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01/02/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the fifth straight season the South Florida Bulls will participate in a bowl game when they take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in the International Bowl at the Rogers Centre.
The Bulls have been a part of the BCS for five seasons, and all five years the team has made it to a bowl game, including this season. The four previous postseason appearances for South Florida were split evenly at 2-2, and obviously that includes the team's 41-14 romp over Memphis last season in the St. Petersburg bowl. The Bulls charged out of the gates this season, winning their first five matchups, including a 17-7 decision on the road against Florida State. However, the team started to show cracks in the armor and finished out the year with five setbacks in its last seven games.
The Huskies opened this season with a tough, 28-20 loss to Wisconsin, but the team rebounded with wins in three of its next four contests, including an impressive 28-21 victory at Purdue. After a one-point loss to Toledo, the Huskies regrouped and racked up four consecutive victories. However, the team stumbled down the stretch, dropping its last two regular season contests against Ohio (38-31) and Central Michigan (45-31). Despite the late collapse the Huskies finished 7-5 overall and were invited to their second straight bowl game and third in the last four seasons. Unfortunately the team suffered losses in their past two bowls games, including a 17-10 loss to Louisiana Tech in last season's Independence Bowl.
The all-time series between the two schools on the gridiron is tied at 1-1. The last time NIU and South Florida collided was in 2002 when the Bulls grabbed a convincing, 37-6 decision over the Huskies.
The Bulls are not overwhelming offensively, but the team does possess a well balanced attack which has led to a respectable 26.4 ppg. The ground game is churning out 169.4 ypg, but the team's top performer on the ground is quarterback B.J. Daniels, who has rushed for 798 yards and nine scores on 4.9 yards per attempt. Daniels took over for star QB Matt Grothe, who went down with a knee injury early on. Daniels received help in the backfield by Moise Plancher and Mike Ford, who combined for 813 rushing yards and both players scored five touchdowns apiece on the year. Daniels was not as impressive with his arm, completing just 52.7 percent of his throws for 1,766 yards and 12 touchdowns against nine interceptions. There was not a single player on the roster with over 35 receptions, which further proves the inconsistency of the passing attack. Carlton Mitchell led the way for South Florida with 34 receptions and finished the year with 612 yards and four touchdowns. Dontavia Bogan also collected four touchdown receptions, but finished the season with just 305 yards on 22 catches.
The reason the Bulls are playing in a bowl game this season is largely due to the performance of the defense, which is limiting opponents to just 21.2 ppg. South Florida did have minor problems against the run, allowing 137.8 ypg on the season, but this unit really enjoyed success against the pass, holding teams to just 191.0 ypg through the air. South Florida also collected 12 interceptions on the season, and also put plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, grabbing 24 sacks on the year. The Bulls also stepped up their efforts when it mattered most, as the team held opponents to just 40 percent on third down attempts and allowed just 20 touchdowns on 40 red zone chances. There are plenty of playmakers on this side of the football for South Florida, beginning with Kion Wilson, who led the team with 98 tackles. Nate Allen added 79 stops and collected a team-high four interceptions, while Jason Pierre- Paul led the squad with 14.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. Former All-American rush end George Selvie (40 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks) has had a quiet year, but must also be accounted for up front at all times.
The Huskies have a simple game plan on offense and that is to run the ball early and often. Northern Illinois relied heavily throughout the season on its ground attack, rushing for 202.4 ypg on 4.9 yards per attempt. The Huskies, who are averaging an impressive 30.8 ppg on the season, scored 27 of their 41 offensive touchdowns on the ground this season. Me'co Brown started the season has the main tailback for NIU, and rushed for 645 yards and four scores, but eventually he had to make way for Chad Spann, who closed out the regular season with 945 yards and 19 touchdowns. The success of the ground game overshadowed the team's inability to find production through the air, as Northern Illinois posted just 151.7 ypg via the pass. Chandler Harnish has completed an impressive 66.2 percent of his throws, but it has gone for just 1,540 yards and 11 scores against five interceptions. There is not a game- changing receiver on the roster for NIU, but when Harnish needs a big play he usually looks towards Landon Cox, who led the team with 44 receptions, 528 yards and four scores.
Often overlooked due to the success of the NIU offense, is the play of the defense, which held the opposition to just 21.2 ppg on the season. Northern Illinois was very stingy against the run all season, holding teams to just 119.0 ypg on 3.7 yards per attempt. However, not everything was easy for this unit, as the Huskies did have some issues against the pass, allowing 204.6 ypg and 16 touchdowns via the pass. While the team has trouble stopping the pass, the defense for NIU had no problems getting to the quarterback, as the Huskies recorded 29 sacks on the season. Seven and a half of those sacks came from Jake Coffman, who also grabbed 12.5 TFLs on the year. Brandon Bice and Sean Progar added five sacks apiece on the season, while Tracy Wilson led the team with 86 tackles.
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PapaJohn's.com Bowl serves up Gamecocks against Huskies >>
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Suns welcome Grizz to the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will close out a three-game homestand
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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