent early Tuesday evening, So. Miss RB Damion Fletcher and WR DeAndre Brown have been ruled ?out? for Thursday?s game at UAB. The game was still off the board as of early this morning.
--Nevada RB Vai Taua, who led the WAC in rushing in 2008, is out indefinitely after suffering a dislocated elbow in Friday's 31-21 home loss to Missouri. Luke Lippincott, who led the WAC in rushing in 2007 before redshirting last season after a Week 2 injury, ran for 114 yards against the Tigers but had a costly fumble at the Mizzou four yard line.
Casual college football fans don?t even pay attention to mid-week games like the ones we occasionally see on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as we get deeper into the season. Bettors, on the other hand, love the opportunity to get ahead of the books going into the weekend.
Gamblers get that chance tonight when Louisiana Tech (1-2 straight up, 0-2 against the spread) plays host to Hawaii (2-1 SU, 2-0 ATS) in Ruston, LA. Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Bulldogs as 2 ?-point favorites. On Monday, the number was 3 ? at most books, but it shot up to five by late Tuesday afternoon. Most spots had La. Tech favored by 5 1/2 early this afternoon with the total in the 55-56 range. The Warriors are plus-180 on the money line (risk $100 to win $180).
What prompted such a move? Probably the brutal travel situation this spot represents for Hawaii, which must go all the way to the southeast from Honolulu. The Warriors opened the season with a 25-20 home win over Central Arkansas in a non-lined game.
Then in Week 2, Greg McMackin?s squad ventured to Seattle where it captured a 38-20 victory at Washington State as a two-point road favorite. Following the win over the Cougars, Hawaii stayed on the West coast and prepped for a Week 3 showdown at UNLV.
The Rebels won a 34-33 decision at Sam Boyd Stadium, but the Warriors hooked up their backers as 7 ?-point road underdogs. After the loss to UNLV on Sep. 19, Hawaii returned home and had its open date this past weekend.
On Sunday, the Warriors practiced in the morning before flying to Dallas later that afternoon. They arrived in Dallas on Monday morning and held an afternoon practice at Trinity High School, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Hawaii had a 45-minute workout Tuesday morning in Dallas before flying to Monroe, LA., which is a 30-minute drive to Ruston.
?This is an important ball game for us," McMackin told the Advertiser. "The whole nation has a chance to see what Warrior football is all about. I feel a big responsibility for us to represent the team, our staff and the people of Hawai'i."
Derek Dooley?s team began the year with back-to-back road losses to Auburn (37-13) and Navy (32-14). La. Tech bounced back in its home opener by spanking Nicholls St. by a 48-13 count in a non-lined affair.
Ross Jenkins led the Bulldogs to victory by completing 21-of-30 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Freshman running back Tyrone Duplessis ran for a team-high 71 yards on just eight carries. Daniel Porter and D.J. Morrow both had TD runs.
However, Porter has yet to get going this year. He was held to just 41 rushing yards on 13 totes vs. Nicholls St. For the season, Porter is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry, gaining 134 rushing yards on 40 carries.
Porter garnered first-team All-WAC honors in 2008 when he rushed for 1,262 yards and nine touchdowns. The senior RB, who is diminutive in size but has blazing speed, averaged 5.2 YPC last season.
Porter will face a Hawaii run defense that?s giving up 126.7 rushing yards per game. This unit had only two returning starters and one of those, senior LB Brashton Satele, has been lost for the season with a torn labrum. On the other side of the ball, senior WR Malcolm Lane (35 catches, 613 yards and 6 TDs in ?08) is also done for the year due to academics. Lane is redshirting and expected to return next season.
Hawaii senior QB Greg Alexander has played outstanding in 2009. He is completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,234 yards with a 9/2 touchdown-interception ratio. Alexander?s favorite target has been junior Greg Salas, who has 20 receptions for 479 yards and four touchdowns. Rodney Bradley has 18 catches for 381 and four TDs.
La. Tech will need to generate more pass rush this week to keep Alexander from getting into a rhythm. The Bulldogs have recorded just two sacks, the fewest amount of all WAC teams.
La. Tech safety Deon Young will move to cornerback this week against the Warriors? pass-happy attack. Young is second in the WAC with two interceptions through three games.
Hawaii starting OT Laupepa Letuli, a senior, is ?out? this week with a knee injury suffered in a weight training session last week.
When the Warriors came to Ruston early in the 2007 season, a campaign in which they went unbeaten to garner a Sugar Bowl bid, they were nearly beaten outright in a 45-44 win in overtime. The Bulldogs easily took the money as 28-point home underdogs versus Colt Brennan and Co.
In 2005, La. Tech stroked Hawaii 46-14 as a three-point home favorite. The Warriors won last year?s meeting 24-14 as 7 ?-point favorites.
Dooley has requested that fans greet the Warriors in the stands with a ?Sea of Red? in the WAC opener for both schools. ESPN2 will have the telecast Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
--La. Tech sophomore LB Adrien Cole is third in the WAC in tackles with 27.
--Hawaii has won six of the seven all-time meetings against La. Tech.
--New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley doesn?t look like head-coaching material right now. Locksley made a name for himself as Ron Zook?s recruiting coordinator at both Florida and Illinois. He is best known for his recruiting magic in the Washington D.C. area. However, since taking over the Lobos, he has been accused of sexual harassment and age defamation. And now this: AD Paul Krebs has reprimanded the first-year coach after an incident last week in which he punched one of his assistants and bloodied his lip. Worst of all, New Mexico is off to an 0-4 start.
--According to an LVSC alert sent early Tuesday evening, So. Miss RB Damion Fletcher and WR DeAndre Brown have been ruled ?out? for Thursday?s game at UAB. The game was still off the board as of early this morning.
--Nevada RB Vai Taua, who led the WAC in rushing in 2008, is out indefinitely after suffering a dislocated elbow in Friday's 31-21 home loss to Missouri. Luke Lippincott, who led the WAC in rushing in 2007 before redshirting last season after a Week 2 injury, ran for 114 yards against the Tigers but had a costly fumble at the Mizzou four yard line.
