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10/23/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Check this out. Florida was a seven- point favorite over Kentucky last Saturday in a crucial SEC East battle. The Gators, who were up 21-10 at the half, looked like a team on their way to victory when they opened a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter.
From then on, Florida's advantage flip-flopped between seven and 14 points until the final seconds of the game when the Wildcats, trailing 45-31, were on the Gators' five-yard line. It looked as if Kentucky would cut the lead to seven, which would save thousands of dollars from all who wagered on the 'Cats plus the seven points. And that's exactly what happened, almost. Quarterback Andre Woodson hit Keenan Burton with a short TD strike and the gamblers were ecstatic.
Wait just one second. The play clock had hit zero and coaches and players alike all zoomed onto the field. Since the playing surface was covered, Kentucky kicker Lones Seiber was not able to attempt the extra point, and Florida won the game by eight, 45-37. More important than the victory however, was the fact that the Gators covered the spread due to the lack of the kick.
Why was that possible, you might ask? Well, two years ago, the NCAA enacted a ruling stating any kick or two-point conversion will not be attempted if said play does not affect the final outcome of the game. In essence, if this game were played in 2005, those folks who wagered on Kentucky would have gotten a push instead of a loss. However, this is 2007: the year a push can become a loss.
BCS MUSINGS
The LSU Tigers pulled one out of their hats in the 30-24 win over Auburn. Everyone who saw this game is still marveling over the Matt Flynn to Demetrius Byrd 22-yard TD connection with seconds remaining, but even if the play had failed, Colt David, more than likely, would have won the game anyway with a 39-yard field goal.
Nevertheless, the win, combined with South Florida's loss to Rutgers, moved the Tigers up to number three in the all-important BCS rankings. Ohio State remains at number one with its seven-point win over Michigan State, but both teams failed to cover the spread as LSU was favored by 10 points, while the Buckeyes were 18.5-point favorites.
Boston College moved to number two on its bye week, but the Eagles won't hold that spot for very long. They take on Virginia Tech in a huge revenge game from last season. The Hokies were embarrassed by BC on Thursday night football, last year, 22-3. It was their first Thursday night loss in 12 games since 1998. For those keeping track of ATS records, V-Tech was 11-1 vs. the spread prior to the Boston College debacle.
Two Pac-10 teams received a ton of love as Arizona State moved up four spots from eighth to fourth, and Oregon passed Oklahoma into fifth position. It will be interesting to see how ASU fares the rest of the way with Cal, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Arizona still on the schedule.
Prior to the start of the season, I predicted the Sun Devils would win their first seven games, but finish up with only three victories in their final five contests. Unless, they're the second coming of the Trojans circa '04-'05, there is no way Dennis Erickson's club goes undefeated. In fact, this week could spell the end of the run, as Cal comes to Tempe off two consecutive defeats. The last time the Golden Bears lost three games in row was back in 2001, the year before Jeff Tedford came to Berkeley.
Oregon has every right to be ranked fifth, but its toughest game of the year is this Saturday when USC visits Eugene. The Ducks have lost three straight to the Trojans by a combined 68 points. However, this will be the first time they are favored vs. Southern Cal since 2001, when they posted a two-point home win. Incidentally, Oregon is 2-5 ATS against USC the last seven meetings.
Oklahoma surprisingly fell to number six after escaping another possible Big 12 road loss. Iowa State kept this one close throughout as the game was tied at seven after three quarters. The Cyclones couldn't stop Oklahoma's ground attack when the game mattered most and lost by 10. Nevertheless, you have to give their defense a lot of credit, holding the Sooners to just 316 total yards as only one other team, Colorado, had been able to keep them under 380.
Sooner fans should have cause for concern, as the passing game was not very effective against what might be the worst secondary in the country. Iowa State had allowed opposing quarterbacks to hit on 72% of their throws prior to last week, and Sam Bradford was only able to connect on 57% for 183 yards and zero touchdowns.
THE NEW TOP 10 AND LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
There's a new number one team in the power rankings as Oklahoma fell a couple of points with its 17-7 win. The West Virginia Mountaineers, who began the season at number seven, have vaulted to the top spot with their 38-13 win over Miss State. The new top 10 looks like this:
1) West Virginia, 103; 2) Oklahoma, 102; 3) USC, 101.5; 4-T) LSU and Oregon, 101; 6) Ohio State, 100.5; 7) Missouri, 100; 8) Florida, 97.5; 9) Boston College, 97 and 10) Texas, 96.5
My overall record stands at 28-33-1 after a 2-6 week, but the time has come for a change and it all starts this Saturday.
WEEK NINE PLAYS
Ball State has had a solid season and not just in its straight up record. The Cardinals are 5-3 on the year, but more importantly, 5-2 ATS. They defeated Western Michigan last week, 27-23, a win that should give them some confidence going into Illinois after getting routed at home by Central Michigan earlier in the month.
Since losing at Ohio back in '05, the Cardinals are 8-4 SU on the road and an absurd 11-1 ATS, with their only failed cover coming by one point to the Chippewas last season. Not only have they fared well in MAC play, they were beaten by just 10 points at Purdue when getting 17, lost by only eight at Michigan when the line was 34 and most recently, almost upset Nebraska when getting 24 big ones.
Illinois is coming off a four-game stretch which included Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan, and it's extremely doubtful Ron Zook's team will be highly motivated to blow away Ball State. In addition, the Illini have run into a brick wall the last two weeks averaging only 270 total yards after averaging over 400 the previous four weeks.
Take Ball State plus the points.
Staying in the Big Ten, Wisconsin is coming off a game they could have won with its eyes closed. The Badgers held Northern Illinois to 11 first-half yards and a grand total of 99 in their 44-3 rout of the Huskies. It was a great way to bounce back from an ugly performance at Penn State the week before. They still might not be where they want to be, but facing Indiana at home will be a great start.
The Hoosiers were pretty lucky to get the cover vs. Penn State last week, as the Nittany Lions failed to score a touchdown on three separate trips inside Indiana's 10-yard line. One thing's for sure in this game: the Hoosiers will not be able to run on Wisconsin. Their last three Big Ten games (not including one against a pathetic Minnesota club) have seen them rush the ball 82 times for 163 yards. The Badgers will be able to contain Kellen Lewis and keep Indiana from scoring more than 14 points.
On the other side of the ball, Wisconsin has rung up 40+ points the last two meetings in this series and should do so again. The Hoosiers' run defense has looked pathetic the last two weeks, giving up a total of 560 yards to Michigan State and Penn State while allowing opposing quarterbacks to hit on 76% of their throws. Not a good combination heading into this matchup with P.J. Hill and Tyler Donovan. The Badgers win in a blowout, 40-14.
Take Wisconsin minus the points.
Hawaii is undefeated but still cannot get any love in the polls. The Warriors are 16th in the AP and 17th in the BCS all because of an extremely easy schedule, and barely getting past San Jose State in overtime two weeks back doesn't help either.
They are in the midst of an insane stretch of just one game in 28 days and that contest is this weekend vs. New Mexico State. The Aggies were left for dead without quarterback Chase Holbrook against Boise State a few weeks back and then lost at Louisiana Tech, 22-21. However, the star QB returned last week to lift the team to a 45-31 win over Idaho.
Look for New Mexico State to match strides with Hawaii, a team that has allowed 72 points in its last two games. Even Utah State put up 37 points against them and those Aggies hadn't scored that many in one game since 2003.
Take New Mexico State plus the points.
Two over/under plays highlight the rest of this week's picks. South Florida looks to bounce back after losing for the first time this season, and must do so against a Connecticut squad that came from behind to defeat Louisville last week.
The Huskies are 6-1 with their only loss coming to Virginia on the road. They have allowed only 89 points the entire season for an average of 13 per game and can score themselves after picking up 36 per game in their first four FBS contests. However, they have averaged less than 20 the last two weeks, and the odds are slim they will score more than 17 against South Florida's defense.
The Bulls might not score more than 17 either against a Connecticut "D" that held high-flying Louisville to only 17 points. True, the game was played in poor weather conditions, but the Cardinals had not scored under 28 in any game the entire season. Two years ago, these two teams met in East Hartford and the final tally that day was 15-10 in favor of the Huskies. Expect a similar total this Saturday.
Take the UNDER.
Virginia, the team that gave Connecticut its only loss, rolls into Raleigh this week to tackle N.C. State. The Wolfpack finally showed signs of life in their 14-point victory over East Carolina, but scoring 34 against the Pirates means nothing when trying to hit paydirt vs. Virginia.
The Cavaliers are giving up an average of 18 in four ACC games and now they get to face the lowest scoring team in the conference. N.C. State is averaging only 14 ppg in its four matchups vs. BCS schools, so it's doubtful the Wolfpack will net more than 17 in this one.
On the other side, Virginia scored in the final minute to defeat Maryland, 18-17, last week in College Park, the second straight week the Cavs were held under 20 points. In addition, they are averaging just 17 per game in four road contests this season. They weren't too effective on the road last year either, averaging only 13 per game.
Take the UNDER.
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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