Small RBs playing big for Wildcats, Hilltoppers

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/09/2010 -

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan saw running back Derrick Locke dart through the hole during one practice this summer and waited for the shifty 5-foot-9 speedster to sprint for the sidelines.

Wrong.

Heading out of harm's way is so last year.

Instead of darting for safety, Locke dipped his shoulder and tried to split the ``22'' in Trevathan's jersey. The move surprised Trevathan, who has four inches and 25 pounds on his teammate. Locke's legs kept churning until well after the whistle blew.

``We have some battles out there,'' Trevathan said.

And these days, Locke wins more than he probably should.

While developing a reputation as a home-run threat during three sometimes spectacular, but often injury plagued years, the senior is trying to become the kind of polished all-around back the Wildcats have lacked since Rafael Little left following the 2007 season.

Locke showed flashes of both during Kentucky's season-opening 23-16 win over Louisville, piling up 104 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled over their rivals.

He scored on a dazzling 32-yard run on his first carry of the season, spinning past a Cardinal defender so effortlessly it looked like a video game. Late in the fourth quarter with Kentucky holding a tenuous seven-point lead, he picked up five tough yards for the decisive first down that let the Wildcats run out the clock.

He handled the ball 27 times in all, including three receptions and a kickoff return, a sure sign the cracked bone in his left forearm sustained during a mo-ped accident in the offseason is long gone.

``I feel like I can handle a few runs back-to-back-to-back,'' he said. ``I want to be out there first and make big plays but I'm not going to try to be Superman.''

Maybe not, but Locke won't be the only little back trying to make big plays on Saturday when the Wildcats (1-0) host Western Kentucky (0-1).

Hilltoppers running back Bobby Rainey is coming off a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown on 30 wearying carries in a 49-10 loss to then-No. 8 Nebraska.

Coach Willie Taggart just laughed when asked if he was trying to punish the 5-foot-8, 190-pound Rainey by sending him so frequently into the teeth of a defense that's regularly among the nation's best.

``That's a bunch of baloney,'' Taggart said. ``He gets it done. That wasn't the plan to be honest with you, but if that's what it takes to win a ballgame, we'll do it.''

And Rainey will gladly accept the challenge.

``I felt like I was back in high school,'' Rainey said. ``I just have to keep pushing.''

To keep the undersized WKU defense off the field, Rainey might not have a choice. Taggart didn't intend to give Rainey the ball so often. Once he saw how effective Rainey was at extending drives, Taggart simply kept at it.

It left his star pretty sore on Sunday. By Monday Rainey was already asking for the ball again. It's the kind of competitiveness Taggart loves, the same kind he saw in former Stanford star Toby Gerhart, who Taggart mentored while serving as running backs coach for the Cardinal before returning to his alma mater.

``Bobby's really patient, he allows his blocks to happen before he makes his cuts and runs fast through the hole,'' Taggart said. ``That is kind of where he's similar to Toby. And he's stronger than you think. The first guy usually doesn't tackle him.''

That's not exactly good news for the Wildcats, who gave up 190 yards rushing to Louisville last week, including an 80-yard touchdown run by Bilal Powell.

``We just got to wrap him up,'' said Kentucky coach Joker Phillips. ``We can't let him get started because he's got that type of speed.''

That goes double for the Hilltoppers. WKU surrendered 289 yards on the ground against the Cornhuskers, and Locke has the speed to match anyone in Nebraska's talented backfield.

``That guy can run,'' Taggart said with a whistle.

Especially now that he's healthy. Locke's sophomore season was cut short by a knee injury, and though he led Kentucky with 907 yards rushing last year, he admits the fear of getting hurt again was always out there.

When he'd get hit, he'd immediately think ``please tackle me.''

``I did that a lot last year,'' Locke said. ``That can't happen this year.''

It's why he tried to show Trevathan what he was made of during camp. He did it again against the Cardinals, grinding out the tough yards when the easy ones weren't there.

``He'd step on people's feet, he was trying to get more yards than what usually does,'' said fullback Moncell Allen. ``He's a small guy but he's got a big heart like he's one of the big backs.''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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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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