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01/30/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monday's forecast in Vermillion, S.D., was downright balmy for this time of the year - a high into the 50s. Of course, that's not quite the sunshine and 75 degrees being enjoyed in Phoenix.
Some of the friends whom 62-year-old Joe Glenn left behind in Arizona might be getting a kick over his approach to retirement.
"They're doing a better job of it than I did," the new South Dakota football coach said with a laugh.
Glenn hopes a return to his alma mater in Vermillion lasts much longer than a senior moment. South Dakota athletic director David Sayler handpicked Glenn to be the Coyotes' head coach as they head from the disbanding Great West Football Conference into the rugged Missouri Valley Football Conference this year.
There weren't a lot of head coaches on the open market who already had won a FCS national championship. USD gained just that in Glenn, who led Montana to the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) national crown and went on to coach on the FBS level at Wyoming.
"This is the swan song for sure. I'm exhilarated," Glenn said. "The place has kick-started my heart for football. I was a little beat up after the Wyoming thing (he was fired after his sixth season in 2008), to tell you the truth. I got into some broadcasting for a while living in Phoenix, but I know right now the coaching staff, the players have given me a real sense of belonging. It's wonderful to be at my university. I had no idea I'd feel this great. I'm having a ball."
Known for his positive approach, the 1971 USD graduate jumped right into recruiting and assembling his coaching staff following his hiring on Dec. 5.
The recruiting class, to be announced on national signing day Wednesday, features such commitments as Chris Wiseman, a touted defensive end out of Montana, and appears to be on a higher level now that USD is moving to the Missouri Valley, home of the reigning national champion, North Dakota State.
"I'm having more fun recruiting this year than I have in all my years of coaching," said Glenn, whose 188-100-1 career record includes stints at Doane and Northern Colorado as well as Montana and Wyoming. "I have a bunch of coaches that are cracking and hustling and are great at it, very personable people.
"I was talking to Wesley Beschorner, our offensive coordinator and associate head coach, and I asked him, 'How does this compare with classes of the past?' I've been out of it for a little while and I haven't been at South Dakota, certainly, for a long time. I flat-out felt like this is a special class provided we finish strong. We have won over schools that we haven't won over for a while. If you kind of gauge from that, you feel like you're having success."
The Coyotes' recruiting class includes three junior college transfers, Butler Community College (Kan.) teammates Jasper Sanders, a running back, and Dennis (D.J.) Wakes, a safety, and Palomar College safety Devin Taverna, whom Glenn believes will make immediate contributions.
"You have to have an idea of who you can and can't get," Glenn said. "You can sit here, chase around guys whose visits are at Southern Cal and Washington and Notre Dame - and it's hard to get in those homes - but we are competing at a very high level against other schools that are in FCS Division I. It feels good."
As South Dakota moves into a stronger conference, Glenn is faced with improving on what was a solid eight seasons under head coach Ed Meierkort, whose contract was not renewed after the season despite a 54-35 record. The Coyotes, who were 6-5 this past season, would have shared the Great West title if not for a fourth-quarter meltdown against North Dakota in the finale.
Glenn will use spring practices to open up competition at all positions. The Coyotes are losing an influential senior class, including quarterback Dante Warren and All-America offensive tackle Tom Compton, but will return some key players such as leading running back Marcus Sims, wide receivers Will Powell and Jeremy Blount, and defensive end Tyler Starr.
Starr's production on the edge - a Great West-best 14 sacks - plays right into the multiple 4-3 defensive alignment that the Coyotes will use under new defensive coordinator Jason Petrino.
With Beschorner returning to run the offense, USD will no doubt rely on the run because of the talent in the backfield and the need for a new quarterback.
"We're not going to change much. Things aren't broken here," said Glenn, whose new team won at Big Ten member Minnesota two years ago and defeated 2010 FCS national champion Eastern Washington in the DakotaDome this past season.
"The cupboard isn't bear, that's for sure. When I go into the weight room, we've got some big dudes. There's some big corn-fed Midwestern linemen on the team that kind of tip the dome when they walk in. So we've got good size, good skill people, people that can run. Their jumping ability as far as their athleticism - we measured that a little bit - there's some really fine athletes in the program. I'm anxious to see how spring ball turns out."
It's always sunny in Vermillion.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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