Eastern Michigan (0-0, 0-0) vs. Cincinnati (0-0, 0-0)
Thursday, September 1st at 7:00 PM
TV: None
Stadium: Nippert Stadium (Artificial Turf)
Line: Cincinnati -12
When freshman QB Gino Guidugli took over as the starter at Cincinnati just one game into the 2001 season, he immediately flashed the kind of talent and poise that assured Bearcat fans their offense would be in good hands for the next four years.
And indeed it was. In his four seasons under center, Guidugli became Cincinnati's all-time career leading passer. Of course, as with all good things in college and life, they must eventually come to an end.
As the 2005 season gets underway this Thursday night at Nippert Stadium, the Cincinnati Bearcats will begin their first year A.G. That is, After Gino. Unfortunately for Cincy head coach Mark Dantonio, a good deal of other talent departed along with his starting QB after the 2004 season.
To say the cupboard is bare might be a slight exaggeration, but not much of one. The Bearcats will return just three starters on offense, three on defense and the departed were quite valuable pieces.
On offense, along with the aforementioned Guidugli, Dantonio will be without the services of his starting running back Richard Hall as well as WRs Hannibal Thomas and George Murray, their top two pass catchers from 2004 who accounted for nearly 60% of all their receiving yards.
Cincinnati will attempt to piece together an offense with QB Dustin Grutza, a 6-2 redshirt freshman and a trio of RBs, sophomore Bradley Glatthaar (likely starter), sophomore Butler Benton and junior Mike Daniels.
The news is just as grim on defense as the eight departed starters from the Cincy defense represented their top eight tacklers from 2004.
Needless to say, the 2005 season, Cincinnati's first as a member of the Big East Conference, might be a bit of a rebuilding year.
With that in mind, what better team to start the year off with than the Eastern Michigan Eagles, right? Well, yes and no.
While its true Eastern Michigan has only had six winning seasons since 1974, the 2004 edition of the boys from Ypsilanti, Michigan showed some signs of life, especially on offense, en route to a 4-7 finish.
Coach Jeff Genyk returns eight starters on offense from a unit that sparkled in 2004. QB Matt Bohnet, a transfer from Iowa, settled in quite nicely in at EMU and finished sixth in the nation in total offense with 294 yards per game, while throwing 21 touchdowns.
By far and away, Bohnet's favorite target is WR Eric Deslauriers, who was recently placed on the watch list for the Fred Belitnikoff award which goes to the top receiver in college football. Deslauriers certainly deserves that after a 2004 campaign that saw him haul in 84 passes for 1, 257 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 114.27 receiving yards per game were good for fourth best in the nation. Not too shabby for a converted quarterback.
The ground game is in equally capable hands as RB Anthony Sherrell has rushed for well over 2,000 yards in his career and after successfully completing summer school, is eligible to play in 2005.
Rounding out the potent EMU offense is junior placekicker Andrew Wellock, who has been named to the Lou Groza Award (top collegiate kicker) Watch list for this season.
However, defense is what has traditionally kept Eastern Michigan down and they again struggled in that department in 2004. The Eagles ranked a porous 114th in the nation in total defense last year and will have to tighten up the ranks if they hope to sniff a winning campaign in '05.
This is the first ever meeting between these two schools.
**Vanderbilt at Wake Forest**
Wake Forest has moved Cory Randolph from quarterback to wide receiver this season. (Getty)
--Most sports books are listing Wake Forest (4-7 straight up, 4-6 against the spread) as a 9 1/2-point favorite. The Demon Deacons have struggled mightily as favorites during Jim Grobe's four-year tenure. They are just 4-13-1 ATS when favored, 3-9-1 as home 'chalk.'
--Wake has nine starters back on offense and six on defense. The leader of the defensive unit will be third-year sophomore linebacker Jonathan Abbate, who led the Demon Deacons in tackles (101) as a redshirt freshman.
--Wake has a 12-9-1 spread record in regular-season games against SEC foes. The Deacs are 8-1 SU and 4-0-1 ATS in their last nine home openers.
--Wake Forest senior running back Chris Barclay is suspended for the opener. Barclay, a first-team All-ACC selection in 2004, finished last season with 1,010 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Junior cornerback Riley Swanson (49 tackles, 5 passes broken up in '04) will also miss the Vandy game, but both players will be back for a Sept. 10 trip to Nebraska.
--In addition to Barclay, Wake has two other All-ACC performers back in the mix. Junior right tackle Steve Vallos has 23 career starts under his belt and was tabbed as a second-team All-ACC player last year. Also, senior punter Ryan Plackemeier (1st team) is back after averaging 43.9 yards per punt in '04.
--Vanderbilt (2-9 SU, 5-5 ATS) has gone 2-9 in each of Bobby Johnson's three seasons in Music City. There have only been two SEC wins in that stretch, double-digit home victories over Kentucky and Mississippi State. The other four wins have come against ho-hum opponents: UConn, Furman, UT-Chattanooga and Eastern Kentucky.
--The Commodores are 12-12-2 as underdogs during Johnson's tenure. They are 6-8 as road 'dogs.
--Vandy is still recovering from the off-season loss of one of its top players, RB Kwane Doster. A Tampa native, Doster was shot and killed in December while back home in the Ybor City area. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry in '04 and would've been the centerpiece of Vandy's offense this season.
--With the death of Doster, the graduation of Norval McKenzie and the early departure to the NFL of FB Matthew Tant, the 'Dores have been left dangerously thin in the backfield. However, they do have a veteran under center in senior QB Jay Cutler, who was a pre-season All-SEC pick.
--Cutler has started every game of Johnson's tenure and has passed for 5,624 career yards. He completed 61 percent of his throws in '04 and posted a 10/5 touchdown-interception ratio. Cutler can also make plays with his legs running the option and scrambling out of the pocket.
--Senior LB Moses Osemwegie is the latest in a line of great linebackers at Vandy. Osemwegie is a two-time first-team All-SEC pick, leading the 'Dores in tackles the last two years. He will play on Sundays just like four linebackers from Vandy who are currently in the NFL: Jamie Duncan, Matt Stewart, Jamie Winborn and Shelton Quarles.
--According to Sunday's edition of the Tennesseean, Vandy's starters are 100 percent healthy.
--Since 2000, the 'Dores are 3-9-1 ATS in non-conference games.
--ESPNU will have television coverage at 7 p.m. Eastern.
**Oregon at Houston**
--Most spots have installed Oregon (5-6 SU, 7-4 ATS) as a nine-point road favorite. The Ducks own an incredible 23-5 ATS record in their last 29 road openers (one was non-lined). Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the total at 61, but as of Tuesday, few books had a total available.
--The Ducks have a 13-8 spread record as road favorites during Mike Bellotti's 10-year tenure.
--This will be the seventh game for Oregon against a team from Conference USA. The Ducks are 6-1 SU versus C-USA foes, but they are just 1-3 ATS.
--Bellotti's bunch brings back seven starters on each side of the ball. There are plenty of reasons for optimism in Eugene this year, but the primary cause is the return of Kellen Clemens. The senior QB threw for 2,548 yards last year with a touchdown-interception ratio of 22/10.
--Not only is Clemens back in the mix, but so are his favorite targets. A pair of seniors, WR Demetrius Williams (47 catches for 593 yards, 2 TDs) and TE Tim Day (35 catches, 457 yards, 8 TDs), led the team in receiving last season. Williams had his season cut short after eight games because of an injury, but he's 100 percent healthy now.
--Senior RB Terrence Whitehead remains the starter despite the presence of true freshman Jonathan Stewart, who was ranked as the top high school running back in the nation by Rivals.com last year. Whitehead rushed for 1,144 yards and six touchdowns in '04, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Stewart has been hampered by an array of injuries during pre-season practice, so he's only listed as third on the depth chart at this point.
--Houston (3-8 SU, 3-8 ATS) returns eight starters on each side of the ball for Art Briles' third year at the helm.
--The Cougars went 1-1 ATS as home underdogs last year.
--Houston QB Kevin Kolb is back for his junior year after throwing for 2,766 yards as a sophomore. Kolb was named C-USA Freshman of the year two seasons ago. In 24 career starts, he has a 36/12 TD-INT ratio. At his current pace of 5,897 career passing yards, Kolb would break the school's all-time passing mark of 9,430 yards set by David Klingler.
--All of the skilled players for Houston are back this season, including Kolb's favorite wideout, Vincent Marshall. The 5'9" senior was a second-team All C-USA pick last year, hauling in 61 catches for 1,040 yards and five touchdowns.
--ESPN2 will provide television coverage at 7 p.m. EST.
**Central Florida at South Carolina**
--Most sports books, as of Tuesday, have South Carolina (6-5 SU, 4-7 ATS) listed as a 21-point 'chalk' for Steve Spurrier's debut at Williams-Brice Stadium. The line opened at 19 1/2 and spent the better part of the last two weeks at 19. But that changed Tuesday, when heavy public action on the Gamecocks forces many books to move the number to 21.
--The 'Cocks have only five starters back on offense, four on defense. Sophomore cornerback Ko Simpson is the team's best player. He garnered SEC Freshman of the Year honors last season. Simpson was the team's second-leading tackler (61), but he's also a shutdown corner (6 interceptions, 6 passes broken up).
--Sophomore Blake Mitchell has been named the starter at quarterback for South Caroina. Mitchell saw limited action at garbage time of five games as a redshirt freshman last season.
--After Monday's practice, Spurrier told GamecockCentral.com that "8 to 10 true freshmen will play."
--Don't be surprised if Spurrier reaches into his bag of tricks for the opener in front of a raucous home crowd. As mentioned in a recent column, Spurrier will embrace his role as an underdog (not in this spot, but at South Carolina in general), and bettors shouldn't be surprised if he breaks out trick plays galore all year long. Remember, Spurrier's offensive genius was built at Duke when he was known to run 4-5 trick plays per game. Much of that trickery was put to bed late in his tenure at Florida (and with the Redskins).
--Central Florida (0-11 SU, 3-8 ATS) has lost 15 consecutive games after ending the '03 campaign with four straight losses before going winless in George O'Leary's first year in Orlando. The Knights had a 1-4 spread record as road underdogs in '04.
--UCF has nine starters back on offense and seven on defense.
--ESPN is in Columbia to bring us the broadcast at 7:30 p.m. EST.
JT
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