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09/01/2010 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2010 college football season kicks off in Norman this weekend, as the seventh-ranked Oklahoma Sooners welcome the Utah State Aggies to Memorial Stadium.
The Aggies are in their second year under head coach Gary Andersen, who came over to Logan after spending time at Utah as an assistant with the Utes. It was not an overly auspicious beginning for Andersen in 2009, as his Aggies went just 4-8 overall, including a 3-5 mark in the Western Athletic Conference. However, with 17 returning starters from last year's squad, improvement is expected.
The Sooners are seeking their own improvement, following last year's 8-5 overall record. The sky was the limit to begin the 2009 season in Norman, but losing the reigning Heisman Trophy winner (Sam Bradford) in a season-opening loss to BYU set the tone for the rest of the campaign. Tough losses at Texas, Nebraska and Texas Tech were enough to keep Oklahoma out of the Big 12 race, but the team did rally with a shutout of rival Oklahoma State in the regular- season finale and a thrilling four-point win over Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
This game marks just the fifth time that these two programs have met on the gridiron. It has been all Oklahoma, which has won all four prior meetings, by a combined score of 230-27, including a 54-3 rout in the last meeting in 2007.
Quarterback Diondre Borel returns to lead the Aggie offense after pacing the WAC and ranking 15th in the nation in total offense last year (278.6 ypg). Borel is a dangerous duel threat, who has a penchant for making big plays with his legs as well as arm. He holds the school record for single-season total yardage, gaining 3,343 yards last year. Andersen has plenty of confidence in his athletic signal-caller
"I think that Diondre Borel has prepared himself for a tremendous senior year...he carries himself as a leader on the football team and its much more natural for him to be a leader on and off the field which is a big step for a quarterback."
Borel will be needed to provide some production on the ground, especially due to the absence of Robert Turbin, who placed third in the WAC in 2009 with 108 ypg. Turbin may miss the entire season due to a knee injury, making way for seniors Michael Smith and Derrvin Speights to shoulder the burden in the ground game. It is certainly beneficial to have four returning starters along the offensive line though, headlined by seniors Philip Gapelu and Spencer Johnson. If the guys up front can provide adequate time for Borel in the pocket, he will be able to deliver the ball down the field to receivers like juniors Eric Moats and Xavier Martin, along with newcomers Matt Austin, Travis Reynolds and Dontel Watkins. They will be asked to assuage the loss of another player that was supposed to make an impact in junior WR Stanley Morrison, who is out with an injury as well.
Nine starters return to the defensive side of the ball for Utah State, so coach Andersen should have plenty of veterans to lean on. The one that will be most relied upon is junior linebacker Bobby Wagner, who earned All-WAC First Team honors in 2009, after leading the league in tackles (115). Fellow juniors Kyle Gallagher and Junior Keiaho complete the linebacking corps for the Aggies. The secondary is also chock-full of leadership, led by senior cornerbacks Chris Randle and Curtis Marsh. The key for this unit will be getting improvement up front, after allowing a whopping 205.5 ypg rushing, to rank 110th in the nation. Junior defensive ends Levi Koskan and Quinn Garner along with seniors Devin Johnson and Maxim Dinka-Mba will handle the work off the edges, while senior tackles Casey Davis, Sean Enesi, Daniel Gurrola and Nathan Royster will do their best to clog the middle and penetrate from the inside.
Oklahoma has won six Big 12 titles in Bob Stoops' 11 years at the helm, with five different quarterbacks, so getting steady play under center is a must. Landry Jones was force-fed the offense last season when Bradford went down to injury so the Sooners and the freshman in 2009 will be much better off this season for the experience. Jones threw for an astounding 3,198 yards and 26 TDs, but was responsible for 14 INTs, a number he will have to cut down significantly if Oklahoma is to return to form. Stoops has seen a change in Jones in terms of leadership and likes how Jones has taken over the huddle.
"Coming into this season and even walking into spring ball, you can tell he's just in command. You can tell how confident he is and sure of what he's doing. It's obvious to everyone. So he's progressed well. He continues to mature and develop. He's a great worker. He's very similar to the guys we've had that have had success here. Very grounded guy, confident, great worker."
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have plenty of top-notch talent surrounding a young QB and Oklahoma certainly has that both in the backfield and on the outside. Senior DeMarco Murray is one of the top performers in the Big 12 and may assert himself as one of the better backs in the nation if he can remain healthy. The receiving corps has its own stud thanks to the return of All- American candidate Ryan Broyles. The junior speedster finished 2009 with 89 receptions, 1,120 yards and 15 TDs. The real key for the OU offense will be a revamped offensive line.
The Oklahoma defense was plain old nasty in 2009, ranking among the top teams in the Big 12 in almost every major statistical category. The Sooners' stingy play against the run (92.9 ypg) was particularly noteworthy, ranking eighth nationally. The team also ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense (14.5 ppg). Unfortunately, a good portion of that unit is gone and only five starters return to the fold. The cupboard isn't exactly bare though and there is All-American talent in every area. Up front, the team will rely heavily on the pass rushing exploits of senior DE Jeremy Beal, who finished 2009 with 69 tackles, 19.0 TFLs and 11 sacks. Star LB Travis Lewis is a legitimate Butkus Award candidate in the middle of the field and also had a huge season last year, leading the team in tackles (109), with 9.5 TFLs. Safeties Sam Proctor (44 tackles) and Quinton Carter (88 tackles, four INTs) headline the play in the secondary and will be called upon to provide support against the run, as well as in coverage.
<< Crimson Tide begin national title defense against visiting Spartans
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A n
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Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns kick off the
2010 season with an intrastate matchup against the Rice Owls at Houston's
Reliant Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Texas, fresh off yet another Big 12 Conference titl
<< Badgers head to Sin City to open season against new-look Rebels
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Hauck gets his first taste of action in
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12th-ranked Wisconsin to Sam Boyd Stadium in Sin City.
The winningest coach in Big
Yellow Jackets begin 2010 campaign against Bulldogs >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reigning ACC Champion Georgia Tech Yellow
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BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (1-7) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (6-2)
DATE & TIME: Friday, September 3, 7:30 p.m. (et).
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New Zealand deals Canada another loss at Worlds >>
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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.
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