FCS players of the week awarded to Edwards, Crockett, Gray and Igono

NCAA Football Betting Lines

11/05/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards, Fordham linebacker James Crockett, Morehead State defensive back Brian Gray and Northern Arizona special teams performer Cyrus Igono were selected Monday as national players of the week by the Sportsbook Betting Lines.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State, Sophomore, Quarterback, 6-0, 175, Greenwood, S.C.

Edwards broke the single-game rushing record for Appalachian State, running 21 times for 291 yards (13,9 average) and two touchdowns in the Mountaineers' 45-24 victory at The Citadel Saturday afternoon. Edwards cracked the mark set by Richie Melchor, who had 267 yards on 36 carries on Oct. 28, 1989 against Tennessee-Chattanooga. The rushing performance was the best ever for a Southern Conference quarterback, beating the mark of 286 by Gene Brown of The Citadel against VMI in 1988. It was the third best rushing total in a single game this season, bettered only by Herb Donaldson's 314 yards for Western Illinois against Missouri State and Tim Hightower's 295 yards for Richmond against Bucknell. Edwards, starting for just the third time since being sidelined by a shoulder injury, also completed 10-of-20 passes for 148 yards and two more touchdowns. He finished the day with 439 yards of total offense on 41 plays. It was the fourth highest total offense output in school history. Only former All- American quarterback Richie Williams has put up more yards in an ASU. Williams holds the team record with 517 yards. The win helped the Mountaineers move into a four-way tie for the lead in the Southern Conference. He had an 80-yard TD run in the first period, TD passes of six and 45 yards in the second quarter and a 25-yard scoring scamper in the fourth stanza. Edwards also became the career leader at ASU in rushing by a quarterback with 1,889 yards, breaking the record previously held by Scott Satterfield (1992-95), Edwards' quarterback coach.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

James Crockett, Fordham, Sophomore, Linebacker, 6-2, 220, Maple Heights, Ohio

Crockett sparked Fordham to a 24-21 victory over Holy Cross Saturday at home in the battle for the Patriot League championship. Crockett recovered a fumble in the end zone after a muffed punt for a touchdown that gave the Rams a 21-14 lead in the third period. He then intercepted a pass in Fordham territory in the final seconds to end the Crusaders' hopes of a comeback. Crockett tied for the team lead in tackles with seven, including four solo stops and had one tackle for loss. The Rams clinched their first PL title and playoff berth since 2002 with the victory.

Brian Gray, Morehead State, Senior, Defensive Back, 6-0, 200, Savannah Ga.

Gray intercepted three passes to help lead Morehead State to a 33-0 blanking of Drake Saturday at home in a key Pioneer Football League game. Gray's first interception in the first quarter stopped a Drake drive at the MSU 37. He added an interception at the Drake 22 in the second period and grabbed his at the Bulldog 45 in the third stanza. Gray became the second Morehead State player to intercept three passes in the same game this season. David Hyland pulled off the feat against Jacksonville on Oct. 13. The victory over Drake allowed the Eagles to stay in a three-way tie for first in the PFL with Dayton and San Diego. MSU plays San Diego Saturday, with a win giving the Eagles a berth in the Gridiron Classic against the champion of the Northeast Conference.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Cyrus Igono, Northern Arizona, Sophomore, Linebacker, 5-10, 195, Phoenix, Az.

Igono blocked a pair of punts in the third quarter to guide Northern Arizona to a 29-14 win on the road over Montana State in a Big Sky Conference game. The two blocked punt led to nine points for the Lumberjacks, who turned a 14-6 halftime deficit into a 15-14 lead. Igono's first block of an Eric Fisher punt early in the third period led to a 30-yard NAU field goal. His second block gave the Lumberjacks the ball at the MSU three-yard line to set up quarterback Lance Kriesien's touchdown run on the next play. Igono has four blocked punts this season, tying an FCS record shared by Ryan Crawford of Davidson (2000) and Robert Herron of Sam Houston State (2004). Igono became the ninth player in FCS history to block two punts in the same game.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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