NCAA football – South Carolina stuns Alabama

We weren’t expecting this one to go as it did. For starters, Alabama Crimson Tide was coming from an exceptional 31-6 rout of Florida last week, finding extraordinary success in the hands of the Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson duo in the offensive end. Their ability to take control of the land-based attacks had made a huge difference for Alabama’s offense.

Mark Ingram was finally giving sings of recovering the speed, agility and roughness that had him win Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy. It was also the chance to repeat what he had done last year during their home game against South Carolina, where not only did the Crimson Tide took a notorious win but Mark Ingram went on to put an amazing performance that certainly consolidated him as one of the better prospects of the season.

It is not too much of an extravaganza to assume that head coach Nick Saban via Mark Ingram, and Greg McElroy would have put on another win at South Carolina. But it seemed that Steve Spurrier was finally able to break the spell and defeat Alabama 35 to 21.

The secret ingredient: Quarterback Stephen Garcia and a bombproof defense that managed to keep both Ingram and Richardson unnoticed for most of the game as the dynamic duo completed an very sub par performance. The two had a season long combined mark of 64 yards. To understand just how well the Gamecocks defense performed in this game, you need to take into account that they were able to keep the Crimson Tide to 36 rushing yards. South Carolina on the other hand completed 110 yards on that department.

Now, via the talented quarterback Stephen Garcia, the Gamecocks put up the most points over Alabama since their 41-34 lost to LSU back in 2007. This is a team that has had some troubles so far this season. The South Carolina Gamecocks are 4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play this season. And this is by far the best win they have had in a while. Now, they halted the Crimson Tide on their feet. You need to consider that Alabama, coming on as the defending champions had won 19 consecutive games, and to make it fair, they have won 19 consecutive games playing in the South Eastern Conference, which is one of the most competitive in the nation.

They played well. Nick Saban came out and recognized that his team had not performed as it is expected to. But he also accepted that South Carolina had outplayed them in basically each positive statistical value. For instance, Stephen Garcia went 17 of 20 for 201 yards and three touchdown-passes. Had it not been for that sole interception, it would have been quite a perfect game. Freshman Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina outplayed Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. Lattimore completed 23 carriages and for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ingram on the other hand went for 11 and 41 yards and no touchdowns.

Last year, it was the Mark Ingram show at the Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This time, the young freshman Marcus Lattimore put on own little show at the Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. Bottom Line: It is going to be one heck of a season for NCAA football betting fans.

NCAA Football – Alabama faces South Carolina on Saturday

by Stephen Lars on Oct.09, 2010, under Football

South Carolina’s head Coach Steve Spurrier has one big issue in front of him: find a way to slow down the Alabama Crimson Tide, who has just recently made then-No. 7 Florida Gators seem like an easy Sunday morning walk in the park. As if that was not enough, the guys at South Carolina, and particularly the fans, most be a bit concern for what the fully recovered Mark Ingram showed off in his performance against the Gators.

Let’s go back to Bama’s last season game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. This game was some sort of decisive moment for Mark Ingram’s college career. Last season, Ingram rushed 246 yards against South Carolina. That was enough to make give him the third highest mark in Alabama’s history. And let’s not forget how he closed the game. Ingram was the man responsible for each of the Crimson Tide’s last 68 yards in the final scoring drive. That is including the 4-yard pitch he took for touchdown to secure the 20-6 win.

But Ingram is not the only strong player the Gamecocks should be worried about. Also starting will be Trent Richardson, who was key during the first two games that Ingram lost at the beginning of the season due to an injury in his right knee. Richardson has recorded in the first five games of the season a very respectable mark of 419 yards and 4 touchdowns.

That duo is expected to keep on with the Crimson Tide’s winning streak. So far this season, Alabama is 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. They are not only the most dominant team in SEC, but top the rankings nationally.

Ingram is expected to shine again against the defense he so cleverly tore apart last year. If he is really going to try to get his second consecutive Heisman Trophy, he knows this is where it can all start to fall into place. He has said that his game against South Carolina, and the brilliant performance he had there, was what really threw him into the race for the Heisman. Not only did he deserved it, but was proud to bring in Alabama’s first Heisman ever. Now they could have two.

As of press time, the Alabama Crimson tide is the favorite on the spread to win this game. When it comes to wagering on the NCAA football season, the key factor is what the underdog is going to be able to bring on the table. The line might fluctuate a bit from now till kickoff, but at

NCAA Football – Alabama to play Duke on Saturday

by Stephen Lars on Sep.17, 2010, under Football, Previews

The Crimson Tide will be visiting the Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, to play Duke in the third week of regular season. Duke is not expected to put much of a fight against Alabama’s game. Now, rumor has it that Mark Ingram, the first Heisman Trophy winner for Alabama, is finally going to make his comeback after the talented player had to undergo knee surgery on August 31st.

Mark has been on the sidelines as the Crimson Tide has pulled off two great games against inferior teams, nonetheless the young men from Alabama have proved that they deserve to be among the favorite and top ranked teams in the nation. Alabama began it season with a demolishing 48-3 victory over San Jose State, and even managed to defeat the (back then No. 18 ranked) guys from Penn State with an easy 24-3. Someone said that Bama needed a boost for morale. Well, Ingram and the talented defensive end Marcell Dareus are expected to be back in top shape for their weekend game against Duke.

Trent Richardson, Ingram’s replacement, has certainly played to the expectations of the Crimson Tide’s fans. For this two opening games, Richardson has rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns. A pair of statistics that prove that though having Ingram is a plus, even if he is not there, they’ve got him covered.

On the other end of the offensive line, Greg McElroy threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns. As of press time, Alabama is ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation.

Duke on the other hand started the season with a 41-27 victory over Elon, but then had a very entertaining and difficult game against Wake Forest, which they lost 54 to 48. Duke is 0-10 all-time against No. 1 teams. And this should not be the exception. If you are into wagering on your favorite college football team, or like betting on NCAA football, you might want to take notice, as the question is not if Bama will win, but if they will cover the spread.  As of press time, Alabama is a very strong favorite to win this game. The guys over at BetIAS.com have made Alabama a -23