10/30/2007 -
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -Darren McFadden agrees with the critics who say he's lagging in the Heisman Trophy race.
He also remembers how important a few late-season performances can be.
``I don't feel like I've done enough to be worthy of top consideration,'' the Arkansas star said Monday. ``I'm not really concerned. I don't feel like I came on to the Heisman scene until around this time last season.''
McFadden was the Heisman runner-up in 2006 after sensational November efforts against South Carolina, Tennessee and LSU. All three of those teams are still to come on Arkansas' 2007 schedule, starting with the No. 23 Gamecocks this weekend in Fayetteville.
``I feel like if I go out there and just play my game and do my best, then everything else will take care of itself,'' McFadden said.
McFadden started this season the way he ended the previous one. He rushed for 195 yards in the Razorbacks' second game, a 41-38 loss at Alabama. Arkansas lost again the following week, but McFadden ran for 173 yards against Kentucky.
His Heisman hopes were still strong, but his health was becoming a concern.
McFadden missed the end of the Alabama game with a concussion. A few weeks later, he was bothered by sore ribs in a win over Chattanooga.
``I'm not going to blame my playing on an injury,'' McFadden said.
Maybe not, but McFadden hasn't looked like himself lately. In October, he has rushed for a very un-Heisman 4.0 yards per carry. Now, McFadden is having to work to hold off Felix Jones for Arkansas' rushing lead. McFadden has run for 993 yards this season, Jones for 863.
Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt dismissed talk of McFadden dropping in the Heisman race, pointing out that the junior has been a marked man all season for opposing defenses.
``If you go by the best player - the player that's supposed to be the best in the country, he's got to be up there,'' Nutt said. ``I'm just amazed at how he could be slipping. I don't see it.''
Nutt hopes McFadden can finish strong.
``I think now, he's just about healthy,'' Nutt said. ``Hopefully he'll be almost 100 percent during the last stretch of the season.''
McFadden has addressed the Heisman only when asked. Even then, he often directs the discussion back toward team goals. Arkansas fell out of the Top 25 early this season, but this last month will still determine the Razorbacks' postseason fate.
``I'm just focused on playing ball,'' McFadden said. ``I'm just trying to help the team out - get us back on the right track.''
At this time last year, Arkansas was in the midst of a 10-game winning streak that sent the Razorbacks to the Southeastern Conference title game. McFadden began November by rushing for 219 yards in a 26-20 win at South Carolina. That's still his career high.
He followed that up with a 181-yard performance in a win over Tennessee, and he finished the regular season by running for 182 yards in a loss to LSU.
In a Heisman race that's still pretty muddled, there's time for McFadden to make a last-ditch push - and Arkansas has a chance to work its way up the bowl pecking order. But McFadden and the Razorbacks need to play well in their final four games, and three of them are against teams currently in the Top 25.
It's a challenge, but it's also an opportunity.
``We have a four-game stretch that we have to finish up strong in,'' McFadden said. ``We have a very tough SEC schedule that's left.''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.
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Division last season, while the Toledo Rockets ran away with the West
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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)
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